Alternative Energy Potential

If you are wondering how your location sizes up to others around the US for alternative energy use potential, check out this map put together by the Natural Resources Defense Council. I was very interested to see that New England’s solar potential is so low when compared to … everywhere else. And yet, many people invest in solar power here and still get the bang for their buck. I can’t imagine not going solar if you live in the southern or southwestern states. It is truly amazing the potential for relatively free power with very little carbon and other pullution contributions. (Note: The production and storage of solar power does contribute some carbon and pollution, so you can’t ignore this by saying it contributes none. It definitely contributes a heck of a lot less than gas, oil, and electricity, though. And researchers are working hard to improve recycling technologies for solar photovoltaic panels.)

Excellent: people are catching onto the benefits of investing in radiant heating systems. This video gives us a good idea of how radiant floors are installed. They cost more than your standard forced air system, but in the long run, your home will be more comfortable (warm floors heat interiors more evenly and are nice to walk on without slippers or socks) and will not have dust, mold, mites and other allergens that forced air systems send through the air in your house. This greatly benefits people with respiratory ailments such as asthma or emphysema as well as allergy sufferers.

Cleaner air, more comfortable temperatures throughout your home. So why does anyone bother with any other system? Cost is usually the inhibitor here. I found this info on radiantheat.net:

“ A typical force-air furnace system for a 2,000 sq. ft. home will cost you between $3,800.00-$4,500.00 versus a hydronic boiler system costing about $4,000.00-$5,000.00. The average life expectancy of a forced-air furnace may be between 10-25 years where the average boiler system can last between 30-45 years. The cost of filters and other maintenance including, bearings, belts, fans and motors for forced-air systems can dramatically increase the amount of your investment from a service standpoint. Radiant heating systems are less maintenance and more efficient which means less cost to operate.”

When you take into the account that with a radiant system your energy bills will be reduced, the value of your home is increased, and your indoor air quality is improved, the upfront costs should no longer an inhibitor; it should be seen as a worthy investment that will pay back the cost difference plus in the long run.

JTucker53 asks: I’ve worked hard to get my lawn green year after year. I take alot of pride in it. I think it just looks nice. Can you give examples of yards with out grass that look good, too? Thanks.

Hi Tuck. Thanks for the great topic. Aesthetically pleasing (aka beautiful) yards that do not have a blanket of lawn, or have only a small little blanket of lawn are everywhere. Eartheasy.com has a great explanation of what xeriscapes are. I’ll sum it up.

“Xeriscaping refers to the conservation of water through creative landscaping,” and, “Xeriscapes do not have a single look - almost any landscaping style can be achieved. The principles can be applied to all or part of a yard, in any geographic region of North America.”

Toucan Landscaping’s Desert Xeriscape has minimal lawn area, just enough to allow you to let your toes squish in the green. Think about how much lawn you really need to get what you want from it.

A company called Toucan Landscaping has done a great job in areas with extreme drought. But you don’t need to be a desert dweller to have a yard that conserves water (or more exactly, avoids excess watering). Choosing plants that are native to your region is the best way to be sure they will thrive. Afterall, it is their natural environment! You shouldn’t have to water plants that are native species. You can find species that are native to your area at the link to the Native Plant Database mentioned in my post “5 Ways to Go Green in Your Garden“. At your local USDA Cooperative Extension System Office you can also find more useful information on xeriscaping and other responsible landscaping practices.

Happy Gardening!

Beautiful Xeriscape: landscaping that needs little, usually no additional watering. Just the good ol' rain'll do.

I’m always looking for simple ways to cut down on the non-green things that send me for a little guilt trip now and then. I’ve listed ten things I do during the week that help cut down on car trips or reduce my carbon footprint in various ways. They’re easy enough for anyone to do, so I thought I’d share:

1. Take a walk or jog around the neighborhood
   instead of driving to the gym.
   
2. Plan recipes with ingredients that are in-season
   (cuts down on the need to ship food far distances).
   
3. Tune up the car, fill the tires with air (eliminate
   excess forces working against your engine’s fuel
   efficiency).
   
4. Open the windows and shut off the a/c when
   bearable, like early morning and later in the
   evening. Or keep the temp at something more
   moderate, like 70 degrees, and wear less
   clothing. On the other hand, if it’s cold outside,
   bulk up on the sweaters and fleece pants/socks
   and set your thermostat to 65.
5. Buy a Brita filter pitcher or screw-on tap filter
   to reduce the amount of water bottle containers
   you throw away.

   

6. Buy cereal in bags not boxes (further reduce
   packaging waste).
   
7. Keep a few extra canvas grocery shopping
   bags tucked away in your car for unexpected
   trips to the market.

   

8. Time your showers and try to spend less
   time in there (minimize the time you leave
   it running to heat up).

   

9. Extra room in your freezer/fridge?
   (Especially an extra freezer - those are
   sometimes pretty empty.) Fill the excess
   room with old milk jugs filled with water.
   This helps keep the fridge a constant
   temperature and will minimize the demand
   for electricity to continuouslykeep it cold.
10. Turn off your computer at night! I know,
    it’s hard to remember. It’s hard for me. At the
    very least, you can assure you are saving
    energy every time you leave your computer
    running by downloading Verdiem’s free
    PC energy-saving software. It tells you
    how much money you save relevant to the
    time settings you choose to put your
    screen and hard drive to sleep.

    Reader comment: Damjan suggests using
    Green Pulse instead of Verdiem’s Edison
    because it “doesn’t just set your computer’s
    power schemes”. Thanks!

You can certainly make your garden green and less toxic with a little effort. In fact, the most green landscaping choice is one that requires little or no maintenance - that means no watering and no chemical fertilizing. Here are 5 tips for growing a beautiful garden that is self-sustaining and productive.

1. minimize the percentage of your yard that is covered by lawn: Lawns require a lot of upkeep, water, and fertilizer to stay healthy and look good. Not only does this cut into the precious amount of potable water, it pollutes oceans, streams and water tables with high levels of nutrients that destroy ecosystems and available drinking water. *Only 1% of earth’s water is potable (drinkable). In place of lawn, try more regional ground coverings. In drier climates, stone is a good option. In seaside locations, crushed shell is popular. If you still want to keep your lawn or grow a smaller area of lawn, go with a species that is native so it requires less water. If you have sprinklers, have a sensor installed that can gauge when your lawn actually needs watering and when a sprinkling session can be skipped when it rains.
2. grow your own food: By farming your own land, even if it is merely one tomato plant and one cucumber vine, you are helping to reduce your energy consumption. Rather than having those cucumbers and tomatoes shipped from Mexico to your local grocer, they skipped the trip and went straight from your yard to your table. Fruit trees require little attention and will produce large amounts of food for years, while vegetables, berries and herbs require slightly more attention and watering but are well worth the effort. Choosing species of plants that are not genetically altered will almost always assure that your home grown food will taste better than the average food you find in the local grocer. Genetically modified plants (or hybrids) are created by crossing the DNA of two types of plants to produce a variety that has characteristics to either speed up production time or create larger fruit or vegetables with little or no regard for its nutritional value or flavor.
3. use more natural fertilizers: When I was younger, my father and I would go fishing and if we had luck, we ate fish for dinner. The fish head always went in the garden. Sure, it stunk for a few days over by the zucchinis, but those zucchinis were huge and the plant produced plenty to supply the neighborhood with zucchini all summer. Good alternatives to MiracleGro are: natural compost (which you can make yourself); seaweed ; and grass clippings/leaves . All of these things took nutrients to grow, decompose relatively quickly, and put nutrients back into the soil for plants to eat. Your local dump will probably have a compost pile that you can shovel into a barrel and take home for free.
4. plant native species: Plants that originated in your climate have adapted to the temperatures, seasons, sun, rain, soils, etc. of the region. For this reason, they require little to no maintenance and will be stronger and less likely to croak or be eaten by wildlife like squirrels, rabbits or deer. Seasoned gardeners know all too well how expensive their experiments with the foreign plants can be- that spectacular group of flowering bushes that died when transplanted and cost over $7,000- ouch. You can find native species of plants with this nifty tool: Native Plant Database
5. install a rain/grey water collection system: This will enable you to recycle grey water and rain you have collected to water your garden and lawn. If it rains periodically in your region, there is a good chance that you can use recycled water to irrigate a good portion of your landscaping. This will save you money and save your community’s water supply.

Another great reader question!

Q: This is interesting. If the goal is chemical free then why is bleach alright?      -Victoria

A: Victoria, first, thanks for the great question. The answer is this: it is technically a chemical, but it is the lesser of two evils. The greater evil being chemical biocides. Biocides are used by ‘professional mold cleaner uppers’ who were taught how to clean mold in classes funded by the very same companies that try to sell these products and mold testing services. Biocides kill bacteria for long periods of time (some for 6 months) and leave chemical residues on surfaces that are hazardous to humans. This is not what we want to do. Once we clean up mold and stop the source of water (a leak), there will no longer be a mold problem.

Bleach is registered for household use by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Be careful that any household cleaner you buy says that the product is REGISTERED for household use, and does not use any sketchy language, such as “EPA compliant”, because anything other than registered does not mean much of anything. It is not illegal to use this unclear and deceiving wording when marketing a product.

The active ingredient in bleach, sodium hypochlorite, has been heavily diluted in the form that we most commonly buy it: Clorox. It is a sanitizer and disinfectant and kills a wide range of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Sodium hypochlorite is registered for use in households as well as food processing plants, agricultural settings, animal facilities, hospitals, and drinking water supplies. Since bleach is safe to use on porous (laundry, wood) and non-porous (refrigerator door) surfaces, it is useful in many instances. Moreover, the best part about using bleach, as opposed to a chemical biocide, is that bleach DOES NOT continue to kill bacteria and other living organisms long after its applied use. When we use chemicals that continue to kill, they leave residues that are harmful to humans and kill ALL good bacteria.

This is not what we want. While we must use caution while using bleach to clean up mold (or any other time we use it), it still remains one of the best ways to do it. Make sure you follow the directions on the container: ventilate the space you are cleaning to avoid inhaling the strong-smelling bleach, and be sure to test the surface you are cleaning to avoid discoloration that commonly occurs on some surfaces.

For an abundant amount of information on chemical-free mold remediation, reference the free online course at Green-Buildings.Org .

If you need help deciding what type of product to use for your particular application, use the clorox product guide on the right side of this page: Clorox Cleaning Advisor .

Hopefully that answered your question!

-Suzy

Q: I’m in Arizona. My living room has four large windows and the sun just pours in. The place is like an oven. I’ve tried to put an AC unit in a window but it is getting expensive and looks awkward (it looks pretty ugly smack in the middle of my nice view). Any suggestions on what I might do instead of the AC unit? Thank you!

Bart L., AZ

A: Hi Bart,

Instead of trying to counteract the heat gain you are experiencing from the sun through your windows, you might want to try a few things that are more pro-active and will give you better results. Here’s what I suggest:

-External shading devices over windows (such as louvres or canvas awnings)
-Install UV-blocking film on windows: more info
-Mitsubishi Electric’s Mr. Slim ductless A/C unit : if you still require cooling, this is the way to go without having to place a unit in your window

Hope you can use this info! -Suzy

I have been taking a certification course in chemical-free mold remediation and thought that readers would like to know a bit about mold in homes, especially what you should do if you have a mold problem. So…

What should you do? Well, it really depends upon how bad the mold problem is, and if it is affecting someone who lives in your home. If someone is allergic to mold then you need to fix the problem or they will be very sick with serious symptoms until the mold problem ceases. If no one is sick, then you have some options.

A little bit of information about MOLD: There are thousands of kinds of molds, and hundreds of kinds love to grow in homes due to the common materials we use to build homes that mold loves to eat. Mold eats stuff in sheet rock (gypsum board, wall board) and wallpaper paste. It’s cellulose that it’s eating. Mold cannot live without water/moisture. Most likely you have mold because your home has a leak or because cooking, showering, or exposed pipes (like under your kitchen sink) has caused condensation on surfaces where mold can grow easily. If you have a flood, this opens the door for mold to grow, so you need to dry out before 48 hours to prevent growth.

Common places mold can grow include kitchens, bathrooms, attics and basements, but the most dangerous place for mold to be is in your A/C ducting. If mold gets in your air ducts, it readily dispurses microscopic seeds called spores that it uses to reproduce, as well as little other pieces of mold. These pieces and spores contain nasty toxins that can cause mold-sensitive people (like children, people with asthma and respiratory problems, and older people) to have allergic reactions. The reactions can range from minor to VERY BIG DEAL: short term memory loss, neurological problems (brain), problems trying to concentrate (think A.D.D. kids).

If mold is getting into the air in your home, through cracks in the ceiling to allow basement or attic air into living space, or another source, seek a professional for CHEMICAL-FREE MOLD REMEDIATION. In homes, people should not use anything other than common household cleaners to get rid of mold problems. These include Lysol, Tilex, and Chlorox Bleach. Biocides are dangerous and many leave a residue for up to 6 months that ‘keeps on killing’. This is unnecessary and as harmful to people to breathe as mold in some cases! Biocides and other chemicals should never be used in a/c ducting. This spreads the chemicals in the air as well. If you have mold that you cannot afford to properly get rid of, like behind wallpaper, LEAVE THE WALLPAPER ON or leave the mold-infested wall/ceiling cavity alone, wipe any surface mold away with soap and water until you can afford to get rid of the mold problem, and make sure the cavity that has mold is sealed so mold isn’t flying out in air drafts. When you open up a wall or peel wallpaper off to expose the mold, it releases many more toxins into the air, causing sensitive people to get even sicker, and helping the mold spread to other moist parts of your home.

If you think you need immediate help with mold remediation, contact ThinkDwell and inquire about chemical-free mold remediation certified professionals coming to inspect and resolve your mold issues.

Raise your hand if public transportation is not available along your commute.

Maybe you live really far from your office or maybe you live AND work in the suburbs… not so shocking. Or maybe public transportation is available and the thought of taking the bus to work makes you cringe. It is of growing awareness that some people’s standards argue that comfortable sterile air-conditioned car rides are the only way to get to and from work. Since this IS the United States of America and people CAN make their own decisions about the way they WANT to get to work and back home again… there is luckily a comfortable alternative to public transportation out there. It’s nothing new.

It’s called car-pooling. It’s what you used to do back when you needed a DD to get to the bar and back, for cub scout field trips, family camping voyages, vacations, etc. That, of course, was when driving to your vacation five states away was less expensive than flying. Anyway, today, this service is being organized on a much larger scale. Check out these sites that offer searches for carpools along your route. You can also start your own pool so others can join in later. Not only will you be reducing your carbon footprint, you will be saving mucho dinero (a lot of money, for the non-Spanish speakers) on gas. And who knows, you might make a friend or two as well.

eRideShare

carpool connect

iCarpool

Divide the Ride

Carpool Hub

Ride Search

Research suggests that observing the speed limit not only keeps roads safe: it’s helping you save on gas! The US Government’s website www.fueleconomy.gov states that fuel efficiency decreases rapidly after 60 mph. For every 5 mph over 60 you drive, it’s like paying an additional $0.30 for gasoline. For all those commuters bombing down the highway at 80 mph, that’s like paying $4.45 instead of $4.15. At 90 mph, you’re not only breaking the law, you’re breaking your bank at a whopping $4.75 per gallon. SUVs going 90… I don’t even want to get into it.

Moral of the story is, lay off the gas pedal and learn to coast when you can. When your RPMs are up, your fuel usage is up. Watch that little magic meter wand! It’s there for a reason. And one other thing, when you press the break, you lose momentum and waste fuel, so learn to slow down naturally over a longer distance.

Good luck and drive conservatively!