Entries from November 2006
November 1, 2006 · 1 Comment
When it comes to home improvement projects, if you have the motivation and skills to do it yourse
lf, you have the ability to make it green. But not everyone has the DIY bug, and some projects are just too big or complicated for even the handiest amateurs. Fortunately, in many parts of the country it’s getting easier to find architects, builders and other professionals with green design and construction know-how.
Some pros have a good grasp of green fundamentals. They know effective methods and materials that are healthier, use natural resources wisely and don’t waste energy. In fact, many have been designing or building eco-friendly homes for years without necessarily calling them green.
On the flip side, anyone can put the word “green” on their business card or website. Let’s face it, green building has become big business and lots of folks are clamoring for a piece of the profits. It’s up to you to check the green credentials of anyone you hire. Here are tips for getting started: (more…)
Categories: Green homes · Remodeling
As the average U.S. house size increases, refrigerators seem to be multiplying like rabbits.
Sun Frost’s RF16, a super-efficient refrigerator with a freezer on top, consumes a miserly 254 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Info: www.sunfrost.com
While it isn’t yet keeping me awake at night, I have to admit that I’m a tad alarmed by all the refrigerators popping up in American homes.
Convenience is king, and as the average house size continues to increase, refrigerators seem to be multiplying like rabbits to fill up all that space.
In luxury homes today, I often see several refrigerators in the kitchen: a large primary refrigerator, a smaller snack and beverage fridge for the kids, and maybe a wine cooler for the adults. If there’s a bar in the great room or living room, there’s likely a compact fridge underneath it. The master suite might have its own mini fridge holding milk for the morning cappuccino, or there might be a refrigerated drawer in the bathroom for medicine and cosmetics.
Peek in the garage or basement and you’re likely to find another full-size refrigerator or freezer. (more…)
Categories: Energy · Food · Global warming · Green homes · Kitchens
Number of attendees of the inaugural West Coast Green Residential Green Building conference and expo in September: 8,922!
Categories: Events · Green homes
“We have ten years to get our act together.”
—Edward Mazria quoting James Hansen,
NASA’s leading authority on climate change
I’m still charged up two months after hearing architect Edward Mazria’s keynote speech at the West Coast Green conference in San Francisco.
His topic? The role of the building community in contributing to global climate change and peak oil. Buildings account for 48 percent of all energy consumed in the United States. Clearly, we can’t reverse trends in greenhouse gas emissions without a revolution in design and construction practices.
Mazria is the driving force behind the 2030 ºChallenge (architecture2030.org), a call to the architecture and building community to immediately cut fossil fuel energy use by 50% in all new buildings and major renovation projects. The goals escalate to a 90% reduction by 2025 and carbon-neutral by 2030.
While Mazria holds architects’ feet to the global-warming fire, I suggest we broaden the challenge. How low can each of us go with fossil fuel use in our homes? And an equally vital question—how can we accomplish this not in a spirit of fear and reactivity but in a spirit of joy and creativity?
Categories: Energy · Events · Global warming · Green homes
On chilly nights my mother, who was Italian by nature although not by blood, would make a heartwarming soup similar to this one. Try it when you need a break from the holiday season’s rich meals. I adapted this recipe from The Silver Spoon (Phaidon, 2005), an encyclopedic cookbook of Italian home cooking.
Serves 4 as a first course, or serves 2 as a light meal with crusty Italian bread and a salad.
1 lb. Swiss chard
Salt
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
3 eggs, lightly beaten
6 cups no-chicken broth (I like Imagine brand) or homemade vegetable stock.
Trim thicker stems from chard. Add chard leaves to boiling salted water and cook until tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and cool. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then shred.
In medium bowl, mix chard, Parmesan, eggs, pinch of salt and 1/4 cup of broth. Bring remaining broth to boil in medium pot. Stir in chard mixture. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and serve with extra Parmesan.
Buon appetito!
Categories: Food
National Building Museum’s Greenovation: An Expo for the Home
Nov. 18, 2006 10 am–5 pm
Washington, D.C.
A free event about eco-friendly home renovation, with seminars led by green design experts, vendor exhibits and product demonstrations. At 2:00 PM, Jennifer Roberts will be talking about how to create dream green kitchens. A book signing follows. Greenovation augments the National Building Museum’s exhibition, Greenhouse: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design on view through June 3, 2007.
Info: nbm.org
Categories: Events · Green homes · Remodeling
Making Better Concrete: Guidelines to Using Fly Ash for Higher Quality, Eco-Friendly Structures, Bruce King, 2006. Everything you ever wanted to know about working with high fly ash concrete. A how-to manual for engineers, builders and architects, although green geeks of all types will find it a good read. greenbuildingpress.com
Categories: Global warming · Green homes · Recommendations · Remodeling
Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community, H. C. Flores, 2006. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares ideas for transforming city backyards and suburban lawns into “paradise gardens” that provide food, increase natural habitat and help us reconnect to the earth and our communities. chelseagreen.com
Categories: Food · Gardening · Global warming · Recommendations · Water
lf, you have the ability to make it green. But not everyone has the DIY bug, and some projects are just too big or complicated for even the handiest amateurs. Fortunately, in many parts of the country it’s getting easier to find architects, builders and other professionals with green design and construction know-how.
