the editors's blog

 We've been highlighing our favorite solar innovations for a while. In fact one of our readers' all-time favorite posts is about a spray-on technology.

 Although that particular product isn't quite ready for general market release, there are some other impressive ones that are.

Some of the most efficient and amazing improvements are from the world of nanotechnology.

Photovoltaic laminates were invented in the 70's, so it's pretty well expected that there will be ongoing improvements in the ways that PVs are developed and produced. In particular, there's a fascinating thin film technology that comes from Nanosolar in California, where they make solar cells into an ink that they spread on foils. They coat the foils with the ink using a method like a printing press. This speeds up production faster than your traditional methods. It is solar cell production in great mass.

Silicon wafers are fragile, where thin film is ink. Both act as semi-conductors to create electricity.

Thin is the operative word, as these films are 100x thinner than the traditional silicon. It is also interesting that thin film nanotechnology reduces required silicon by 90%, which therein held much of the high cost. However, the heavy glass that protects thin film ink is somewhat pricey. Check out www.nanosolar.com for the pdf and overview on thin film nanotechnology photovoltaics.  You can also find a video posted on JetsonGreen a while back that highlights what they are up to!

What are some of your favorite new technologies in solar? 

A great way to keep your house warmer in winter is to get a few more rugs in the area you spend the most time in. Just think, a slanket for your floor! If your home has hard wood floors or neutral carpeting and you want to add natural looing rugs try out Century Natural Hemp Hand Knotted Jute Area Rug. They are 'earth-friendly'. They last for many years and the ends don't curl up. There are no machines used to make them and no synthetic material.

Plush rugs like chenille and wool make a room much warmer. www.addarug.com, has plush rugs from Nepal that are remarkably beautiful, and feature New Zealand and Tibetan wool that is hand knotted.

Another option to enhance the warmth of an area rug is the Warmly Yours Under Area Rug Warmer. at www.houseneeds.com Under Area Rug Warmers are plugged in and function similar to electric radiant heet. They come with non-slip aarpet pads to keep everything in place, especially useful if your area rugs are on hard wood floors. There are many eco-rug pads available. These are pvc free, and made from plant-based oils.

Fall is the favorite time of the year for many. The temperature is cool but (usually) not ice cold. The sun in the day and smell in the air is, well, earthy. One of the most popular rituals celebrated during this type of climate is, beer drinking. Celebrations like Oktoberfest, or spending time outdoors getting the house ready for winter, and even outdoor fairs have many people trying out 'craft' brews.  Shown is a craft brew from Seattle. Brewing has become so popular, the term 'craft' brew was the term coined by Vince Cottone, to distinguish it as handcrafted, traditional, local beers. This connection to place has fostered the 'green' in it's makers, and now environmental awareness has become part of the process.

What makes craft beers a sustainable practice, is the ingredients are purchased locally, and sold locally, but even further, todays craft brewers use energy-efficient lighting and air compressors. They even recycle the wastewater. The labels are made of recycled paperboard. Full Sail, in Oregon even works a four-day work week for the benefit of their employees. Check out: BREWING

When discovering your own green business, take a look at what you can work and contribute locally and you might be pleasantly surprised at how much you love it, and how green you can take it!

A hearty congratulations to BGTV member Sylvia Wright , author of thewrightscoop.com, for winning the 2009 Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge George Washington Award! Sylvia has been a prolific and valuable contributor to BGTV, sharing insights on green landscaping and other relevant topics, and we're thrilled to see her accomplishments and influence recognized in this award. Thank you Sylvia!

Glen Allen VA based The Wright Scoop - consultant, lecturer, & wordsmith Sylvia Hoehns Wright, is one of nation-wide contributing writers to recieve the 2009 Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge George Washington Metal for her collaborative promotion of an understanding of America’s rich heritage and unique freedoms.

Read more about the award here: http://www.pr.com/press-release/184690 

Eventually you will pull into your driveway and one thing will stand out on it's own; leaves. After reminiscing about jumping into a pile or stuffing a scarecrow, you will probably decide on raking them up and bagging them, bringing them to the curb.

Bagging is one of the most labor intensive techniques. You have to bend down scoop a lot, then drag the leaves to the curb. Bagging also uses bags, no pun intended, that are less degradable than the leaves they bundle. There is also transportation of the trucks that are used to haul off your leave load to the local land fill to take up space. But maybe you're not a bagger, maybe you're a burner, or a shredder...

Burning has to be done with lots of caution, as well as a permit in some areas. The burning of leaves may also cause allergies to be aggravated. But most importantly, burning and bagging are also the biggest waste of a great compost ingredient. Leaves make awesome compost! There are a couple of ways to do it. One is to build your compost bin and scoop up the leaves and throw them in. In one year you will have a nutrient rich compost with this technique. If you add grass clippings in the spring you will have both carbon and nitrogen rich compost.

Another way to compost, is by shredding. If you want a new gadget, get a mulching mower, www.snapper.com has some. Mulching mowers shred grass up into finer pieces and recycle the pieces back into the lawn, this works for leaves too. You may need to go over the yard a couple of times to get a fine enough mulch. You can shred leaves with your lawn mower too, and if you run over them a couple of times they will be fine enough to leave (lol) right there on the grass. Getting a real fine shred on those leaves allows the air to circulate enough for microbial decomposition. If you bag your shredded leaves, you can bring them to an area of soil, like your garden, and do some 'sheet composting', where you put a layer of the shred across the top of the soil. The layer can be rototilled into the soil, mixing in the nutrients and speeding up the process.

You can't get good compost by not doing anything. In fact, leaving the leaves on the yard will most likely cause damage to what's underneath. The leaves, when left untouched, become damp and dense, allowing no air circulation, which promotes the growth of bacteria. Ewe.

Winter comes suddenly after fall, and sometimes during fall depending on where you live, this is the perfect time to decide on weather stripping for your home, and get started on battening down the hatches.

Drafts are a peculiar thing because cold air is the culprit, it comes upon you suddenly and escapes before you can notice the point of entry. One suggestion for finding gaps is to hold up a match to edges or areas that are suspicious. If the wind gets through the match will blow out.

Areas to look for gaps are the attic, the plumbing, windows, doors, floors and ceilings, even the cabinets. A basement ceiling with a gap could send cool air right up through the next floor. Look around areas where there is framing. Locate doors and windows that could be sealed off for the whole winter. If the door has a screen door as well, its a good idea to fill that space up with insulation, or even a blanket makes a good insulator. Edges of windows and doors should be caulked or taped. Don't forget to clean the frame! Wiping down the area to get taped or caulked will maximize the effectiveness.

There are eco-friendly caulking companies like AFMSafeCoat. Some people sew fabric in tubes and fill them with sand, these are placed at doorways and are easily put back in place after someone has opened the door. Plastic covering is popular for windows because it doesn't obstruct the view. Plastic should be installed on the inside because the seal can peel out and the plastic can tear in bad weather. Window film is popular too, but it only covers the glass. These options involve plastic which isn't so eco-friendly, if you don't make a mess of things though, you can reuse it every year.

Cash for Appliances is the the latest rebate incentive from the government. It requires the new appliance purchased to have the Energy Star sticker, in order to be approved for the incentive. The incentive gives the appliance industry a boost while helping the country to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For the buyer, you will be saving money in the long run on your energy bill! If you're wondering if you should invest in a new appliance if yours is working fine, it is recommended that if your appliance is fifteen years old, or older, it should be replaced. Also, if your appliance doesn't have the Energy Star sticker it is most likely wasting energy, (and money!) Let's talk incentive.

How much $$$ will be available? The answer to that will vary, but is said to range from 50 to 200 dollars. That's a lot of cash back. Each state gets approval for the incentive and how much money they get will be determined. The allocated funds are supported with additional funding from each state. Each state has up to February 17, 2012 to apply the incentive.It has not yet been determined if rebates can be applied retroactively, so it might be better to wait and find out just when your state's incentive is in effect.

Also,' each state will indicate which Energy Star® appliances qualify for their programs and the exact rebate amount for each home appliance.' REBATES It has not yet been determined if rebates can be applied retroactively, so it might be better to wait and find out just when your state's incentive is in effect. Also,' each state will indicate which Energy Star® appliances qualify for their programs and the exact rebate amount for each home appliance.'

We all know that reusing what already exists can be much more eco-friendly than starting anew--not always, but frequently. So what do you do with an old stone house? While mud and clay are most popular in dryer states, stone houses are common in areas like the North East. In New England in particular there are a lot of stone house.   Townies call it the 'library look', because so many local libraries and state buildings were old, old stone buildings.  Stone houses are different from "rock" houses--you'll fnd some interesting houses carved out of existing large rocks if you do a search. 

While stone homes are prevalent in cold areas, the weight of stone homes add to the consideration of 'frost heaves' when building your foundation (that's when a thawing action allows the foundation to slip).  The foundation is generally built twice as wide as the walls, and the cement has only a few rocks in it, sometimes metal is mixed in if you have it.  Walls vary as much as 6 inches to two feet. 

As for the obvious insulation challenges, some just build two rock walls for thermal mass insulation.  The web-site, www.kohlerandlewis.com also addresses a special 'concrete foam insulation'.  

The technique of choice for most involves slipforms.  Slipforms are just plywood secured on both sides before pouring, and then slipping the plywood up when things begin to get solid.   'Bubble-stone' is the appearance it creates.  www.hollowtop.com  It was mentioned that slipform was considered an 'art', which translates to me, that there is a possibility you might stink at it.  So practice, practice, practice.  That includes building bar-b-ques, walls, etc as well as most things in life, right?

What tips and insights do you have about shoring up and greening a stone structure?

Playing in the mud is of course good times, throw in some straw and sand and you've got cob, a building material you can make a house out of. Cob is different from Pise, in that there are no blocks or cement used. The clay acts as the glue that holds it all together. The sand and the straw keep it strong once dried. It is fully insulated naturally.

Cob is used in cold climates, and is resistant to rain, it works in desert climates as well. Cob house have been know to last over 500 years. In areas like Great Britain where cob houses still stand, you will find some are maintained with a stucco covering.

But it's climate versatility isn't always the main reason people choose cob, it's the versatility of looks you can acheive. Cob is reminiscent of sculpting with clay, a perfect resource for way-out designs, or designs meant to go with the flow of the environment.

Benefits of building with cob include a chemical-free home, and a recyclable home. You won't even need to plug in your power saw to build with it. If you're wondering how to get started, www.cobcottge.com has courses you can sign up for to learn how to build your own cob house.

Wondering what to make of the Cash for Clunkers initiative that’s been sweeping the news ranks and has just been extended by Congress with another $2B to total $3B?

 Green Builder Media’s most recent newsletter thinks that it’s a step in the right direction but should be accompanied by numerous other wholistic initiatives in parallel to drive systemic change, rather than just a one-time band-aid. The program is expected to replace 500K cars by Fall 2009 when the funds are expected to dry up again, and to increase the efficiency of participating drivers by 60% (average 10 MPG for cars traded in).

Of course with many green-intended initiatives there’s a downside, and many environmentalists point to the energy required to deal with the old cars as a major offset to the program’s benefits.

I see GBM’s point. Several months ago Click and Clack (the Car Guys) raised a concept of a wholesale transformation of Detroit and the US auto industry, driven by a government-backed initiative to improve railroads and rail transportation. If the government feels the need to protect US workers and has the drive and vision to protect the environment at the same time, why not cause real long term change? By letting some of these auto manufacturers, who have shown scant innovation in recent decades, go under, and use the labor, capital and equipment to build up our railroads instead?