Our homes are our sanctuary from the chaos of the day-to-day world. However, it's important to remember that we remain part of that world, even at home. Keep environmental impact in mind, and as this LivinGreen.com post notes, “use the most environmentally sound products you can afford.”

lCutting Energy in the Kitchen

“Buildings consume more than 40 percent of the world's energy,” says this LivinGreen.com post. Energy consumption is a major factor for creating an environmentally friendly home.

Cutting energy-use in the kitchen can happen in a variety of ways. Explore sustainability options of home items to keep them running smoothly. A finely tuned machine uses less energy than one being bogged down with debris or malfunctioning parts. Often replacing worn out seals can extend the life and cut the usage of older model refrigerators or dishwashers. Parts can easy be found online; click here for more information on finding that which you may need to outfit appliances so they run more efficiently.

However, for those in the position, the most salient way to cut kitchen energy is to upgrade appliances and other items to those which meet Energy Star requirements or exceed criteria listed by other certified organizations. As this LivinGreen.com post notes, “consider durability, as waste is reduced when repair and replacement are not required.“

lClimate Control and Insulation

Although the kitchen is a site of energy consumption, it is not the only place which should receive attention. As this LivinGreen.com post notes, “energy-saving products and alterations can be incorporated into existing buildings for comfort and money savings, e.g. energy efficient windows and insulation.“

Windows are often one of the most attractive features of a home. However, they can also be the culprit of higher energy usage and utility bills. Climate control can easily slip through the cracks of older window joints or radiate out of single-pane glass. Window systems which carry Energy Star and other eco-friendly labeling can be found and used to keep the home a more optimal temperature using a more optimal amount of energy.

Besides the windows, appropriate types and amounts of insulation could drastically improve the energy use of a home. This LivinGreen.com post reminds you to “choose materials that minimize environmental and health impacts, when possible considering extraction, manufacturing, packaging, transport, installation and final disposal.” This is especially true for insulation materials which can be toxic or damaging to the environment. Seal any air leaks found around windows, doors or joints. Also, wrap hot water lines in insulation to keep water warmer without adding energy.

Inside the home, ceiling fans and attic fans help keep rooms cooler using far less energy than an air conditioner alone. Be sure to keep air filters cleaned and replaced monthly; just like kitchen appliances, home furnaces and air conditioners use less energy to operate when cleaned and free of dust and debris.

As this LivinGreen.com post notes, “well designed buildings use fewer resources in construction and maintenance, use less energy, cost less to operate, last longer, and are healthier for their inhabitants.” Ensure your home is well designed and well maintained so that you can enjoy a happier and healthier sanctuary free from stress of the world at large while at the same time helping the world outside.

BIO

Katei Cranford is a freelance writer and enjoys sharing eco-friendly practices to keep her home more energy-efficient and her world that much greener.

Source: Pinterest

A great way to begin ridding your bedroom of toxic chemicals is to change to a good non-toxic all purpose cleaner such as AFM Safecoat Super Clean or Mrs Meyers.  To eliminate off gasing from existing painted walls, we recommend that you first prime  with a low-odor, 0- voc primer,  then paint with a good safe synthetic non toxic waterbased paint.  We suggest AFM Safecoat, they have a wide selection of colors and can be custom color matched to suit your particular decor.  All natural/organic and Biofoam mattresses, pillows, comfortor's and pads are a great way to provide you with the healthiest and safest enviornment for sleep.  Come into one our stores to see and feel these products for yourself.

President Day sale on OMI mattress until February 26, 2012

There are many choices of beautiful, durable flooring materials that provide a healthy environment in the bedroom.  Bamboo, cork, natural linoleums, natural fiber area rugs, reclaimed wood and recycled plastic mats.  All great choices.

Source: Pinterest

This post only scratches the surface of  ideas for a healthy bedroom.  From natural mattresses, to natural fabrics for upholstery and bedding, to natural window treatments and electro magnetic radiation testing. The ideas are endless.  We invite you to  contact a designer or salesperson in one of our stores if you'd like more information or would like help creating a beautiful healthy bedroom in your home.

Image from Jeffrey Alan Marks Tumblr

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Image from Pinterest

At first glance,  this lovely space looks very elegant with an old European feel.  On closer examination, we see that the aged wallpaper behind the mirror is actually newspaper.  This is a great way to use an everyday material, something we put in the recycle bin daily, to create an inexpensive, interesting, textured wall.  This wall treatment can make a beautiful backdrop for almost any scheme or design direction.  For example, use old maps for a library space or child’s room.  Music sheets would be intriguing in a powder bath or bedroom.  For a more modern, paired down space, choose simple butcher paper in its neutral, natural state.  When applied to the wall, you will have a rich, soft texture without using a gimmicky faux finish.  Apply this idea to a do-it-yourself, freestanding screen as well.  Your imagination is your guide.

It is important to understand the limitations of an application like this.  These papers are NOT wallpaper and cannot be expected to perform in the same manner when applied to the wall.  One can expect some peeling with moisture and temperature changes in the space.  Consider this part of the charm of the wall.  To protect the surface and create an overall more durable finish, use AFM SAfecoat AcriGlaze over the paper. AcriGlaze is a safe, non-toxic, water-based product.  For more information about AcriGlaze and other AFM Safecoat products, contact LIVINGREEN.

The fabulous sofa is an antique piece refinished using non-toxic, low voc AFM Safecoat Durostain  and Arcylac clear coat, recovered in a 100% cotton velvet fabric.  The chaise, ottoman and side table from El Dot, are handcrafted from renewable bamboo and rosewood, the cushions  from organic natural materials.  The gorgeous hand carved stools are from sustainably harvested and salvaged hardwoods, created by the Yaneshi people in Central Peru.   The amazing lamps scattered throughout the roomare made by local Santa Barbara craftsmen, The Brothers of Industry using industrial salvage and re-purposed found objects.  For a cozy feel we provided throws and pillows made from sustainable yarns and recycled cotton.  Guests were treated to a digital art display provided by Eric Lohela called The Elements of the Environment, showcasing a range of artists.

We invite you to view photos below  and to call Livingreen for additional information on any of our products or green design services.

• Use the most environmentally sound products you can afford. Choose materials that minimize environmental and health impacts, when possible considering extraction, manufacturing, packaging, transport, installation and final disposal.

• Consider durability, as waste is reduced when repair and replacement are not required.

• Reduce demands on nonrenewable resources, such as old growth lumber.  Salvaged and reclaimed lumber is often available. FSC (Forest Stewardship Certified) lumber is a renewable resource.

• Minimize use of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and other toxins. Examples are low or zero VOC paints and other finishes, now readily available, and non-toxic pretreated lumber, which prevents termite and fungi damage. Look for plywood and fiberboard whose binders are formaldehyde free.

• Energy- saving products and alterations can be incorporated into existing buildings for comfort and money savings, e.g. energy efficient windows and insulation.

• When shopping for new appliances and plumbing fixtures, keep water and energy use in mind.

• Use and recycle unused materials. Places like Habitat for Humanity and Art from Scrap may be be glad to offer them to others.

"The United States alone has consumed more resources since 1945 than all of humanity had consumed prior to that time."

<<<<<<<BACK TO PART 1>>>>>>>

http://sustainabilityproject.org/index.php/our-work/green-building/green-building-guidelines/

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Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,

nothing is going to get better. It's not."

-- The Lorax, Children's book by Dr. Seuss

]]> http://www.livingreen.com/_blog/wp-content/uploads/./Picture-029-200x133.jpg Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:43:47 +0000 Fringe as it may seem in this country, green building is a GIANT subject. Most of us human beings, especially we richer ones, spend practically all of our lives in buildings. They provide us with safety from the elements and from others, comfortable places to sleep and be, protection for our stuff (not a small matter). Our homes and furnishings create our own spaces and become extensions of ourselves. And then there are our workplaces.

It's estimated that 40-50 percent of all global resources go into construction of this human environment, these places where we live, make and sell our things, provide the services we all want and/or need. Which is why wise use of these resources is so critical, not only for sustaining us in a healthy manner, but for somehow trying to preserve the planet's myriad other forms of life.  Buildings also consume more than 40 percent of the world's energy.

Well designed buildings use fewer resources in construction and maintenance, use less energy, cost less to operate, last longer, and are healthier for their inhabitants. So it is no surprise that local and global governments are legislating, and businesses everywhere are investing in, better building. Everyone benefits.

In the last century, buildings took us farther away from nature, this one seems to be moving us in a more "natural" direction.

<<<<<<<ON TO PART 2>>>>>>>

http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/greenbuilding/materials/#Resource

http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/faqs.htm

http://www.eco-structure.com/legislation/usgbc-report-tracks-green-building-legislation.aspx

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Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,

nothing is going to get better. It's not."

-- The Lorax, Children's book by Dr. Seuss

Refineries that do this are closing here in the U.S. and worldwide, partially due to reduced demand. An estimate by BofA puts the decrease of production at one million barrels per day, this year alone. Even if demand is less, if you limit the gasoline produced, it fetches higher prices at the pump. This is without more of Canada’s tar sands.

It also happens that the U.S. now exports more gasoline than it imports, nearly a billion barrels last year, the highest value export of the year. Any gas produced here has a greater chance of being sold abroad than pumped into our cars.

So that bitumen, the tarry goop mined from oil (tar) sands in Canada? The Keystone pipeline, thankfully delayed for further environmental review, would bring ½ million barrels of it per day, this cruder stuff (far worse – more toxic,  greater environmental toll, requiring more energy to produce - than drilled “sweet” crude oil) per day to the refineries that are not closing, to produce gasoline which will sell…wherever, at whatever cost.

http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id8888

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/15/us-oil-spill-montana-idUSTRE76E5LY20110715

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/09728c00-37ab-11e1-a5e0-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1k1k9BUsv

http://www.consumerenergyreport.com/2012/01/09/whats-so-bad-about-exporting-gasoline

http://www.politicususa.com/en/gop-gasoline-export

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Barbara Hirsch, recording engineer, eco-person

"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot,

nothing is going to get better. It's not."

-- The Lorax, Children's book by Dr. Seuss