By Philip Proefrock •
October 24, 2007
For all our technological advances, our buildings remain incredibly dumb constructions. Automobiles have multiple onboard computers that help maximize their performance and improve efficiency and coordinate the various systems. But the average house has very little, if any, control to aid in its operation despite the wide range of conditions (from below freezing winter nights to scorching summer days) they are forced to deal with. Even large, complex buildings operate with
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By Jennifer Lance •
October 24, 2007
We’ve covered the topic of junk mail before in our daily tips (see Tip o’ the Day: War on Junk Mail), but a new website is offering consumers an easy way to get rid of unwanted catalogues. With the holiday season approaching, my mailbox has become inundated with catalogues for every product under the sun. Previously, I have sent individual letters to each company, as well as signed up for
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By Jennifer Lance •
October 24, 2007
Halloween is one week away, and the blogosphere has erupted in green Halloween posts. From The Green Guide to Eco Child’s Play, everyone is writing about having an eco-friendly, ghoulish good time. Green Halloween has also been a hot topic lately on Green Options:
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By Maria Surma Manka •
October 24, 2007
Findings from a new report examining insurance companies’ responses to climate change were released at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors last week. The study found that an increasing number of companies are implementing initiatives to reduce the risk of climate change’s impacts and reduce the emissions that cause the problem.
"From Risk to Opportunity 2007: Insurer Responses to Climate Change" was commissioned by Ceres, a U.S. group of investors and clean
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By Gavin Hudson •
October 23, 2007
Makena Brown, grade 8, has a plan to help keep the planet healthy and make money, too. Makena collects all of her family’s recyclables and stores them in the back yard. About once a month, she and her family load up the car with the many bags of bottles and cans and take them to the local recycling center. Because it’s her project, Makena gets to keep the money paid by the recycling center
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By Amy Stodghill •
October 22, 2007
Even if you’ve switched all your bulbs from incandescents to CFLs, it’s still good to practice turning off the lights when you don’t need them to save on energy.
Turning off the lights depends on the bulb. If you still have incandescent bulbs, it is always best to shut the light off when no one is in a room or if you aren’t using the light. Fluorescent lights are a little different, since constantly
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By Philip Proefrock •
October 22, 2007
Green technologies make good sense to most of us, but incomplete or uncoordinated implementation can lead to circumstances where green technologies are not able to provide the full benefits that they can. In some instances, regulatory requirements can even lead to making green technologies counterproductive.
Waterless urinals present one striking example of how regulations and green technology are not yet working together. In some municipalities, waterless urinals have not been allowed by building
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By Kelli Best-Oliver •
October 18, 2007
National Geographic and kids social networking site Imbee have teamed up to facilitate communication between tweens aged 8-14 by creating a world-conscious online community. The website, National Geographic Kids Group, will feature blogs, videos, music, images, chatting, eco-tips and e-mail targeted at kids who are concerned with the environment.
Betsy Scolnik, president of National Geographic Digital Media, said "There’s something powerful about giving kids the tools to express themselves
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By Cassie Walker •
October 18, 2007
Having implemented several water-saving ideas from the first Living Green Workshop I attended (no beef for two weeks!) I was excited to go back to learn about the next topic: Energy. Developed and taught by Santa Monica-based non-profit Sustainable Works, the class did not let me down.
I would think that by now most of us know that the ways that we currently produce most of our energy cannot continue into
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By Philip Proefrock •
October 17, 2007
Terra preta (or agrichar, as it is also sometimes called) is not a new concept, but it is probably unfamiliar to most readers. The term terra preta refers to rich black soils found in the Amazon. These soils are not natural, but were human-made, produced by the civilizations living in the region before the arrival of Western settlers. The terra preta has a high level of nutrients, with three times
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