U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was on to something when he suggested we start painting our roofs white to fight climate change.

We’ll soon be able to use a specialized paint to collect rooftop solar energy, too. Could this be the answer to neighborhood Christmas light wars?

The stuff is called silicon ink, and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory says that solar cells using the technology have “demonstrated a record 18 percent conversion of efficiency,” according to cnet.com.

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Oregon this summer became the first state to enact in law a product stewardship law for the collection of leftover consumer paint.  The pilot program, which expires in 2014, involves a consumer fee that a nonprofit organization established by paint producers uses to pay for the collection and proper disposal or reuse of the leftover paint.

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We’ve all got pieces of furniture that look like they’re on the way out. When I first moved to Atlanta, a friend gave me a coffee table. I had no money and very little furniture, so I was grateful even though the table was sort of…well…it was ugly, alright? It was an ugly, ugly table. Rather than pitch it, I decided to give it a fresh coat of white paint and try my hand at a mosaic. We still have that little coffee table living out on the front porch! It’s a little bit dusty at the moment, but I’ll show you a picture if you promise not to judge my housekeeping skills:

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A moment of pause should occur before you decide you head to the store and start thinking about changing the color of their dwelling’s walls. According to eartheasy.com, “indoor air is three times more polluted than outdoor air, and according to the [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)], is considered to be one of the top-five hazards to human health. Paints and finishes are among the leading causes.”

The offending toxin in paints are called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. The EPA lists possible symptoms as eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system.

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Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have suggested a plan to drastically reduce global warming, by painting the world white.  If implemented successfully, it would be the equivalent of taking the world’s 600 million cars off the road for 18 years.

Hashem Akbari and Surabi Meno, along with Art Rosenfeld, California Energy Commissioner and Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, are so convinced that their idea will work, that they have proposed a “Cool World” plan that would use white roofs, and solar-reflective roofs of other colors, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help delay atmospheric heating effects.

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Finding the perfect piece of furniture at a yard sale or thrift store can help you make over your house and furnishings, saving money and reducing waste at the same time. Often all that’s needed to renew something is a good cleaning and a new coat of paint, the only cost being your time.

But wait a minute, you say, paint is expensive.

It doesn’t have to be.

Gallons and gallons of latex and oil-based paints never get used, probably because we’ve been told to always get extra so we won’t run out in the middle and have to worry about matching the color (custom colors mostly). Many small jobs use less than a small can’s worth of paint, and yet we can only buy a full can, not just a tiny bit.

The next time you need paint or thinner, wood stain or oil finish, don’t buy new.

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Part of keeping the cost down is that we will do all our own painting and finishing of any wood.

So, we are on the lookout for low and no VOC paints and finishes to use. What are VOCs? Jessica shares about them earlier today and the virtues of new no VOC Mythic paint. Paints, finishes, primers and stains can all contain VOCs which causes indoor air quality to decline, putting little children at a greater risk of many health problems. According to Enviroblog:

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I dunno. Seven years later I still can’t finish the sentence because, it doesn’t make sense to me now or then but I know I needed the stinkin room painted. A few short months ago that freshly painted room sent out the last of it’s toxins. Seriously.

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It’s ironic that such a relaxing, restoring and expressive activity—making art and crafts—can also be so toxic. Although legislation controlling many of the dangerous ingredients in hobby materials has recently been passed, exposure to certain art materials remains a health risk.

CAGW pal Jennifer from Eco Child’s Play turned us onto an article from Care2 about arts & crafts supplies that I couldn’t resist sharing with you all. Adapted from Safe Substitutes: Non-Toxic Household Products by Gary Davis and Em Turner, the article brings to light the surprisingly abundant amount of dangerous chemicals and metals in common creative goods. “Toxic chemicals in the home can be eliminated simply by making thoughtful choices in the supermarket after educating oneself about what the hazards are of common consumer products,” said Gary and Em.

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By now, a lot of people have heard about the hazards of VOCs — Volatile Organic Compounds. In this case, “organic” doesn’t mean they’re good for you.

VOCs are a toxic soup of carbon-based molecules such as ketones, aldehydes, and hydrocarbons. Indoors, they escape from a variety of things you probably take for granted: certain kinds of treated wood, carpeting, plastics, cleaning supplies — even cosmetics. And VOCs vapors tend to hang around.

How big a problem is this? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has research showing that indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than the air you breathe outside. Exposure in effected homes and businesses is chronic, and VOCs are a big contributor to “sick building syndrome.”

A major source of VOCs is household paint. Fortunately, paint manufacturers are getting on the low- or zero-VOC bandwagon, from specialty companies like AFM to old-guard names such as Sherwin Williams.

Concern about VOCs has also led to a revival in milk paint. Milk has been used as a pigment base for thousands of years: it’s cheap, widely available, and imparts a rich glow that was very popular until locally-made paint was displaced by the convenience of non-perishable oils around the middle of the 19th century.

Milk paints hung on as a craft item and for the restoration of historic wall and furniture finishes. But now modern companies are turning out milk paint with the explicit purpose of providing zero-VOC wall coverings for healthy indoor environments.

One such manufacturer is the Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company. Their one concession to convenience is that they’ve chosen to use dried milk, which allows customers to mix as they go. Otherwise, Old-Fashioned Milk Paint sticks to tradition, choosing clay, ochre, iron oxide, and other natural pigments to arrive at about 20 mixable colors. In theory, you could drink their paint. That’s about as green as it comes.

Got a home project coming up, or are you looking for a way to cover-up a conventional wall finish? Perhaps milk paints are for you. Visit the Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company website for color ideas, or try one of these other milk paint manufacturers: Real Milk Paint, The Original Milk Paint Company, or Vintage Paint Works.

Feeling a bit do-it-yourself? Check out Pioneer Thinking’s 1870 Milk Paint Formula. Sounds like eco-friendly fun. 

The old standards on the paint market are normally oil based or water based (latex) paints. Latex paints, most common for DIYers, are made up of pigments, binder, additives and water. There are also solvents and biocides (to prevent bacterial growth) that aren't always listed. All these things can add up to one giant headache - literally. When you get a headache or nausea from wet paint aroma, that is the VOCs affecting you (volatile organic compounds).

Reduce your exposure by purchasing low VOC paints. Many major paint brands have low VOC lines and can be found in many hardware stores and at most home improvement centers. Look for the Green Seal certification for an added eco-stamp of approval.

Another options is to go the natural route. Natural paints mainly contain citrus oil, lime, clay, linseed oil and/or chalk, and little or no VOCs. The manufacturing of these products is often more eco-friendly as well. However, keep in mind that natural paints could also contain some non-natural ingredients, can take longer to dry, and have different finishes than the (low VOC) latex counterpart.

In addition to the paint think about the tools you're using. Instead of buying cheap, disposable brushes and rollers, invest a few dollars more into quality products that you can reuse the next time around and will give you a better result. Better quality paint and spackle will also hold up over time so repainting and touch-ups will be less frequent.

Even with low VOC paint, make sure to keep areas ventilated with open windows and fans. Turn off central AC or heating to prevent the spread of any VOCs throughout the house.

When cleaning up take any extra paint to a designated waste disposal site. The GreenHomeGuide recommends washing brushes in a bucket instead of in the sink, then pouring that water down the toilet so it will be treated by the sewage system.

If you're not doing the painting yourself be sure to bring up these points with the painters or contractors you hire. And when doing any prep work, especially sanding, take proper precautions as the old paint on the wall may contain lead or mercury that will be released into the air through dust.

Amy says: I'm about to repaint my bedroom and choosing a low VOC paint was the easy part. Choosing a color is a little more difficult.

For more information and a further detailed description of oil, latex and natural paints read more at GreenHomeGuide. Also take a look at our new Green Life Guide entry.

Environmental Protection Agency painting and indoor air quality information

Does anyone have information on available green adhesive materials? I'm hoping to find decent quality hot glue-gun sticks that are non-toxic and not petroleum based. In the past I have been a big fan of hot glue guns, but I always had concerns in the back of my mind about the potential danger of the vapors created when heating the sticks, and the glue off-gassing when solidified. Are regular hot glue sticks recyclable? Can the glue be recycled with cardboard when the two are bonded together? I'm not sure if the glue used in hot-glue guns is non-toxic and safe, but I haven't found information proving that it is.

If you're an artist, a designer, or even parent, you might know something here.  Drop into the forum, and share your information with SeanM.