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Blogging, as we all know, is becoming pretty important in our day to day lives. Through blogs we can learn things and
dissiminate news in ways never thought of before.
I follow several blogs on a daily basis and today I just want to share a few of my favorite green blogs. These blogs I
fin interesting enough to follow on a daily basis and I think you will too!
Jetson Green is written locally by a gentleman here in Salt Lake City. His focus is on Green Building,
Modern Design and Sustainable Development. You can find it at http://www.jetsongreen.com/
Tree Hugger is a little more commercial since it was purchased by Discovery Channel, but it also provides you with a
wealth of daily information. In fact, they brag over 30 new posts everyday! Check it out at http://www.treehugger.com/
GreenBiz is another great site with constant and daily updates on Green Business around the world. Find
it at http://www.greenbiz.com/
Low Impact living offers some great tips and news. Find it at http://www.lowimpactliving.com/
Sustainabuild is another great one. They feature the ongoing pursuit of green building and
sustainability in Jacksonville, FL. They can be found at www.sustainabuild.net
Finally, we have Materialicious. They feature modern residential design and often focus on green trends
and products. They are at www.materialicious.com
Enjoy these all! I do!
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Solar Home - Conserving Pv Power
Solar Home - Conserving Pv Power
Author: Anna Hart
Solar homes. Many people talk about them, although few in the U.S. do more than talk. They are said to reduce utility bills. Some say a solar home cuts utility bills drastically. Some are able to sell excess power back to the power grid. Savings are not automatic, however. Steps must be taken to make the solar home efficient; to conserve the electricity that is produced.
Ways to conserve solar photovoltaic power in the home must be found. The home owner must actively seek out ways to make those photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roof as efficient as possible. Photovoltaic power is free, but it cannot be generated in unlimited quantities. It is important to take measures to use it to best advantage.
Of all the ways to conserve solar photovoltaic power in the home, the most important is probably replacement of power-gobbling electric appliances. Home lighting can also be changed to conserve solar photovoltaic power (PV power). Finally, power usage can be reduced by making every person in the solar home conscious of conservation methods.
12 Ways to Conserve Solar Photovoltaic Power in the Home
1. Shop for energy-efficient appliances and home electronics for your solar home. Most products in this category carry EnergyGuide labels. These labels give an estimate of the products' energy consumption or energy efficiency, and show the ratings of similar appliance models. In the U.S., appliances and home electronics that meet strict Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) energy efficiency criteria carry Energy Star labels.
2. Replace an electric water heater in a solar home with an energy-efficient propane or natural gas heater. Connect the new water heater to a solar water heater system. The sun will preheat the water, and the new unit will have less work. Wrap the water heater with thermal wrap to retain heat.
3. Replace the solar home's electric furnace with an energy-efficient propane or natural gas unit. Install a solar panel air heater to reduce the work load of the new furnace. If you are building a new solar home, consider passive ways to heat the floors and air, further reducing the workload.
4. If the solar home is in a hot, dry climate, use an evaporative cooling unit in place of an electric air conditioner.
5. Check weather stripping around all windows and doors. Seal cracks and openings. Stopping air leakage in and out can improve indoor climate control in every season.
6. Insulate the solar home well. Insulation will keep heat or cool air from escaping. It will also keep outdoor cold or heat from entering readily.
7. Use heavy, insulted drapes and window shades/blinds in the solar home to keep out hot or cold air, making cooling and heating units work more efficiently.
8. A serious solar home owner can save even further by using a solar oven for cooking whenever possible. Especially good in hot climates or summer months, a solar oven will cook food with solar energy, and avoid heating the home. Money is thus saved in two ways.
9. Control of computer usage is another of the many ways to conserve solar photovoltaic power in the home. Monitors should be turned off whenever the computer will not be in use for 20 minutes or more. The CPU and monitor both should be turned off when the unit will not be used for 2 hours or more. Power down or sleep modes should be set.
10. Replace light bulbs with Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent light bulbs. If every U.S. home replaced just one light bulb with one of these bulbs, we would save more than $600 million in annual energy costs. To the solar home owner, such savings are vital.
11. Maximize your use of daylight, turning on lights only when necessary. Use windows to advantage, and install skylights where possible.
12. Landscape your property to block the heat of summer sunlight, permit winter sunlight. Deciduous trees near the solar home will shade windows in the summer, and let warming sunlight through in winter months.
Ways to conserve solar photovoltaic power in the home are not limited to these twelve, but if these alone are used, the increase in efficiency will be tremendous.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/solar-home-conserving-pv-power-172506.html
About the Author:
© 2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about solar homes at http://www.solar-energy-connection.com. Anna has posted articles on that site about various applications of solar technology. If you would like information on designing and constructing a solar home air heater, you won't want to miss Anna's article on the subject.
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An Eco-Friendly Backyard Garden
An Eco-Friendly Backyard Garden
Author: James Paul
Imagine a healthy, green backyard garden: perfect for lounging, great for ball games and barbecues, a real asset to your home. But did you know that your bakyard garden, and how you take care of it, can also help the environment?
Healthy grass provides feeding ground for birds, who find it a rich source of insects, worms, and other food. Thick grass prevents soil erosion, filters contaminants from rainwater, and absorbs many types of airborne pollutants, like dust and soot. Grass is also highly efficient at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, a process that helps clean the air.
Caring for your bakyard garden properly can both enhance its appearance and contribute to its environmental benefits.
Your backyard garden can be tough but you don't have to be an expert to grow a healthy backyard garden. Just keep in mind that the secret is to work with nature. This means creating conditions for grass to thrive and resist damage from weeds, disease, and insect pests.
It means setting realistic goals for your backyard garden, whether you or a professional garden or lawn care service will be doing the work. And if you choose to use pesticides, it means using them with care so as to get the most benefit and reduce any risks.
Let's talk a little about organic gardening. We will discuss the term "Organic" in a gardening context, it might be a useful start to define exactly what that means, so here it is, "Organic gardening is the way of growing vegetables and fruits with the use of things only found in nature". Really simple isn't it, but most certainly not commonplace any more in today's world I suggest.
Having led up to all of that, a good question might arise as to exactly why you would want to indulge in organic gardening as such! Well, as the title of this articles suggests, here are six good reasons why you should do so, in my opinion at any rate.
1. You can easily make compost from garden and kitchen waste, alhough this is a bit more time consuming than buying prepared chemical pesticides and fertilizers. However it certainly helps to put garbage to good use, and so helps the environment.
2. Organic farming does not use chemicals that may have an adverse affect on your health, which is especially important when growing vegetables. The chemical companies do tell us that the chemicals we use are safe, provided that they are used according to direction. Research has shown however that even tiny amounts of poisons absorbed through the skin can cause such things as cancer, especially in children. Quite a sobering thought is it not!
On average, a child ingests four to five times more cancer-causing pesticides from foods than an adult, which could lead to various diseases later on in the child's life. Remember, pesticides contain toxins that have only one purpose, which is to kill living things!
With organic gardening, these incidents are lessened.
3. Less harm is caused to the environment, because poisons are not washed into our waterways to give but one example, causing death to the native fish and polluting their habitat in most cases.
4. Organic farming practices also help prevent the loss of topsoil through erosion. The Soil Conservation Service says that an estimated 30 - 32 billion tons of soil is eroded from United States farmlands every year, and that's only one country.
4. Cost savings, because you do not need to buy costly chemical fertilizers and pesticides with organic gardening. Many organic recipes for the control of pest and disease come straight from the kitchen cupboard, and sometimes other plants can even be grown as companions to the main crop. One example of this is the marigold, which helps to repel aphids from vegetables.
Mixing 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap, and 1 cup of cooking oil, can make a cheap garden pest spray for example. Put 3 tablespoons of this mixture in 1 quart of water and spray on to your plants. You will find this to be very effective!
5. A simple mulch of pine needles will help to suppress the growth of weeds, as well as keeping the moisture in. Another simple and much safer solution!
6. Organic gardening practices are much more likely to help keep the environment safe for future generations, and all of us who are responsible ciitizens, should always bear this in mind
The whole subject which is part of an on going worldwide debate, is far too complex to cover in such a short article, but I do hope that at least I have left you with some food for thought.
Imagine the overall benefits to be had in our environment, by many people undertaking even some small changes.
Caring for your bakyard garden in an environmentally sensible way can have a bigger impact than you might think. Your backyard garden is only a small piece of land, but all the bakyard gardens across the country cover a lot of ground.
That means you and your backyard garden care activities, along with everyone else's, can make a difference to the environment. And that's why taking care of the environment begins in our own backyards.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/an-ecofriendly-backyard-garden-18118.html
About the Author:
James Paul is an avid gardener and specialized in an eco friendly approach to gardening and lawn maintenance for the homeowner. Visit his blog to ask questions and learn more here backyard garden
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Living Green
Author: Branden Schroeder
Today, more than ever before, we as residents of this planet have the responsibility to safeguard the earth so that there will be one left for our children. If this move does not start in the home then it may never gather the momentum that it needs. There are a number of eco-friendly technologies and developments designed specifically for homes and it's time that we investigated some of them and what they bring to the table.
Perhaps the best known innovations, or at least the most commonly see, are things like low-flow toilets, solar heating and energy efficient appliances. These developments have come a long way in past years and were some of the original "green home" products. They helped to form the basis of what would become a revolution in home building and in the way we think about the construction of a home. One of the newest ways of thinking about "green homes" is the idea of thinking about a home as a system unto itself. That is that in altering or changing one aspect of a home it is impossible not to affect other parts of the system. This systems is comprised of five, sometimes 6 distinct systems if there is a fireplace(s).
There are some really exciting things happening in the world of "green Homes." People are discovering new ways to drastically reduce their monthly energy bills on an ongoing basis. This is all part of a move by home owners and real estate professionals to show that there is an alternative to our reliance on forms of energy that are both detrimental to our environment and non-renewable. Eventually we will all have to consider these new ways of supplying power to our homes as we are leaving a trail of devastation in our wake in a ecological sense. What kind of planet are we leaving behind for the next generations? One that is devoid of clean water and organic foods? One that is getting hotter every summer and colder every winter? One that is so polluted that we cannot ever hope to clean the air that we breathe? It's not an attractive prospect and it will be our children that have to deal with the results.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/living-green-183916.html
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Why Buy A "GREEN" Home Or Condo?
Why Buy A "GREEN" Home Or Condo?
Author: Rakesh Lall
Green homes are the trend these days. In a world where people are fast using up the earth's natural resources and irreversibly so, green buildings have gained importance in the real estate industry. Green building techniques include the use of building materials that are renewable and locally available. Green homes protect the environment, control energy costs and may serve as affordable housing. Today more and more builders are focusing on building green homes as these structures are proving to be profitable investments.
Many people believe that building green homes is a social and environmental responsibility and should be promoted by not just governmental authorities, but also by builders, developers and real estate professionals. Green homes save money and maintenance and are healthier to live in.
Building a green home is not complicated as one would think. The National Association of Home Builders has listed guidelines for building green homes that are very useful for home builders. The guidelines include an easy-to-use checklist that builders can follow during the construction process. With local home building associations creating regionally appropriate green building programs, the concept of 'green homes' is taking off among home builders.
Some people believe that building green homes involves a lot of money, at least more than conventional homes do. On the contrary, experienced green home builders say that building a green home is not as expensive as it is hyped to be. Custom builders can build green properties at the same costs it takes to build conventional homes because green building materials are now readily available and cost efficient. Green products such as user-friendly insulation, chemically neutral paints and flooring, natural landscaping products, compact fluorescent bulbs, solar roof panels, etc. are all readily available. Because most green products are energy efficient, installing them helps the home owner save a lot of money that otherwise would go toward footing a home's utility bills.
Environmental consultant David Johnson in his book "Building Green in a Black and White World" provides extensive survey information on home buyers' preference of green homes. One national survey puts the percentage of the market that is open to and interested in green buildings at a whopping 50%. This is proof enough for the growing popularity and demand for green homes. Builders can join their local green building programs to take advantage of this growing market segment. Home buyers can opt for green homes, which are energy efficient, environmentally friendly, durable and cost efficient.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/why-buy-a-green-home-or-condo-85120.html
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Date: Aug. 16, 2007
Tags: None
Protecting the Environment is a serious issue
By: rolfie
A day doesn't pass without comments about our environment. In fact
being a little older myself I can remember that not many years ago
you would hardly ever hear about the major challenges that we are
continously building up. Today we are confronted with some very
serious issues regarding our environment.
The issues related to the air we breath and water we drink are
hugh. Only a very small portion of our natural water resources are
even left unpolluted. This issue is a major problem. Learning to
deal with our rapidly changing surroundings warrants a serious
effort but we yet aren't totally convinced about these issues.
The air we breath, water we drink and all the things around those
resources we benefit from are in serious trouble.. Whether it be
esthetic or physical our entire lives are encompassed by the impact
from our natural resources. Filthy water, difficult living
conditions, dirty air, unhealthy vegetation, smoke, oil and
hundreds of other polluting items just simply add on to the
problem.
Much effort is being expended in developing green stuff. Items that are unique
and innovative that will make life better and help our surroundings
at the same time. Improving our lives with products that are green,
sustainable, recycled, organic and energy efficient qualify and are
widely available.
One simple and yet interesting example:
A 100 watt compact fluorescent bulb costs about $4 vs. 25 cents for
a regular bulb; but uses only 23% of the electricity. Based on an
electricity rate of $.08/kWh and three hours of usage per day, you
will save $6.75 per year on your electrical bill. That is an
investment return of 180%.
How it helps the environment: A single compact fluorescent bulb
reduces greenhouse gas by over half a ton
during its useful life. Multiply that by the number of bulbs in
your house and you get the picture!
Additionally, compact fluorescents last up to 13 times longer than
incandescent bulbs.Your electricity rate and usage level will
affect your return but for almost anyone; it makes financial sense
to replace the majority of your light bulbs immediately with
compact fluorescents.
Fun green stuff lends itself to entertainment, fashion, food and
drink, home, personal care, transportation and travel. So, as you
can see there are many area's where our thoughtful efforts can
yield big benefits in the environment.
Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com
About the Author:
environment
information
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While browsing through one my of my favorite green blogs, jetsongreen, I came across a posting for a company that is working on a new solar technolgy that could revolutionize the field of solar energy and make solar solutions reachable to all of us. This company is called Nanosolar.
Nanosolar is currently buidling the largest solar manufacturing plant in the US and hopes to have this product in production by 2008. You can see a short video on the project here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4riNlqZHCTQ.
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From Gizmodo.com.
Hey, there's going to be a half-price sale on solar energy this year, as soon as these way-cool solar panels from Solient Energy find their way onto your roof. In its first iteration that'll be available later this year, the devices work like a series of slats that track the sun.
Lenses inside these lightweight trough-like panels direct light to highly efficient solar cells, and the best news is that somehow these Solient guys have figured out how to manufacture these suckers at a price that's half as much as those old-timey solar panels we're using today. Follow this link for more information: http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18718/
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