greenHo.ws

I recently came across a article about something I had never heard about before, green burials. The idea is amazingly simple, saves cost and is the environmentally responsible thing to do.

The basics are pretty straight forward, there is no embalming fluid used in the body, a biodegradable casket is used and there is no concrete vault used. This takes us back to the way burials were preformed prior to the Civil War, kind of the way nature intended. It’s sort of the ultimate form of recycling.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution had the original article that sparked my interest, you can read it here - AJC Green Burial.

There are a couple of reference sites that are worth a look.

Greenburials.org

Greenburialcouncil.org

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It appears that the worlds leading retailer, that is viewed as part of the evil empire by many, is getting greener. One of Wal-Mart’s newest stores, the Las Vegas Supercenter, will open this week using a new cooling technology to cut overall energy use by up to 45 percent compared to stores build in 2005. The areas where they are reducing their impact on the environment are in areas of lighting, refrigeration, water flow and now a new cooling system based on water evaporation for total energy savings of between 35 percent and 45 percent.

The design is tuned for use in the dry western states where evaporation works better than in the humid southern states. The system consists of water evaporation chillers installed on the store roof that chills fluid that is then circulated under the floor of the store. Basically the same design as a radiant heating system just used for cooling instead.

Since Wal-Mart is stated to be the largest private user of electricity in the world any savings they can implement in their stores can have a major impact. In addition Wal-Mart shares their environmental best practices with other retailers to help them improve their energy efficiency.

It’s certainly a step in the right direction.

It’s a brilliant idea, go dark to save the earth. Earth Hour was conceived as a simple but effective way to help with global warming. Earth Hour uses the simple act of turning off your lights for one hour to make a impact and show the need for action on global warming.

Earth Hour has gotten the attention of people all across the globe. The message is that individuals can make a difference with global warming. Earth Hour and the World Wildlife Fund want to raise awareness about the connection between power usage and climate change.

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This week we talked about several project ideas, from world wide to right at home.  On Green Products News we talked about what to use and on greenHo.ws we gave suggestions on how. 

Here are some projects we said talked about last week:

• there is a new and environmentally friendly idea in housing - low cost, pre-built, and simple to assemble Abod homes; intended for overseas markets, they are a good option for church or relief organizations to be good stewards of the environment;
• installing a water heater is a big project and not inexpensive; be educated before deciding how to go green with a solar water heaters;
• if you spend time working in your yard, you understand the importance of fertilizing; try composting with the Tumbleweed compost maker and reuse your yard waste; it takes a while, but the results are worth it;
• ceiling fans are a good investment and help to reduce home heating and cooling costs; take a look at greenman says about the benefits of installing energystar fans from Hunter;
• finally, everyone has a few home electronics; what you may not realize is that many constantly suck power; it’s a quick and easy project to reduce their impact with a few switches.

We covered more than just projects with a few posts with tips, a little education, and more:

• try these quick and easy energy saving tips;
• impress your friends with knowledge of these green terms;
• I was surprised at an un-green action by a “green” website;
• Ecomom is interested in the environment and her family and joined us this week to write about it;
• the demand for green is definitely up!

Would you believe that businesses overstate the green-ness of what they sell?  And that many of those overstated claims are on products you and I pick up every time we go to the grocery or big box store?  What if you found out that 99.9% of products labeled “green” were not?

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What product has been awarded a 2006 Best of What’s New award from the editors of Popular Science, included in TIME magazine’s 2006 Best Inventions and named as a top 10 green building products for 2007 by Sustainable Industries magazine?

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Not only is greenHo.ws is a great place to find tips, projects, and general green info, but it’s also closely related to GreenProductsNews. Greenman has been pulling double duty and writing on GreenProductsNews about products that improve the greenliness of your house.

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Welcome to greenHo.ws.

It wasn’t long ago that a group of us were talking about how we would like to make a difference in our impact on the environment. We talked about simple things like using less water, planting the right plants, fixing our roofs, and generally creating less waste. Then we talked about how we could actually do these things.

Our conclusion, simply put: it is not always easy or obvious how to make a small difference.

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There is a new line of paints from ICI called the Freshaire Choice that are VOC-free in both the base and the tint colors. The reason this is noteworthy is that in many paints the base color may be VOC-free but the tint can add a large amount of VOCs back into the paint. The neat thing about the tint system for the Freshaire paint is that it uses a solid colorant instead of a liquid tint. The colorant comes in a package and it is placed in the base, bag included. A quick, easy, precise, and environmentally friendly way to color paint. The paint ranges from around $35 to $38 per gallon and it will be available exclusively at the Home Depot starting in April. The Freshaire Choice Paint product assortment consists of flat, eggshell and semi-gloss finishes, as well as drywall interior primer and ceiling paint.

The FreshAire Choice

There recently was a interesting article written by Jeff Tucker of the Pueblo Chieftain - Architects differ on green building savings. In the article they discuss whether building green is really cost effective. The town of Pueblo is building two new green public buildings, the Pueblo Police Department and the City-County Health Building. The architectural firm designing the two building contends that building the two buildings to LEED silver standard could cost as much as 22% more than a standard built building. They said:

“The main argument for the added expense is that it’s paid for in the long run because the buildings use less electricity, gas and water, and pay less utilities.

But he said he couldn’t provide any estimates on how much the city and county will save in utilities. The concept of green building is just too new”

Other architects don’t necessarily agree with the assessment, saying:

“It shouldn’t cost more than a 5 percent increase, and it should give you a five-year pay-out.”

Take a look at the article and let us know what you think.

Interesting tidbits from the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

Green Building

In New Mexico a 2,000 square foot home that is LEED Silver certified, which means that it is at least 40% more energy-efficient than a standard built home, can qualify for a $10,000 tax credit!

Solar

The New Mexico Solar Tax Credit will pay up to $9,000 for state residents and they can also receive up to a $2,000 federal tax credit.

Hybrids

Prius buyers rejoice, any New Mexico resident that buys a hybrid vehicle with a EPA rating of at least 27.5 MPG can save between $600 - $1,000 in addition to their allowed federal tax deduction.

You can feel good and save money.

For details check the following website:

New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department

Vinnie sent me a link today to Sundance Solar. For the most part, it looks like a lot of gadgets without much practical use, which means it went right on the top of my favorites list! I know one of us will try gadgets from Sundance Solar soon, so keep an eye open for a review.

Vinnie’s note did start me thinking about the reasonability of using solar as a power source for a home. (more…)

Are you tired of having to dress in a HazMat suit to avoid being overcome with the itches? Dow has introduced a new line of insulation that finally gets rid of the itch factor. It comes in both R-13 and R-19 batt insulation form. It has the same look and the same insulating properties as traditional fiberglass insulation. They have replaced the fiberglass fibers with polyester fibers which are non-irritating. It has no formaldehyde binders, no acrylic binders and no borates, which are found in many other traditional insulation products, SAFETOUCH Fiberglass-Free Insulation is better for your family and for the environment. Despite the lack of borates, the insulation is formulated so that it does not provide a food source for mold.

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The Partnership for Advancing Housing Technology (PATH) recently listed their top 10 technologies for improving homes and making them more energy efficient.

PATH Top 10

Among the items mentioned there were several that would be quick and easy for the average homeowner to implement . These include high efficiency toilets, compact fluorescent lighting and air sealing. In future posts we will delve deeper in these items and focus more on the time and effort required to implement these upgrades.

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