Your government wants you to save energy and they are getting ready to help you do it.

The buzz from Washington is a “Cash for Caulkers” program that puts your home front and center, and you can bet the Energy Audit will be a central part of it. Many local utilities and cities have already made energy audits available. A home energy audit provides an invaluable diagnostic of the two largest energy and comfort issues of a home: air infiltration through the air barrier and heat loss/ heat gain through insulation. The homes shell and its insulation are very important, but for years now have not been properly regarded.

Things have changed and with building science and good diagnostic tools we can find where your home is not performing so we can then do something about it. Energy Audits will be free (or close to it) for almost anybody in the states in the coming year. You call up your local utility or municipality and they will happily send out a RESNET or BPI certified energy auditor to your home. The auditor will schlep out a big fan which slips into an adjustable frame that fills the front door. In short order they will adjust the fan to create a precise pressure difference (50 pascals as the control) between the outside and inside.

Now the science begins.

What they are looking for is the volume of air entering your home through all the hidden holes in the outside walls. They measure the air changes per hour and use this to tell how leaky your home really is. Congratulations you now have a number. This number doesn’t mean much though until you find those leaks. This is where building science meets building sleuth. A well trained auditor has a lot of tricks on how to find those holes, missing or inadequate insulation, and other building envelope problems.

First thing they need to do is ask about your experience of comfort in the home. A cold or hot room, a noisy furnace, drafty stair wells are all signs of the hidden life of wasted energy. Your experience of discomfort is a great indicator of what the problems are. A good building scientist knows what to test for but a good energy sleuth knows how to extract the critical information. The auditor then will walk through the home looking for air infiltration building issues. The big problems are usually where you never are, the attic and basement or crawl space. If you set the blower to blow air into the home and stick your head into the attic you may see insulation dance around the holes in the ceiling or top of the walls. A smoke stick in the basement can quickly show the rim joist leaking air, even if they are insulated. Electrical outlets are a prime candidate for cold air to make a break for it. This is good news. “Cash for Caulkers” implies that we are not just testing a home but doing something about it. Foam, caulk and air barriers are extraordinary but humble guards on the quest for energy efficiency and comfort. Now that the crime scene is laid out they go into attics, crawl spaces, electrical boxes and hidden corners across America to protect you from high energy prices and according to some politicians, “To stop the terrorists” (ok, whatever it takes.)

A good energy auditor is now not just a scientist and sleuth but also the judge- laying out a sentence to ban the infiltration of air into the home. Maybe you already heard the news about our president recently calling insulation “sexy”. President Obama exclaimed “Here’s what’s sexy about it: saving money. Think about it this way: If you haven’t upgraded your home yet, it’s not just heat or cool air that’s escaping- its energy and money that you are wasting. If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into the atmosphere, you’d try to figure out how you were going to keep that. But that’s exactly what’s happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings.” Energy Auditor, patriot.

Article courtesy of Baosol Adaptive Sustainable Building Consulting

THIS IS A TIME FOR RENEWAL.

This is a time when we discard our failures and frustrations of the past year and start over. So for all of you out there who want to renew your commitment to greening your life, GO FOR IT.

Let me help you, let all of us at EcoPlum help you. Send us your questions, concerns, let us help you find resources, tell us what you would like to read about, to have us investigate for you, tell us what kinds of products you would like to access, think of us as your personal green trainers. Let’s start by giving you a list of ways to start: Here are 10 suggested Personal Sustainability Practices (PSPs) with some resources to get you started. Make a pledge to take on one, or more, of these for 2010. Or make up your own.

PSP #1: Stop buying plastic disposable water bottles. Carry around your own reusable bottle in your backpack, briefcase, shoulder bag, or purse.

PSP #2: Stop using disposable plastic shopping bags. Carry around at least one Chicobag with you – these definitely fit easily into your pocketbook, briefcase, even pocket.

PSP #3: Recycle at home and at work. Check out our “What do do with your stuff” page for where and how to recycle different types of materials.

PSP #4: Stop using disposable coffee cups. Carry around your own reusable coffee mug. Ask for a ceramic “for here” cup if you plan to hang around the coffee shop to enjoy your coffee.

PSP #5: Stop buying wrapping paper – use colorful newspaper, children’s art projects, reusable gift bags or cloth for your gifts.

PSP #6: Stop using disposable wrap and bags for your kids’ lunches. Instead purchase reusable bags and lunch materials.

PSP #7: Eat less meat. Reducing the amount of meat you eat can have a significant impact on the environment – methane from cows is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

PSP #8: Take public transportation whenever you are in a city. Check this out for a guide of public transportation options in your city.

PSP #9: Ask yourself “do I really need it?” when you are about to buy a new appliance. If you do need it, make sure it is Energy Star rated.

PSP #10: Stop using paper plates and utensils. If absolutely necessary, buy ones made of recycled and biodegradable material.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful. We are here to help you every step of the way. Please share your PSP pledges with us. And stay tuned for ways to measure your progress. HAPPY NEW YEAR. Hoping you find a good balance of peace, happiness, contribution to society and personal fulfillment in 2010.

Post courtesy of EcoPlum in New York, NY

About Eco-freindly Body Shops
I know we all think of the obvious ways to save on the greenhouse affects we put out there, but have you ever thought the paint you put on your vehicle has an impact? In fact, a shop the size of ours, about average size, saves about roughly 80% of harmful VOC’s (volatile organic compounds)by using the eco-friendly waterborne paint. I have been told, that it’s like taking approximately 12,000 vehicle off the road per year!!!! Can you beleive that? Just from the paint we put on our vehicles! So if you are in need of auto repairs or just auto refinishing, please look for a shop that uses waterborne paint. It does matter. We also recycle things like plastic bumper covers, so they can be repaired back to new and re-used, same with broken headlamps, etc… If you live in the area, check us out! We would be glad to restore your vehcile back to it’s pre-accident condition, restore your piece of mind, and restore our planet…all at the same time.

Article courtesy of: Accurate Collision in Livonia, MI

I made a happy observation at my weekly community yoga session this morning.  Not one person in the group of 20 or so in attendance brought a disposable, plastic water bottle.  I counted about 8 reusable stainless steel water bottles of various shapes, colors and sizes, but not one plastic – an exciting first!!

You may have read this month’s Oprah Magazine, which credits the media for raising public awareness of what they called the “Plastic Problem”  described as the growing concern about the toxic plastic chemicals entering our bodies and disrupting our endocrine systems.  News coverage and information is helping consumers to become more aware of this than ever before.

This may well be true (and of course since it was printed in Oprah, it undoubtedly is), but in the case of my plastic-free by happenstance yoga class, I think there is another factor at work as well.   Yogis, parents, friends of friends and friends of the earth –all of us share a growing concern for the future of the planet.  The fact is, the chemicals used to make plastic are among the most toxic on earth.  And  unfortunately they’re not so easy to “throw away”  –  since it doesn’t biodegrade, almost every bit of plastic ever manufactured is still right here with us.

Healthy and eco-friendly go hand-in-hand beautifully.  Whether you attribute it to media attention, health consciousness or our growing concern for the state of the environment, progressive changes are taking place.  That’s a reason to celebrate!

3 Great Ways to Green your Fitness Practice

1.        Switch to a reusable water bottle.   No surprises here, but more important facts:  regular bottled water users who invest in a reusable bottle and will save an average of $200 per year.  Studies have shown reusable bottled water drinkers consume more water, making this the healthy choice all around.  Worried about the safety or quality of your tap water?  Even though over 90% of municipal water meets EPA standards, those tricky plastic bottle manufacturers have done a good job with scare tactics that leave people uncertain.  Click here for the facts:  http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/faq/faq.html

2.       Use a toxin-free mats and accessories to ensure you’re not breathing the unhealthy fumes which are unfortunately present in 90% of the yoga gear currently on the market.   Start now to make your wellness routine even healthier in 2010! Look for yoga mats and blocks made without use of latex, rubber, BPA, Lead, Phthalates, Dioxins, PVC (which means no ‘new-mat’ chemical smell!), and biologically toxic chemicals.

3.       Carpool or bike to practice.  Find a yoga buddy and set up a carpool schedule.  You’re more likely to stick to your fitness routine if your integrate your participation with of a group of any size.  I’m taking my own advice on this one.  After several unsuccessful attempts to recruit a neighbor to join my class, I’ve posted a ride sharing request on the yoga center community bulletin board.  The bonus – a chance to meet like-minded new friends too!

About the author:

Elizabeth Borelli is the Founder of Nubius Organics, an eco-conscious mom, and an environmental activist. She began www.nubiusorganics.com to bring her knowledge of safe, healthy alternatives to a greater audience, and to share valuable  information, resources, and green solutions with the public and the media

Resources:

Plastic Facts:  Oprah.com:  http://myown.oprah.com/search/index.html?q=plastics

Toxin-Free Reusable Bottles:  Nubius Organics: http://www.nubiusorganics.com/Water-Bottles-C1.aspx

Tap Water Facts: http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/faq/faq.html

Chemical Free Yoga Mats: http://www.nubiusorganics.com/Yoga-Pilates-Safe-Mat–C457.aspx

(January 26, 2010) Santa Cruz, CA - On January 19th, after more than a year of continuous controversy, the FDA has released a statement naming the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) as a safety risk, allocating $30 million for independent research for a first-time, non-industry-funded study  in an effort to learn more about the health risks associated with BPA.  Bisphenol A is especially prevalent in baby bottles, and while consumer pressure and declining sales of BPA plastics have spurred the six largest, plastic baby bottle manufacturers to voluntarily remove BPA from baby bottles sold in the U.S., the chemical is still widely prevalent in consumer food and beverage containers sold around the world.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is one of the world’s highest production-volume chemicals, and has been used for 40 years in plastic items such as baby bottles, food and beverage containers, and dental sealants. Independent studies have shown adverse health effects of BPA occur on the brain and reproductive system, as well as create metabolic diseases in laboratory animals.

In the human body, BPA mimics the estrogen hormone, and studies have tied the BPA compound to reproductive abnormalities and the increased risk of both cancer and diabetes. Infants and children are thought to be particularly vulnerable to the BPA compound because their reproductive organs and ability to metabolize chemicals are not fully formed.  In a statement in 2008, the FDA said BPA was safe in materials that come into contact with food, to which  critics accused the agency of using outdated studies that had been sponsored by the chemical industry, so the new cautionary statement by the FDA is a huge step in the right direction of consumer safety over corporate pressure.

There was considerable media coverage of the BPA baby bottle controversy last year. Scientist and expert Frederick vom Saal explains the situation like this: “The Japanese industry voluntarily removed BPA from can linings 10 years ago and thus, were able to reduce exposure to BPA by 50 percent.  Last year, Congress asked companies in the United States to take similar actions; however, companies have made no move toward compliance.”  In spite of this and tarried by pressure from chemical corporation lobbyists, the FDA still has no official plan to ban BPA from consumer goods.

The new FDA position is consistent with that of the National Toxicology Program made two years ago.  To avoid this health risk all together, choose BPA-free plastics, and avoid putting all plastics into the microwave and dishwasher, where they can release dangerous chemicals when heated, or degrade in the heat and excessive moisture.

Safe plastics that use polyethylene (#1, #2, and #4) and polypropylene (#5) require the use of less toxic additives. They also are non-chlorinated. Avoid choosing products that use polyvinyl chloride (#3), polystyrene (#6), and polycarbonate (#7) which typically contains bisphenol A (BPA) and is found in baby bottles and/or sippy cups.

About the author: Elizabeth Borelli is the Founder of Nubius Organics, an eco-conscious mom, and an environmental activist. She began www.nubiusorganics.com to bring her knowledge of safe, healthy alternatives to a greater audience, and to share valuable  information, resources, and green solutions with the public, the media, and parents to be.

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Trees, Water & People and StoveTec are raising money to deliver clean-burning stoves to Haitians in need!

The two organizations have combined resources to get Rocket stoves to Haiti as soon as possible, with the first shipment of 432 stoves arriving tomorrow. These stoves burn up to 70% cleaner than the open fire, substantially reduce deforestation, and provide a healthier environment for cooks and their families. Since the devastating 7.0 earthquake hit two weeks ago, the need for fuel-efficient stoves in Haiti has elevated dramatically. With these stoves, Haitians will be able to sanitize water and provide hot meals to their families in a safe, efficient and healthy manner.

We are pleased to have the UN World Food Program distributing the first shipment of Rocket stoves for Trees, Water & People tomorrow, but we can’t stop there!

We have begun a joint fundraising drive to send a second shipment of StoveTec’s 2-door Charcoal/Firewood hybrid stoves to Haiti. Our goal is to fill a 20 foot container with 1,344 stoves. For only $20, you can provide a full service solution to a family in need, including the stove, transportation, warehousing, as well as stove placement and tracking. Please join us in this important cause! Please visit www.stovetec.net to learn more about StoveTec’s work. For more information about Trees, Water & People please visit www.treeswaterpeople.org.

TO DONATE: https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=11882

Post courtesy of Trees, Water & People

Clean Air Lawn Care to Give Away a Franchise with Opportunity 2010

Fort Collins, CO – Clean Air Lawn Care has officially launched Opportunity 2010, a once in a lifetime opportunity for a deserving individual to win a Clean Air Lawn Care franchise with the tools provided for success.

Clean Air Lawn Care founder and CEO, Kelly Giard, was recently named Entrepreneur Magazine’s Emerging Entrepreneur 2009, an incredible honor and a testament to the changing face of business – a commitment to being green, setting high ethical and environmental standards, and being an example to others. Opportunity 2010 is a way for one entrepreneur to ‘pay it forward’ to another entrepreneur, enabling them to be successful, while spreading the positive model of sustainable business.

Our country is emerging from an economically difficult 2009. There are many hard-working Americans who are currently recovering from unexpected events. At the same time, we are undergoing a climate crisis and a need to re-examine our values as a nation toward living and working sustainably. Opportunity 2010 is designed to give a 2nd chance to someone who has the skills, passion and determination to be successful and do something positive for themselves and their environment, but who may not have the means.

The ideal candidate for Opportunity 2010 will be business-savvy, environmentally minded, and passionate about improving his/her life and the environment in their community. The ideal candidate also will have had a challenging 2009, financially or otherwise. The candidates will be chosen based on an online submission process which will culminate with a public vote among 5 finalists. The winner will be announced March 18 2010.

Opportunity 2010 details, submission form, and contest timeline can be found at: http://www.cleanairlawncare.com/opp2010.html. The deadline for initial submissions is February 5, 2010 at midnight MST. From the initial submissions, 15 semi-finalists will be chosen to submit a video. From these, 5 finalists will be chosen and their videos posted online for a public vote.

About Clean Air Lawn Care, Inc.

The company is the nation’s leading environmentally friendly lawn care service.  It uses electric mowing equipment powered by wind energy overnight and solar energy on the go with its truck mounted solar system.  It also offers organic treatment – fertilization and weed control.  A typical client has an annual contract where Clean Air mows weekly and treats every 6 weeks to deliver a beautifully manicured, lush lawn with the highest regard for personal health and the environment. Currently there are 27 territories across the US from Seattle to San Francisco to Raleigh to Chicago.
www.cleanairlawncare.com

For further information, please contact Kelly Giard, CEO at (888) 969-3669.

__________________

For Immediate Release
Media Release (1 page)

January 18, 2010
CONTACT: Kelly Giard
Clean Air Lawn Care
(888) 969-3669
kelly@cleanairlawncare.com

Attention Writers and Bloggers!

Would you like to have your writing featured on the GenGreen Life Blog?

GenGreen is looking for articles and news stories related to the environmental or LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) community.
If your article or story is chosen, the piece will be featured on The GenGreen Life Blog, GenGreenLife.com and possibly our monthly Greenzine newsletter.

The GenGreen Life Blog features in-house articles, as well as stories contributed by leading individuals and experts in the environmental community. We watched traffic to the blog more than triple in 2009 and are looking to drive more awareness by offering a even more diverse and robust amount of information for our visitors. For established and aspiring writers, GenGreenLife.com wants to give you a new publishing platform that comes with the opportunity to potentially become a regular contributor to GenGreenLife.com. We may also use your articles within our Environment 101 sections of our sites as well as newsletters. If you are selected as a regular contributor, we will post your bio and photo on our site with other information about you or your business.

We are open to using previously published pieces and we welcome our writers to place their contributions used on GenGreen on their own blogs and websites as they desire. We are interested in writing that has a national appeal, but are also interested in local pieces as well, which we can publish specifically for that selected audience.

Note: All requests MUST come from the original creator. We will not republish pieces without a direct request from the original writer.

Please visit here for more information.

In the ongoing battle to improve the way we manage CO2 emissions, some scientists at MIT proposed a unique system that uses solid oxide fuels to produce power from fuel without burning it. Using existing technology, they would be able to provide electricity with zero carbon emissions, at a cost comparable or less than current natural gas plants.

Post-doctoral associate Thomas Adams and Paul I. Barton, the Lammont du Pont Professor of Chemical Engineering joined forces and found a way to combine existing components with under developed technology and shape it into a novel configuration that illicits electricity with zero carbon emissions. It runs on natural gas, which is more environmentally friendly than coal or oil. This system would emit a stream of pure carbon dioxide that could be stored underground using carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).

Adams also said that their fuel-cell based system produces clean water that could easily be treated to provide potable water as a side benefit.

Some Clear Obstacles to Success

One challenge is that the duo is not sure if the technology can compete with conventional power plants. The second challenge is their price point is only truly competitive if the government sets a price on the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

The current pending legislation on carbon pricing is the Waxman-Markey “American Clean Energy and Security Act” passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in July of this year, through its “cap and trade” provisions. (A corresponding bill has not yet reached the floor of the U.S. Senate.) If this program becomes law, the actual price per ton of carbon emission would vary, determined through the free market.

According to the MITnews, “Natural gas accounts for 22 percent of all U.S. electricity production, and is likely to rise if carbon prices are put into effect.” Carbon legislation makes  the zero emissions technology a more competitive option, as its able to produce electricity from natural gas at a similar price to coal without the side effects.

With some form of carbon pricing (which takes into account the true price exacted on the environment by greenhouse gas emissions), Adams says, their technology can be “competitive at a price point of $15 per metric ton of emitted carbon dioxide.”

And a few more…

Some additional obstacles I see right off are consumption.  If natural gas consumption continues at current rates, there are only 60 years worth of fuel left. That does not seem like an extraordinary amount to work with, and if this technology takes off, won’t we be consuming even more of it at a faster rate?

I am also unsure sure how safe it is to be storing all this carbon underground. What does that do the land and surrounding ecosystems? What are the true ramifications of technology like this?

What are the Predictions?

According to Adams, this new system’s predicted efficiency is so high it beats the life cycle cost of a combined-cycle natural gas plant, even without carbon pricing. The study recently done by Adams and Barton also shows that a very low level of carbon tax ($5 to $10 per ton) would make their technology cheaper than coal plants, which are currently the lowest cost option for electricity generation.

All this is well and good, but there are a lot of “what ifs” that need to come together for this to even be considered viable, or better yet, a good option.

I am still pretty skeptical about this approach to working with natural gas, and I think there are others who may feel the same. This technology may be appropriate if used on a small scale in some specific situations, but as a larger market power producing option for the masses, it doesn’t seem like the best alternative.

Common sense will tell you solar power is difficult to garner once the sun goes down. Well, new California-based company SolarReserve wants to change that by developing technology known as the “holy grail” of solar power – a power plant that continues producing electricity well after the sun has set, 24 hours a day.

The Rice Solar Energy Project (RSEP) created by SolarReserve (run by a team of rocket scientists previously from Rocketdyne) includes plans for a 150-megawatt solar farm that will generate and store up to seven hours’ worth of the sun’s energy in the form of molten salt. The heat from the salt can be released when its cloudy or at night to create steam that drives and electricity-generating turbine, according to the New York Times.

RSEP will be located on a privately owned site in unincorporated eastern Riverside County, California. Land surrounding the project site in the Sonoran Desert east of Palm Springs consists mostly of undeveloped open desert owned by the federal government and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The plant will be capable of producing approximately 450,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy annually, with a nominal net generating capacity of 150 megawatts (MW). That is enough to power 100,000 homes per day. RSEP will also be able to “generate steady and uninterrupted power during hours of peak electricity demand,” according to SolarReserve’s license application.

How the Solar Plant Works

The application also states that as many as 17,500 large mirrors — each one 24 feet by 28 feet — will be attached to 12-foot pedestals. The mirrors, called heliostats that concentrate the sun’s heat, will be arrayed in a circle around a 538-foot concrete tower.

Atop the tower will sit a 100-foot receiver filled with 4.4 million gallons of liquid salt. The heliostats will focus the sun on the receiver, heating the salt to 1,050 degrees Fahrenheit. The liquefied salt flows through a steam-generating system to drive the turbine and is returned to the receiver to be heated again.

By using salt for both steam and storage, SolarReserve can generate higher-temperature steam, which will allow the Rice power plant to operate much more efficiently, according to Kevin Smith, SolarReserve’s chief executive. “Consequently, our system can capture three times the energy for the same pound of salt.”

If all goes according to plan, the RESP solar farm will go online in October 2013.

Salt, a New Energy Resource

Who knew salt would be such a viable and practical resource to harness the power of solar-sourced energy? More importantly, this extremely unique approach sounds like an out of the box option, when there is still a very heated debate about oil vs. nuclear vs. wind power vs. everything else.

If this solution can prove an effective model for energy creation, can we can add it for serious consideration into the bigger picture of energy generation? I think its a pretty strong and unique contender for energy on demand. Clean, renewable and reduces carbon impact – ultimately turning the sun into the solution. Their words, not mine, but I couldn’t have said it any better.

Katrina Pfannkuch
Buzzword Communications, LLC

About the author: Katrina Pfannkuch is a writer, Reiki Master and entrepreneur who lives to write and create. She started Buzzword Communications to pursue her passion for excellence in communication and satisfy her entrepreneurial spirit.

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