Green Living

What is that eerie glow in your kitchen?

A recent article in the New York Times and a post over at TreeHugger talk on the levels of radioactivity in granite countertops. It Really makes you think. I’m glad I don’t have granite, but at the time I was considering them as an option I was more concerned about the carbon footprint, not the radiation level. However, the fact that they produce radiation makes perfect sense. The world is full of uranium and radon can be found in soil and rock everywhere.

I am not saying that all granite is bad and that all emit dangerous levels of radon, but it may be worth it to check it out if you have granite.

Quoted from the New York Times: “But with increasing regularity in recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency has been receiving calls from radon inspectors as well as from concerned homeowners about granite countertops with radiation measurements several times above background levels. “We’ve been hearing from people all over the country concerned about high readings,” said Lou Witt, a program analyst with the agency’s Indoor Environments Division.”

Follow the links above to read more and find links to testers in your area.

Source: New York Times and a post over at TreeHugger

Green upgrades to your home just got easier in California.

Following in the footsteps of the town of Babylon, NJ the State of California has now passed a law making it easier for California Cities and Counties to offer low interest loans to residents looking to make green upgrades.

The legislation, AB811 authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, will allow cities and counties to provide low-interest loans to homeowners (and businesses, I understand), to make energy efficient upgrades.

Owners may use the loans to pay the upfront costs of purchase and installation of energy efficient products and then pay them back through monthly payments or property tax assessments. It is very exciting to see these options taking hold across the country!

Source: Greener Buildings

Is going green a bad thing?

I caught this post over at Jetson Green today and thought it was worth a share here. The video below talks about our overconsumption in the process of going green. Makes you feel bad if you are greening your life while still raping the planet. All I can say to this is that you need to go green. We have to go green, buy green and buy local and buy wisely. Don’t buy if you don’t need. Don’t buy because you want. Buy because you need and then buy local whenever possible. Perhaps we need to stop talking about being “green” and start talking about being “wise and informed” Read more

Solar Guide at Low Impact Living

Low Impact Living has done it again with a post on Solar Energy and a guide to the different technologies available. Solar is a complicated field with all the technology that is out there and this post can answer a lot of the basic questions, so check it out.

The solar topics covered include solar thermal, photovoltaics, thin film, silocn, solar dyes and other radical solar technologies.

Source: Low Impact Living

The debate rolls on with Ceramic Paint On Insulation.

This was a very interesting post over at Treehugger about the legitimacy of Ceramic Paint On Insulation. Basically the result was a resounding it might work, but who knows. You see, it is being used by major architects to insulate shipping container homes and I personally feel it would be a godsend in a 100 year old masonry home like mine, but does it work??? Read more

A primer on Geothermal Heat pumps at Low Impact Living.

I came upon this post today over at low impact living.  Titled Are Geothermal Heat Pumps For You?
it provides a concise primer on Geothermal Heat Pumps and is a very
worthwhile read for anyone thinking about installing a geothermal
system.

They start off answering the question on what a Geothermal Heat Pump is
and finish by giving you the resources to find more on geothermal near
you.

I personally had a neighbor install the first geothermal system I had
ever seen back in the mid 90′s.  The system was installed for a home
located on top of a limestone shelf and was a test project for this new
technology.  They were very pleased with the results and even though
the installation in the limestone was rather difficult, the system paid
for itself quickly in the harsh Northern Arizona Winters.  I have
wanted a system ever since, but have never been in the position to
install one.

Hop over to low impact living and take a look.

Also, enjoy the video below.

A new shipping container resource that I came upon today – isotecture.com

While searching the internet today I came upon a comment on a blog post over at weburbanist.com. In the comment a gentleman had mentioned that he had started a new website that gives the nuts and bolts of building with Shipping containers.  The site is called Isotecture.  While it appears to have just been launched in June, it is shaping up to be a pretty good resource.  If you are thinking at all of building with shipping containers, like I am, Then I suggest that you bookmark it. 

The video below has nothing to do with the site.  Just a cool container project and some color for this post. 

Shipping container homes get national press.

I have been posting on shipping container homes for some time now and in my comments and feedback I get many who think this is just another flash in the pan.  That they will never make mainstream homes.  Well, in my searches today I came upon this recent article in USA Today through a post over at Materialicious. 

It does my heart a lot of good to see these homes getting this kind of press. I personally feel it a strong and viable form of architecture that we will see a lot more of.  That, and it also is using a very abundant and CHEAP resource that is available to us all throughout the country.  You can’t beat that!  I can guarantee you that my next home will be made from shipping containers.

Blu Homes have officially launched and they are on their way to Utah and Massachusetts.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with one of the founders of Blu Homes as they scouted locations and scoured the country finding the city with right fit for their innovative, new, prefab homes. Happily, they chose Salt Lake City, Utah (my home state) as one of the first locations in which to build, the rest of the country is not far behind. Not only that, the first home should be delivered and completed by late fall here in Utah and a personal walk-through for interested parties will be a reality.

What Blu Homes is building is a very innovative, prefab home that will be manufactured in 4 weeks and the keys will be in your hands within 10 days of the home being delivered to your lot. How is that for fast and convenient?

Blu Homes will be green. Very green. Not only will they cause 50-75% fewer carbon emmisions in the construction process, they will also have 40-75% lower annual utility costs.

Affordability often comes into question with projects like this and in the case of Blu Homes these homes will be very affordable. priced from $50,000 – $350,000, based on amenities and size, these homes are very affordable and can realistically be built at about $150 a square foot.

I think Bill Haney, Co-Founder and President of Blu Homes speaks best about the company and there mission in the video below.

Read more

Video of Velib, Paris’s Bike Share Program. Can’t wait to see this in Salt Lake City.

It has been a year since they launched Velib, Paris’s highly successful bike share program and on the 15th  StreetFilms launched a very nice video about the program. 

Here in Salt Lake City the Mayor’s office currently studying the implementation of a similar program.  I do hope that it takes off. 

Enjoy the video below and if you are in Salt Lake City and like the idea of something like this here, let the Mayor’s office know.

« Previous Page — Next Page »