Jetson Green's blog

Here's an important roundup of news and articles from the past week that affect green building, or the future of green building.

1. A new report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development found that the costs of green building are often misunderstood, and even overestimated by as much as 300%.
2. HGTV announces the Green Home Giveaway - they will build a home somewhere using eco-friendly materials and give it away in 2008.
3. Sun Microsystems completes next-generation, energy-efficient datacenters in California, the U.K, and India -- they expect to save over $1.1 million in energy costs per year.
4. Developing special lending programs dedicated to energy efficiency projects is a good way for banks to support green endeavors.
5. With climate change and 80% of the world's population living less than 30 miles from a coastline, Discovery talks about green principles in building a modern city.

Also posted at Jetson Green in the Week in Review column.

Concrete countertops appear on house flipping-type shows every now and then, so I thought it was time we all got to know VitraStone. VitraStone products are made from 70-85% recycled content (post consumer & post industrial) such as recycled glass and fly ash blended with a proprietary mix of ceramic cement. Products in the VitraStone line up include vessel sinks, sink tops, countertop systems, back splash, floor tiles, wall cladding, and furniture and accessories. VitraStone is strong, too. Scratch and chip resistant. Freeze/thaw cycle resistant. Mold resistant. VitraStone products come in a variety of colors for interior and exterior applications. No off-gassing here.

For those of you that may be going for LEED points, VitraStone may be the right solution for your modern project. Also, VitraStone offers free design services to create 3-dimensional layouts for client approvals (or they'll work directly with architectural specifications). Via.

Here's an important roundup of news and articles from the past week that affect green building, or the future of green building.

1. Why is new housing so big and lousy? Why do builders build these homes?
2. Despite unwavering focus by the media, government and business, "going green" is only of moderate concern to most consumers, according to a recent research study.
3. There is a reason why homes rot (hint: it has to do with much more than age).
4. Shades of Green - with more large companies going green, the entire industry is under scrutiny.

Also posted at Jetson Green in the Week in Review column.

Here's an important roundup of news and articles from the past week that affect green building, or the future of green building. 

• Housing Slowdown offers a chance to get real about HOME SIZES ... good design and quality construction ultimately will prove more worthwhile than square footage.
• Nine ways to make your home more energy efficient.
• Thin Film PV market could top $7 billion by 2015 ... low cost, low weight, ease of manufacturing, and success on roof, wall, and window applications is driving the growth (see also Nanosolar Video).
• U.S. House of Representatives passed a Democratic rewrite of U.S. energy policy that strips $16 billion in tax incentives away from Big Oil and puts it toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Also posted at Jetson Green in the Week in Review Column.

So, how much energy do phantom loads really waste, and what can we do about them?

To take from Tip #10 of the Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook, here are some stats:

• If one million households halved their phantom power load, we'd eliminate 150,000 tons of CO2 per year;
• It's estimated that only 5% of the power drawn by cell phone chargers is actually used to charge phones, so the other 95% is waste when left plugged in;
• Buy Energy Star appliances when you can and you'll cut up to 50% of the phantom energy load;
• TV and VCRs alone waste $1 billion in lost electricity in the U.S. annually.

The idea is to plug stuff into a power strip when available and shut it off. Or unplug the device when not in use. This stuff is also known as vampire power. It's sucking our electrical blood.

image sxc.hu, Hannah Boettcher