What a brilliant invention this is. I highly recommend checking out NAC Flex if you’re looking for a safer alternative to treated timber. The video covers not only the benefits of the product, but also the dangers of treated timber. The timber is treated with arsenic, among other things. Andrew Duncan, the inventor of NAC Flex points out that treated timber is used in playgrounds, where kids are touching it, and it’s so toxic that it can only be disposed of by burying in a landfill where it continues to leech toxins for generations.

NAC Flex (NAC standing for Natural Alternative Composite) is a safe, viable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly alternative to CCA treated wood.

To read the full article, click here.

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This is a guest post by Cynthia Booth from architecture career opportunities blog.

New Jersey school of architecture professor shows us how to build an environmental-friendly house cheaply

Do you know two NY based designers designed an asymmetrical home with fixed cost of $250,000?

Designers and Jersey City citizens Richard Garber (assistant tutor at NJ-New Jersey Institute of Technology’s University of Architecture and Design in Newark) and Nicole Robertson of GRO Architects in NYC rose to the difficult task of designing and managing the building of a single-family house that’s a real proof of both innovative design and eco-friendly technology.

Denis Carpenter not long ago bought a compact vacant lot and, to accomplish his concern for the environment, wanted a residence that was cost-efficient and easy to maintain.

What’s so exceptional about this home?

1. In the home, on the floor level, radiant heating under the exposed concrete floor heats up the full bathroom and two sleeping rooms.
2. In the attic-like second level, sleek aluminum and stainless steel railings accent the bamboo stairway to the mezzanine, family room and an artfully designed kitchen made with salvaged appliances and cabinetry.
3. Passive a/c strategies like fans and clerestory windows make it possible for occupants to be cool during summer months and warm during winter.
4. The roof includes 260 sq ft of solar panels that provide about 2,000 kilowatts of energy per year to a battery stored in the basement.
5. The roof has a 2-foot-square area planted with drought-resist to harvest rain.

This single family 1,600-square-foot home was built in 6 months and won a 2009 American Institute of Architects merit award and the 2010 Green Building of the Year Award from the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.

Ok now what? How can you convert your home into an eco-friendly home without investing too much dollars?

If you’re renovating a home, execute an energy review first to help you determine what energy efficiency changes should and can be made to your home. In this way you’ll analyze how much energy your home consumes.

My favorite eco-friendly technique is the passive solar cooling/heating design.

Passive solar usually means that your home’s windows, walls, and floors can be designed to collect, store, and distribute power from the sun in the form of heat in the winter season and reject solar heat in the summer.

Existing homes can be adapted or “retrofitted” to passively collect and store solar heat too.

The following 5 aspects constitute a comprehensive passive solar home design:

The Collector – The area through which sunlight enters the building (usually windows).

The Absorber – The hard, darkened surface of the storage element. Sunlight hits the surface and is absorbed as heat.

The Thermal Mass – The materials that retain or store the heat produced by sunlight below or behind the absorber surface.

The Distributor – The system by which solar heat circulates from the collection and storage points to different areas of the house.

The Controller – Roof overhangs may be used to shade the aperture area during summer season or Thermostats that signal a fan to turn on.

About the Author – Cynthia Booth publishes articles for the architecture career opportunities blog. It’s a nonprofit internet site dedicated to give help for young designers who need resources for their careers. With this she would like to boost the consideration on eco-friendly home design and change the general public perception of energy efficiency.

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Over previous decades, the amount of products available for us to clean our clothes with has grown in staggering proportions. Laundry detergents not only wash our clothes, but now they brighten, bleach, soften and deodorize them. They do a downright amazing job at getting out a good amount of the stains that we manage to get on our clothing.

So now we have cleaner clothes, but at what price? In an effort to improve the cleaning power of these laundry detergents, all sorts of dyes and chemicals have been added to these products. Then to hide the nasty smell from these chemicals, fragrances are added.

With this increase in the availability of a wide variety of laundry products has also come an increase in the number of cases of allergic reactions to those products. Many of the ingredients used, are known allergens, and will trigger an allergic reaction in those individuals who are sensitive to them.

Allergic reactions to these detergents are especially problematic for people who have chronic conditions such as eczema. Any one ingredient in these laundry products can cause severe rashes, and itching. Babies and young children are also at risk for developing skin problems because their immune systems are not fully developed. Pediatricians have long recommended that hypo-allergenic laundry products be used for that age group.

So just what is a hypo-allergenic laundry product? Very simply, they are free of any know allergenic ingredients, and are made from natural, environmentally substances, that are known to be safe for everyone. Choosing such a product is not as easy as it seems.

Government regulations are pretty lax when it comes to labeling products. A product labeled “natural” may contain only one “natural” ingredient to all that designation. So the addition of plant derived products such as aloe vera, flower extracts or botanical ingredient, will allow the detergent to be labeled “natural”, but it still may contain a host of harsh chemicals.

A rule of thumb when choosing a laundry product, or for anything else you purchase, is to read the label. If you cannot pronounce the ingredients, they are probably not good for you, so stay clear. You should also avoid products that have a generic term such as soil-suspending agents, as well as fragrance. Manufacturers get away with putting some nasty stuff in products by claiming they are “proprietary secrets” and will not disclose what their products actually contain.

When looking too choose a hypo-allergenic laundry detergent, it is usually safe to choose products that are made from coconut or palm oil as their base. Another choice would be products made from soap bark which is derived from a tree that is native to Chili. The soapbark tree contains a rich supply of saponins which naturally creates a soapy lather in water.

Avoid products that list “fragrance” as an ingredient and opt for those with essential oils listed. Natural, biodegradable aromatics are less apt to cause a skin reaction in sensitive individuals. Other relatively safe ingredients are borax (sodium borate) or sodium carbonate which is also known as washing soda. Both of these products do a good job of cleaning clothes, and unless ingested are non-irritating to the skin.

Choosing to use a hypo-allergenic laundry detergent is a wise decision, even for those who do not suffer allergies. The more products that contain harsh chemicals that we eliminate from daily use, the healthier or lives will become. As a bonus, we are also helping the environment by keeping these toxic chemicals out of our water supply and soil.

Next time you go shopping for a laundry detergent, give a hypo-allergenic one a try. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well they clean.

Every day we experience weather changes and world catastrophes caused by global warming, erosion, and other ecological changes the Earth has experienced over the past century. Complete rain forests have been destroyed, never to grow back. The planet is dying – poisoned by all the toxic waste and pollution we have released upon it.

It is time for all of us to do something to save what little is left of the planet’s resources, to try and give back to the Earth all that it has given to us. For our children and their children, we must change our ways so that future generations have a cleaner world where they can breathe unpolluted air and drink clean water. This attitude is called “going green” and it is sweeping the planet like wildfire.

There are easy steps anyone can take to start going green. Recycling is one way to help, by placing plastic, metal, glass, and organic waste separated into different garbage bins. Using the minimal amount of water necessary to shower, brush your teeth, and shave, avoiding the use of aerosol sprays, walking more and driving less, are all ways to go green.

Doing these small things won’t save the Earth, or us from killing ourselves with polluted air, dirty water and the sun’s ultraviolet rays, but if enough people around the world join these efforts, we can have a positive impact on our environment and give future generations a more stable platform from which to solve future problems.

Taking small steps now, changing old wasteful and harmful habits into more sustainable habits sets the foundations for the shift in mind-set that will ultimately be needed to save the planet. It sets a good example for those around you, your children, family and friends.

Over the years human beings have been a major force in the disappearance of many plant and animal species from the face of the Earth. These life forms – birds, insects, mammals, and plants – have disappeared because of environmental destruction and humankind encroaching on their habitats. Who knows, one of these extinct species may have been the cure for cancer or Alzheimer’s disease, but we’ll never know because they are gone forever. It is time to start protecting what is left of this planet we call home.

Going green is not a choice anymore, it is a responsibility. That is why it is so important to try and do the small things that can help change the outlook of the planet. In fact, many of the things we can do, we actually already do! Just a little thing such as sorting our garbage into what can be recycled, or using less water, and generally consuming fewer resources does not require much effort on our part. You can even make a case that using your car less may cause you to exercise more. There is no great sacrifice involved in going green at home, but it’s a numbers game, much can be accomplished if many of us join this effort.

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There has been, and continues to be, much conversation about conserving energy in your home. Conservation is necessary to ensure there are enough resources for our future and the future of the next generations.

When the discussions about energy conservation began, people were overwhelmed and confused – to incorporate energy conservation in homes seemed complicated and expensive. As time passed, costs decreased and families are now able to incorporate energy-saving tools for much less money. Also, we have become more educated about conserving energy; it’s becoming a way of life.

Following are 13 steps that you can do to conserve energy, money, and green your home.

1. Unplug anything in your house that you are not using or have finished using for the day – examples – lamps in unused rooms, hair dryer after using for the day, televisions, coffee pots, toasters – the savings add up quickly.
2. Install or learn to use a programmable thermostat for heating and cooling.
3. Turn off lights each time you leave a room.
4. Contact your utility company to set up a free assessment of your energy usage and how to use energy more effectively. Utility companies are generally set up to render this service at no cost.
5. Change out standard light bulbs for energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs that have a longer life. These light bulbs have become more cost efficient – watch for sales or rebates from your utility company. If everyone in the United States replaced all their standard bulbs for compact fluorescent bulbs this would be the equivalent of taking 1,000,000 cars off the road.
6. Determine if your utility company has different rates for using your utilities at different times of day; e.g., on-peak and off-peak hours.
7. Replace appliances with energy star products.
8. Recycle everything you can think of – cans, plastic bottles, wrapping paper, newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes, etc. If your community does not have a recycling program, contact them to see if one can be started – if not, get creative – recycle anyway.
9. Run dishwasher when the dishwasher is full of dishes versus half full.
10. Buy and use BPA-free water bottles instead of buying water in plastic bottles.
11. Turn off your computers at night versus putting them to sleep.
12. Keep your tires inflated always; you will save money on fuel and go farther per mile.
13. Use cloth napkins during your meals versus paper napkins.

This is a short list of ideas for greening your home. It does not take a lot of extra work or money but it takes living life consciously to determine where you can begin to be conservative. Everything you do will make a difference. If you begin to incorporate the above suggestions, you will make an impact on the life and quality of our planet.

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Heirloom seeds have made a dramatic comeback in recent years. It is said that there are more than 5,000 heirloom tomato varieties alone. But heirloom seeds are much more than tomatoes, each variety has its own life story. Each seed has been sown, cultivated, harvested, saved, and passed on, often for hundreds of years, down through the generations.

Some seeds have mysterious tales. Others have been smuggled out of native countries in the hems of ladies dresses or the inside of shoes, to end up with their owners in a new land. Whatever their story, these precious seeds are now stealing the limelight from their F1 hybrid cousins.

What makes heirloom seeds special?

Heirloom seeds can actually be saved from season to season. They are often ‘true’ to their original ancestor species, having been lovingly planted and cultivated year by year with little or no cross-pollination from other similar varieties.

This is what makes heirloom seeds special – a tiny seed is cast into the soil, weighing no more than a spec of dust, only to emerge 100 days later as a magnificent vegetable weighing more than one thousand times its original weight. Then nature comes full circle and creates seeds that weigh no more than a speck of dust, and the cycle goes on.

There is one dramatic difference between heirloom seeds and F1 hybrids – this cycle of life only pertains to heirloom seeds. Hybrid seeds can only manage one season of growth. The seeds they produce are either sterile (non-germinating seeds) or at best create plants that do not look like their parents or do not bear fruit.

F1 hybrids have been cross pollinated to make ‘super species’ of cultivars – either grown to produce more fruit, or produce early or longer. This modification has come at a price – inferior flavor, weaker plant lines and more susceptibility to disease.

F1 hybrids essential reduce the bio-diversity of our plant life, and when it comes to food crops, that’s playing a dangerous game indeed. Heirloom seeds on the other hand, and the people who raise and save seed from them, are helping to protect the bio-diversity that we have.

Try something – plant one hybrid and one heirloom seed of the same variety side by side and, provided you supply the correct growing conditions, you’ll see the difference. The F1 hybrid will burst into life with wild abandon, produce an abundance of fruit, then die without a thought of tomorrow. The heirloom however, will grow slowly and steadily. It will take longer to produce a strong framework on which it will bear fruit, and then seed. It is as though the heirloom plant knows it has to pace itself to produce viable seeds for the next season and the continuation of its species. This way of growing produces vegetables and fruits with flavors so divine, like nothing you can buy in a store.

Another distinct advantage of heirloom seeds is that, because they are ‘true’ to their ancestor varieties, they contain more good nutrients than F1 hybrids. They also come in wild shapes and dramatic colors like yellow and purple carrots, deep purple beans, lime green cauliflower and red Brussels sprouts.

Each heirloom seed variety has a life story which is part of its mystique and this story is often handed over along with the seeds.

Unfortunately, over the last 60 years the majority of seed saving has been left to commercial business and it has been reported that one thousand heirloom varieties a year are lost forever. An heirloom gardener will cherish their seeds because they know that they may never find that particular variety again and that one failed crop can wipe out an entire cultivar.

Heirloom seeds are meant for sharing, but you need to take the responsibility seriously, sow and save your seeds with pride, and keep them going for a hundred more years.

Have you considered going green? Going green is essentially to save our planet from the obvious doom ahead (if nothing is done). Going green is a term that has picked up a lot of steam, and is sure to continue growing in the years to come, because awareness will keep growing. Unfortunately, some people just do not know how important it is to go green as well as live a green life. That being said, learning how to go green in the comfort of your own home or your workplace is not as hard as you may think.

Here are several of the best ways to go green at home:

1. Save electricity. There are many ways you can do this including switching to compact fluorescent, buying energy saving appliances, and turning off lights and electronics when not in use (power strips make this simple).
2. Only run the dishwasher, washer, and dryer when you have a full load. By doing this, you save both water and electricity. Of course, energy efficient appliances also help.
3. Use a low flow shower head. Contrary to popular belief, a low flow head can still offer strong water pressure. Why waste water if you do not have to?
4. Recycle. This is the cheapest and easiest way of going green at home. All you need is two garbage cans and willingness to separate your trash. Does it get any easier than that?
5. Properly dispose of all hazardous wastes, regardless of the process that it takes. This includes oil, paint, cleaners, batteries, pesticides, and cleaners. Do not simple dump these items around your home or nearby sewer. Instead, read the label to determine how to properly dispose of them.

Some people never think about going green because they do not believe they can do enough to help the earth – they are sadly mistaken. Even the smallest actions can go a long way in improving the environment for you and those around you. When you decide to go green at home you are playing a special role aimed at saving the world, soon enough you will love this way of living and may decide to expand in anyway possible.

Individuals, Businesses and the world in general must understand the importance of going green and gradually reduce the negative impact of ozone depletion, climate change, rising sea levels, melting icebergs and so on the earth. It seems overwhelming but we can get this done, staring from our homes!

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When you go to the grocery store, do you drop by the organic food section or walk past it? Do you know what is the difference between the food on the organic aisle and the other aisles? Simply put, organic food is free of chemicals, antibiotics, and growth hormones. In other words, they are truly 100% natural.

There are 3 main reasons why people eat organic food. Let’s take a look at what they are.

1. Better Health
   For most people, the biggest motivator for switching to organic food is that it’s better for the body and health. Feeding your body with food laden with chemicals and pesticides puts you at a higher risk of developing health problems such as cancer. It is disconcerting to know that eating an average apple means eating about 9 pesticides, and this is after you’ve washed it. With organic food, you can be sure you are not harming your body with such toxic substances. Some say that organic foods contain more nutrition. However, this is still up for debate. A recent study by the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Copenhagen do not support that claim. On the other side of the coin, a US study by the Organic Centre found organic food to have 25% higher nutrient levels compared to conventional food.
2. Better Environment
   Organic farmers do not utilize chemical fertilizers and pesticides to produce their yield. Instead, they use eco-friendly methods such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control. Organic farming may not produce as much yield as conventional farming but they contribute to soil and water conservation as well as reduce pollution. Certain pesticides and chemical fertilizers can damage the soil and nearby surroundings. By choosing to eat organic food, you are indirectly doing a small part in protecting the environment.
3. It Tastes Better
   Does organic food really taste better? The difference in taste is more pronounce in certain foods, not all. Many people have commented that food such as chicken, bananas, strawberries, celery, milk and carrots does taste better when they are organic.

According to a Harris poll dated October 2007, a majority of people believe organic food benefits the environment and health. However, the percentage of Americans buying organic food “all or most of the time” is only 7%.

Approximately 30% buy organic food occasionally. Why is that? Organic food may have its benefits but not many are willing to pay twice or three times more for it. The good news is that there are ways to avoid blowing your budget when buying organic food:

• Buy in clubs or co-ops
• Buy directly from farmers
• Buy in bulk
• Buy store brands instead of name brands
• Plant your own organic garden
• Buy in season
• Don’t have to switch over to organic food 100%. The following fruits and vegetables are listed by Environmental Working Group (EWG) as the top 12 most contaminated: peach, apple, sweet bell pepper, celery, nectarine, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrot and pear. So give priority to these foods when you are deciding which to buy or grow organically.

So, is switching to organic food a good move? Yes. If you think so too, then don’t hesitate to make the switch. It may be pricier but there are ways to keep the expenditure down.

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Today, global warming has been a prevalent problem in the world. Because of this, people are seeking ways of cutting the smoke emissions from the Earth that comes from cars, factories, and other industries. The goal is to help impede the process of the greenhouse effect that causes our planet to increase in temperature. One brilliant idea that man invented is the cargo bike.

It is basically a bicycle reinvented. From the former plain design of this eco-friendly transportation, it was redesigned with the functionality to carry a load and even people! In the United Kingdom, this kind of transportation has been well-used by the people, especially those who have little children. They call this type of cargo bike the Dutch ‘bakfiets’ design, which has the capacity to accommodate two to three small children in the cargo area. They use this vehicle to get their children to school.

Riding the cargo bike can become a fun and bonding activity for the family while traveling along the road. The use of cargo bikes is widespread in flat areas of Southeast UK. It is also beginning to become appealing in hilly areas with the future marketing of electric versions of these vehicles.

This vehicle can also be used for other purposes like sight-seeing in the park, picking up grocery items at the market, and transporting goods. Cargo bikes are the perfect vehicle to use if you are doing business in town and there are goods needed to be delivered. This is because it has an additional benefit of not having to pay for gas, which cuts down the expenses. Also, cargo bikes are generally cheaper than cars.

The design of the cargo bike can be personalized, depending on the purpose to which it is being used. The structure and the size of the cargo can be adjusted to the size of the load. Designs and other accessories can also be added to the body of the bicycle, like infant seats and straps for the cargo load, to name a few.

Aside from it being eco-friendly, it also has a therapeutic effect to the riders. It brings them closer to nature compared to being inside the closed door of an exhaust emitting automobile. It can also be good for your health, because biking is an excellent form of exercise. It also makes transportation easy and stress free, because there is the chance to see places in a fresh new way.

Pesticides are harmful to us and the environment. There are more than 9,000 different acceptable pesticides that have been approved by the FDA. You may not be able to see, smell or taste them, but unless you eat organically-grown food, you’re consuming them. And unfortunately these pesticides don’t harm only the pests they are intended for. They can pose health risks for us too.

Pesticides can:

• be carcinogenic
• cause infertility
• cause organ damage
• cause birth defects
• cause neurological problems

… and more.

The big advantage of growing your own food, is that you can have the freshest, tastiest food for a fraction of the cost of store bought. Now if you could also grow your food organically you would also have the healthiest food available, you won’t be contributing to the environmental damage caused by chemical pesticides and you’d save even more money, since organically grown food is usually more expensive.

Just because you don’t use chemical pesticides, doesn’t mean you have to put up with insect damage to your garden either. There are many tried and true natural pesticide alternatives that work just as well or better. You probably have the ingredients for most of them in your kitchen already. Here are just a few to get you started.

4 Natural Pesticides You Can Make At Home

1. The Beer Trap: Slugs and snails can decimate a garden literally overnight if they get out of control. Luckily, they also love a popular human beverage – beer. They don’t mind if it’s flat, either. You can use a bowl, or even better re-use a discarded jar with the lid removed. Pour some beer into your container and place it near a bed you want to protect overnight. The slugs and snails, attracted to the beer, will crawl in to have a drink and drown. The next day, tip it out and repeat.
2. Dish Soap Spray: This is one of the simplest natural pesticides you can make. It works well on mites, aphids, whitefly, mealy bugs and scale insects. Just mix a cup of biodegradable liquid dish soap, such as natural castile soap, into a gallon of water. Pour some into a spray bottle and use it to mist your plants. Only use it when necessary to keep pests under control, because it can slow down the growth of your fruits and vegetables. Since it’s effective, and doesn’t have a strong odor it’s ideal for use on your indoor plants as well.
3. Garlic & Cayenne Pepper Spray: This spray protects against slugs and insect infestation. To one gallon of water add one minced/mashed garlic bulb, one minced/mashed onion and either 3 fresh cayenne peppers, minced (if you have them) or 4 tablespoons of dried cayenne powder. Let it steep for 24 hours. Strain out all the pulp, so it won’t clog your spray bottle, add 1/4 cup biodegradable liquid dish soap and stir it in. Fill your spray bottle and apply where needed. The pulp can be buried around the edges of your garden beds to help repel the insects. The oil in the cayenne will burn if it comes in contact with your skin or mucus membranes (like your nose and throat), so be sure to use eye protection, gloves, and use caution when working with this spray.
4. Orange Spray: This spray is great for getting rid of soft-bodied insect pests such as aphids, mealy bugs, and can also be used indoors and out as an ant repellant. Save your orange peels, if they are organically grown, all the better. Use 2 cups of boiling water, and one teaspoon of biodegradable liquid soap (such as castile soap) per orange peel. Pour the boiling water over the peel and let it steep for 24 hours, then strain. Add the liquid soap and pour into spray bottles.

All these recipes use safe, common household ingredients. They’re inexpensive and easy to make, and there is a certain satisfaction and sense of self-sufficiency that comes from making your own natural products. So this summer, instead of tipping out the stale beer after the barbecue or tossing out those orange peels try using them to make your own natural pesticides. Your garden, and your planet, will love you for it.

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