Worries About Granite Lead to California Homes with Radon

A homeowner in Menlo Park, CA recently discovered that his home had 14 picoCuries/liter of radon, three times the EPA action level of 4 picoCuries/liter (pCI/L). He tested his home for radon because he was concerned about his new granite counters. However, his granite was not the source of the radon. He had “geologic” radon coming from the soil beneath his house.

Granite Counters: Uranium Ore In Disguise?

Cathy Woods’ new granite counters were radioactive. They contained as much uranium as commercial uranium ore. The showroom that sold Cathy her Jupurana Bordeaux granite did not warn her that some granite is radioactive. When I contacted the salesman, posing as a customer, he assured me their granite “is no more radioactive than soil or water”. However, Cathy’s granite emitted gamma radiation at many times background. The radon gas emitted by the stone tripled the radon concentration in her kitchen.

Straw Bale House Construction and Natural Building Internship

Are you interested in a hands-on straw bale building experience? As you know, there is no better way to learn than by doing. Red Earth Farms is an 80 acre, off-the-grid intentional community based in northeastern Missouri, composed of individual homesteads. Members strive to live ecologically – this means, of course, that members use natural…

Green Home Contest: Win 3 Nights at the Green Hotel Carlton

We want to start the New Year off with an eco-bang, and so we’re launching a new Green Home Contest. Low Impact Living and Joie de Vivre Hotels challenge you to make your home as green as you can! We’re going to reward the greenest home of all with a luxurious 3-night stay at the…

A Wind Turbine for Every Rooftop?

These days, there are more and more options for those of you who want a small wind turbine out in the yard or on your roof. They range from the standard to the somewhat bizarre, and come in sizes that can power several major appliances all the way up to your whole house and beyond….

Panasonic Expands Its Product Focus To Include Green Building Products For The Home

Panasonic is fast becoming a brand name not just for electronics but also for green building products.

Eco-Products 2008 recently held in Tokyo, showcased a series of award-winning green products and services. The E Floor from Panasonic was shortlisted for the awards. The Eco Product Awards is presented by four organizations including the Global Environmental Forum, a non-profit organization under the jurisdiction of Japan's Ministry of Environment.

The Green Community Exhibit at the National Building Museum is Educational and Innovative

In full bloom at the National Building Museum this year, is a Green Community exhibition. The interactive show shares detailed information on how the “health of our communities, our planet, and ourselves depend on how we plan, design, and construct the world between our buildings. Green Community explores the origins of our precarious ecological situation…

How the Recession Means More Green Buildings (and Why That’s Good for the Economy)

Can a bad economy save the planet? Let’s be honest, construction companies and home builders are facing terrible times.  New building construction has ground to a halt and the subprime mortgage fiasco resulted in plummeting home values, leaving many builders with homes that were worth less than the cost of construction.   The longer the…

Kitchen Cabinet Industry Going Green

The Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association’s Environmental Stewardship Program (KCMA-ESP) encourages cabinet manufacturers to go green in all aspects of cabinet production, from smart harvesting to a healthier final product. If cabinet manufacturers built simply to qualify for LEED credits, they could use recycled materials or no formaldehyde in their final product, but cause enormous environmental…

Shangri-La Construction Unveils World’s First Aviation Hangar To Achieve LEED Paltinum Certification

Shangri-La Industries has introduced its newly formed business unit, Shangri-La Construction, at today’s unveiling of their inaugural project: Hangar 25, the world’s first aviation hangar to achieve Platinum certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Rating System™ at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California.

Eco Timber Offers Comprehensive Online Green Flooring Guide

Can your hardwood floors contribute to global warming?  Which hardwoods are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council?  Are some types of bamboo greener than others?  Eco Timber’s Eco-Friendly Flooring Guide is a valuable source for information on sustainable hardwood flooring and a must read for any green builder.  The Richmond, California based company has promoted…

Can a Modern Green Home Be Built for $100K?

Follow Philly’s Postgreen as they attempt to build a modern green home for $100,000. Just over a year ago, Philadelphia developer Postgreen undertook an ambitious project, to build a modern green home for $100,000.  Not only are they seeking to shatter the myth that green homes are unaffordable, but they are documenting every step on…

How To Plaster Walls: Natural Clay Plaster Finishes

Earthen plasters provide a beautiful, soft, and an organic finishing touch to your home, whether they be a straw bale house, cob building, wood cabin, or even plain old sheetrock walls. A simple natural plaster can be mixed from ingredients straight from the earth, including sand, clay, and fibers such as straw, cattail fluff, or…

Natural Building 101: How To Make an Earthen or Adobe Floor

When mention of an “earthen floor” is made, one might imagine a dusty, drab dirt floor. Earthen floors are far from this, however; instead they are very elegant, durable, inexpensive, and ecologically sustainable solutions to a typical floor installation. They are varied in construction, but the idea and ingredients are essentially the same across the…

First Time in the USA, A Quiet Rooftop SWIFT Wind Turbine For Homes & Businesses

Cascade Engineering has just launched its SWIFT Wind Turbine in the United States and Canada. Quieter than a whisper, SWIFT provides businesses and homeowners in windy environments an effective solution to lower energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.

Built By Hand Book: Traditional Natural Building Designs Around The World

Imagine houses with six feet-thick seaweed roofs, deep-nestled and hand-carved cave homes, and pigeon-harboring huts made of mud. Sounds a little unreal, huh? Well, this and more is all vividly documented in Built By Hand: Vernacular Buildings Around the World, a most inspiring bit of natural building eye candy I recently had the fortune of…