sustainable
Eco-Development and Sustainable Renovation
I’ve noticed an interesting trend lately. The renovation of old buildings. Gorgeous old buildings gutted and rebuilt from the inside-out, as green and sustainable new structures.
An exciting (and well-publicized) example of this is the Sanctuary development on Capital Hill in Seattle.
The original church was built in the early 1900s and has been a distinctive landmark of the neighborhood for years. Through the renovation of this historical icon, ecological- minded urban residences are being created.
The preservation of the beautiful building was a cornerstone of the project planning. Architectural details, bricks, wooden pews, flooring and windows were repurposed and used within the new residential development as stairs, detailing, in-fill and patching. New sustainable aspects of the housing itself include dual flush toilets and tankless water heaters. › Continue reading
An Alternative to Lead-based Solder
Anybody with a rudimentary understanding of electronics, especially the person that habitually tinkers with and “fixes” the various appliances at home will know how regularly solder is used and needed, even more so for those in the industry.
Up till just recently though, solder wasn’t exactly a milestone of technological achievement. Rather, the basic premise behind solder has remained unchanged; it is still simply a little bit of lead (or other metal substance with a low melting point) which, after being melted, acts as an adhesive, holding together important parts of circuit. These parts being essentially an integral and regularly used component of those everyday tools like cell-phones and computers that we take for granted. Naturally, something so universal, and so small as to be oft-overlooked, is bound to have far-reaching consequences over time.
These consequences were not taken lightly by Ainissa Ramirez‘ and her team at Yale, who like many other scientists around the world had sought out a greener alternative for quite some time. Recently, the culmination of this teams research is to be published. An essential summary of the idea is that new tin-silver solder with iron particles will present a viable alternative to replace the afore-mentioned lead-based solder. But there’s more, asserts Ramirez, as “in addition to helping make the fabrication of microelectronics more environmentally responsible, these new solders have the potential to solve technological challenges.”
USGBC’s Green Home Guide Beta
Margarido Home, LEED Platinum Certified.
Many of us are familiar with the LEED rating system from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which is a third party green building rating system for commercial and residential buildings. The LEED rating system has been adopted by the U.S. government and is used with all new construction and major renovation of federal buildings. LEED certifies buildings on a point based system in the areas of Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations & Linkages, Awareness & Education, Innovation in Design, and Regional Priority. Points are then added up to achieve Silver, Gold, or preferably Platinum certification. While mainly regarded as a tool for commercial building, there is also a LEED for Homes section that allows you to certify your home or neighborhood.
Recently, USGBC has launched a Green Home Guide. The site is an awesome resource for those of you looking to remodel or build a home in the near future. The site contains a myriad of resources for the casual and the serious green homemaker alike. The “Know How” section guides you through green building advice and educational articles to help you make better-informed decisions. They cover a diverse range of topics, and the content is growing everyday. With the rapid growth in the green building world, it’s a great resource if you need to get an idea of what’s out there.
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Is Organic Food Really Better For The Environment?
Flikr User: Dano
I eat a lot of organic food. In fact, about 80% of the food that goes into my body is organic. I cannot tell you how many times I get teased about eating “dirt” from many of my friends, and even my family. A friend recently quizzed me about my reasons for eating organic. I claimed that one of the reasons I opt for organic food is for environmental reasons and my friend gave me the most flabbergasted look on the planet. He flat out refused to believe that organic food is more environmentally sound than “normal” food. This set me on a quest to defend my position that organic food is better for the environment. So here are the top three environmentally based reasons I choose to eat organic food:
1) Organic farming practices can help decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. According to The Rodale Institute, each acre devoted to organic farming can remove and store around 7,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year. That means if we were to convert all 434 million acres of farmland in the U.S. to organic farmlands, it would be the equivalent to getting rid of 217 million cars, which is about 1/3 of the automobiles in the world, according to the Organic Trade Association .
2) Organic farming uses less energy. According to the same study, organic farming practices use 30% less energy, less water, and obviously no pesticides. Think of all the energy that goes into the production and transportation of pesticides and › Continue reading
Container Gardening
Chart pulled from the Seattle Food System Enhancement Project: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study conducted by the University of Washington. (http://tinyurl.com/y9m5rs9)
I’ve always admired gardeners for a hobby that produces food that’s not only delicious, but also eco-friendly and sustainable. I mean, what’s more local than your own backyard? The University of Washington and the City of Seattle did a study on greenhouse gas emissions from locally sourced food versus food sourced out of state or internationally. (Find it here) They found that the fuel used to transportation non-local fruits and vegetables produced almost six times as much CO2 as local alternatives. That’s a lot of CO2 we can cut out of our daily lives by simply eating locally sourced and homegrown food.
Growing up, I hated gardening. However now that I’ve matured a bit, as my mother would say, I’ve found a type of gardening that’s right up my alley. Container gardening. Container gardening is great because even those with apartments, can do it. And these days there are so many recycled, or compostable options for containers, that’s there’s really no excuse to not give it a try.
The best way to start is to pick something to plant that you’ll actually eat. There’s no point growing something that you won’t eat or store for later. For me, I chose zucchini and strawberries. I eat them raw, as well as making them into zucchini bread and strawberry jam. It’s fantastic to eat the fruits of my labors year round. It’s also important to pick something that does well in your climate and that you’ll actually be able to devote the time to upkeep. Also make sure you know when to plant, and what to expect from your plants. Try the Farmer’s Almanac for a list of last expected frost dates as a start. So do your research and if all else fails, hit your local garden store, there’s always someone there waiting to convert another person to gardening.
Sun Chips Compostable Bag
I just happened to see an amazing thing last night on television, a (seemingly) plastic snack-chip bag biodegrade in a time lapse in 12 weeks. Impossible! Or is it?
NatureWorks has developed a compostable bag for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Divison, the makers of SunChips. As with many claims of length of time to biodegrade, it is usually very dependent on the environment it is placed in.
This fully biodegradable bag is said to be able to decompose over 14 weeks when placed in a hot, active compost bin or pile—at home or at an industrial composting site.
Unlike most biodegradable plastics which just break down into smaller pieces, but remain in the environment as small bits of plastic, these are made from a biopolymer resin made extracted from plant sugar called polyastic acid (PLA). PLA is made from lactic acid which in turn is made from dextrose by fermentation. Dextrose is made from starch and starch is made from carbon dioxide and water. It is said to also lower the impact on greenhouse gasses when compared to plastics due to the fact that it’s made with plants that grow annually instead of petroleum (which takes millions of years to form).
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Regional Sustainability and Local Community Groups
image: flickr user dherrera_96
An excellent example of just this sort of network is the nonprofit network Sustainable Communities ALL Over Puget Sound, aka SCALLOPS. SCALLOPS was founded four years ago to promote regional sustainability through the provision of resources and education for community level grassroots environmental groups. The network has grown to include all surrounding areas of Puget Sound, from Bellevue to Belltown, Capitol Hill to Carnation and well beyond. SCALLOPS holds regular events in the Puget Sound area, and is recognized as a highly valuable resource for new groups committed to sustainability. SCALLOPS’ mission is to network, support, and advance sustainability initiatives in towns and neighborhoods all over Puget Sound through outreach, education and community-building opportunities.
My local chapter of SCALLOPS, Sustainable Kirkland, was kind enough to let me tag along to a meeting this past week. The small and close-knit group of environmentally conscious East-Siders discussed a number of topics, including a report on public opinion of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), the planning of group events – such as a tour of a local LEED certified building, and possible coordination of volunteers for the cleanup/maintenance of a local park.
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Valentines Day Organic Equal Exchange Coffee and Chocolate Love Pairing
Valentines day is nearing and what better way to wake up with your love than with a coffee and chocolate pairing. It’ll get your heart racing and your euphoric feelings jump started (we all know the love euphoria properties of chocolate). You won’t feel guilty enjoying this because it is eco-friendly and socially responsible Organic and Fair-trade from Equal Exchange. I was delighted when Annie from Mambo Sprouts was gracious enough to send me a sample.
Wrapped in a recycled print gift bag chocked full of goodies, the Equal Exchange Organic Chocolate and Coffee Pairing Gift Bag will be sure to conjure up feelings of the holidays. Two bags of love inspired organic coffee blends (Organic Love Buzz and Organic Mind, Body and Soul) along with four Organic Chocolate Bars perfectly paired with a ‘pairing’ instruction sheet will provide for an entertaining and enjoyable morning or afternoon activity to share. At $34.95, its less than a dozen roses and definitely tastes better! Check the bottom of this post for a free shipping code for The Chic Ecologist readers.
For those with a soft spot for chocolate heart minis, Equal Exchange’s fairly traded (Vegan and gluten-free) Organic Dark Chocolate Minis (55% cacao content) are a far-cry from the chocolates you find in those heart shaped boxes. These deliciously rich, bite-sized chocolates are crafted using the best quality organic cacao (cocoa beans) from small-scale farmer co-operatives in the Dominican Republic and Peru. › Continue reading
Want To Turn A Green Leaf? Start With These 5 Things
Here are 5 steps every eco-friendly person should have under their belt, are significant starting points for those getting into it, and can have the biggest impact on reducing your individual impact on the environment.
1. Reusable Water bottle
All of the plastic, paper and disposable cups you will save with 1 reusable bottle you take everywhere. Not just for health nuts, I have seen buddies fill up their Nagane bottles at the 7-11 soda fountain before. I would recommend stainless steel for the best all purpose, all containing, non-leaching, durable and portable container. You can check out my reusable water bottle comparison article to find one that best suits your needs. This will help keep all of those pesky plastic water bottles out of our waterways and adding to the Pacific Plastic Gyre.
2. Bicycle (or just walking)
Even better than public transportation, a bicycle is the most energy efficient method or transportation we have come up with to date. Not only does it no produce any emissions, it is very easy to park, 
gives you some exercise to stay healthy, keeps you out of traffic and can be a darn good time to boot! Check out this bamboo bicycle or treadmill bicycle to really inspire you to go green!
3. Green up your cleaners.
You would be shocked at the amount of toxic chemicals you may have under your sink and in your laundry room. All of these nasty harsh chemicals make their way into the ocean and water ways through your drain, and they aren’t even necessary! Chlorine bleach, phosphates, ammonia and more poison our water killing fish and aquatic life and alter the chemistry of our water. This includes Dishwashing Detergent (both Automatic dishwasher and hand soap), Laundry Detergent, and Bathroom and household cleaners too!
4. Change your lightbulbs and buy a power strip.
CFL lightbulbs (Compact Florescent Lights) and LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are not only immensely more energy efficient (saving you money on your electric bill), but they also last way longer (saving you money on replacement costs and hassles).
Energy cutting power strips can cut down your vampire devices from sucking energy while in their off position. Since most modern electronics aren’t really turned off, many can be using almost as much power in their off position as when the are turned on! To keep this from happening, plug like devices into a single power strip and turn the entire strip off. The savings will add up on your electric bill, and the impact we all collectively have on the environment.
Green nPower Personal Energy Generator
Now you can be your own recharging station to all of your USB enabled devices. Cell phones, iPods, Kindles, GPS units, and just about any other hand-held electronic device can be charged by this renewable energy source.
A kinetic energy generator based on a wave energy converter, the nPower PEG (Personal Energy Generator) can go with you anywhere and will recharge your devices as you walk, run, hike or bike. By harvesting vertical movements of your everyday activities, they state that it is “able to charge handheld mobile electronic devices at the same rate as a wall charger, which means most devices reach an 80% charge with just an hour of walking throughout the day.” Just think of how much additional energy you could create at the green gym!
Some other great features of the PEG:
- Generating 4 Watts outputted through a USB 2.0 standard plug
- Constructed out of anodized aluminum
- Measures 9 inches tall and weighs 9 ounces
- Produces renewable energy
- 100% recyclable
- Components made of recycled ABS material
- RoHS Compliant
- Does not contain a battery
Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Finds
Here are some of my recent favorite finds, reader suggestions and sustainable or eco-friendly finds. Enjoy!
Grain, a local (Seattle) design consultancy and studio has developed a really cool Eco-friendly DIY shower curtain. Based on their popular Ty recyclable shower curtain, the Ty D.I.Y. Edition includes a choice of blue, green or black permanent marker for your own personalized design.
Made from 100% High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE), one of the most commonly recycled plastics, and nickel plated metal grommets, it is PVC (and smell) free.
A typical vinyl shower curtain contains 108 volatile organic compounds, is hard to keep clean, tears easily, and is not recyclable at the end of its life. Ty and Ty D.I.Y. Edition, on the other hand, are made from a spun-boned #2 plastic material, which unlike typical vinyl shower curtains, is PVC-free and doesn’t off-gas. Additionally, Ty and Ty D.I.Y. Edition are more durable and mildew resistant, while being machine washable and recyclable at the end of their useful life.
With endless potential, I found some inspiration from their local artist competition:
$33.00 from grain
Full Circle is a great place to find eco-friendly cleaning hardware. From fully biodegradable pot scrubbers, to brushes, natural cellulose sponges, loofas and more. Natural, biodegradable, sustainable, are all words I would associate with these products. No oil or plastic is used for these products
Using innovative materials such as Bonterra™, a plastic like substance made from from cellulose and starch from plants, paired with traditional materials like bamboo, you can be sure these products won’t be outlast your dishes.
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