kristinarrigo's blog

Making small changes have a big effect when it comes to making your fireplace more efficient. Of course, some people have already put a wood stove or pellet stove right in the fireplace. But maybe you enjoy looking at your fireplace and just want to get more heat out of it.

Some people take out the summertime fan to blow some of the heat from the fireplace around the room. There are fireplace fans available, that install in the back of the inside of the fireplace and do a much more efficient job at this. www.qtfpsfan.com, has 'quiet fireplace fans'. Most fireplace fans are pretty quiet, although on their web-site they say blowers which work like fans can be a bit louder.

Glass doors are said to increase efficiency by allowing some control over how much air enters the fireplace. Another option is a grate heater. Grate heaters work by drawing in the cool air from the room and heating it in the fire, sending it back out as hot air. www.hearthfan.com has grate heaters.

Adding a 'fireback' works to reflect heat back into the room. 'Firebacks' are typically made of stainless steel or cast iron. They are placed at the back of the fireplace. www.fireplacemaill.com has some, even one with a pineapple on it! Feeling warmer already...

One thing's for sure when learning about 'being green', and that's what we don't see can hurt us. We know plastic bottles are trouble for the environment but you'd think plastic bottles which have been around for so long wouldn't be harmful to people.

This is not the case with the use of a chemical binder called Bisphenol A, or bpa's which have been 'suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930's' BPA and only in 2008 is its safety going from being questioned to being taken off the shelf. The movement to ban has been effective when it comes to baby bottles. But bpa's are also found in the lining of soda cans, and soda bottles, which are not banned.
Some stores are taking it upon themselves to ban all the merchandise that contains BPA, but it's unclear whether or not to what extent this could truly be accomplished. BPA IN BOTTLES Each state is able to determine whether or not to ban products containing BPA which some have. The country still hasn't put a a ban on the products even though reports continuously show harm to health. Mostly citing the reason being that the amount of BPA is too small to cause harm. This reason is being heavily questioned still, as the links to cancer prevail. For more information on bpa's that goes into great detail, check out www.treehugger.com.

CARGOTECTURE Cargotecture is a term used to describe the design of large cargo shipping containers for housing, www.inhabitat.com 'Upcycling' , as defined by www.wikipedia.org is 'a component of sustainability in which waste materials are used to provide new products.' The 'new product' in this case is sustainable housing built out of shipping containers.

Shipping containers are often used only once, as it is more expensive to re-use them. It is also unattractive, as well as costly to keep a warehouse dump for these containers. Imagine the size of the park a city could have where a warehouse dump would have been?

Shipping containers, when converted, are specifically designed for basic needs. In the www.group41inc.com descriptive video, they used the term 'basic susistence' . This term is often used when referring to circumstances of poverty housing. However, these converted containers are more than your average portable. They are equipped with photovoltaic solar panels to provide electricity as well as a rooftop rainwater cistern. Some feature shelving that folds up into the wall.

How did they think of this? Joel Karr of Group 41 in San Francisco, has involved himself in shipping containers for fifteen years, starting with his work in Japan using shipping containers to house trash and convert the methane for energy. From his work with sustainable design he created this design. www.containernation is another web-site to check out Joel's and Group 41's upcycled shipping containers.

The need for housing the homeless, emergency medical facilities, even extended family would be helped on a global scale by this cargotecture trend. In fact, Group 41 has entered and been accepted as a competitor with their upcycled design, in the Google's 10 to the 100th competition, where the goal is to find an innovation that 'helps as many people as possible', for more on the contest, check out www.project10tothe100.com.

Pictured is the sediment that clogs a your pipes. A great solution for preventing clogs such as this, is the PermaFLOW drain. The green design of the PermaFLOW Drain is a great contribution to eliminating the need for chemical drain cleaners, and the task of plunging. It's a fixture that replaces the conventional P-trap drain. You can get a PermaFlow for both your kitchen and bath sinks. Ever want to see wants going on down there? Tagging the culprit is easy with it's see through fixtures. You can spot your ring or other lost item and actually retrieve it yourself. There is a dial that can be turned to bypass the water flow. Make less phone calls to the maintenance man in your building, or trips by the plumber. Not to mention the time spent waiting for their arrival, the visit, (ah precious time), if you forgot how valuable that is, just wait for that whopping bill! It's claim to environmental safety is ending the over use of drain cleaners and the 'hazards of exposure to sewer gases. www.pfwaterworks.net. The PermaFLOW also necessitates a flowing drain which keeps molds at bay. How it works is with a 'wiper that removes stagnant debris in the trap area.' This design 'increases turbulence to minimize routine buildup'. Combined, these features reduce 'gray water pollution' which makes the water able to be recycled.' These facts from www.pfwaterworks.net, where you will find a way to order one as well.

Many people like siding for their home. They like that panel look wood and vinyl siding offer. Unfortunately, the practicality of siding is wavering. For example, vinyl siding has toxic emitting voc's and like wood siding it warps, and shrinks, it is affected by the elements. Vinyl can melt in high heat, and with wood siding termites and rot can destroy it. These sidings are also not so easy or attractive to paint. The sustainable choice is a durable siding with low energy manufacturing. One of which is the eco-friendly siding's available that even list credits with LEED, James Hardie siding. It is featured on the 'Robert Redford Building for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is ranked among the highest LEED rated buildings in America.' www.jameshardie.com A very impressive attribute to the product is the durability, it does not have to be replaced often and claims durability and a warranty for fifty years. It's made of cement and wood fibers, sand and water. Manufacturing is low energy, and the components are from recycled sources. The plank siding can be faced to look like stucco or cedar. Another interesting product they offer is a weather barrier, that is a wrap put on the building before siding. This acts as a weather barrier which is air resistant to improve energy efficiency. It's a strong wrap that tears less than other types of Housewrap, or paper/felt wrap. This reduces water damage and mold. The durability of a product that lasts leaves a lighter footprint on the the environment. Competing with Hardie is a product called microposite siding which came out a little more recently in 2008. This product is being tested in New Hampshire and other New England towns. The claim is that it outlasts cement fiber, making it more withstanding to the elements for a longer period of time. It is lighter, water resistant, natural looking, and has a better workability than fiber cement that requires no special tools and no harmful dust when cut. It's note to 'Green' building is that microposite 'uses a low-energy manufacturing process with natural materials and distribution efficiency' according to Reuters.com article on Mircroposite from September 29, 2008. The competition has begun, and it looks promising for the world of sustainable siding.

Many of us have been on the search for the cheapest way to get heat throughout the winter and if sales are the determining factor, corn has won. This winter demand for propane stoves and pellet stoves may have increased but corn burning stoves have sold out. Sales of corn burning stoves have gone from 65,000 to a drastic jump of 150.000 predicted for this year. Corn burning stoves retail for about $1600 to $3000, paying for themselves in savings in just one or two years. Typically, the stove only needs a little less than a bushel of corn a day. One dollar and sixty cents would get you a bushel of dried kernel corn that you pick up at a local feed store. This reduces a monthly bill down to about $60.00 per month. For some, the entire winter season costs about $200.00, an impressive savings from the average $400.00 a month bill as experienced with gas furnaces. Another bonus, is that compared to wood stoves, corn stoves don't lower the humidity in the room. Easy to install, corn stoves are vented and function without a chimney. Many of the stoves burn fuels other than corn, rye or wheat, such as wood pellets. Adapter kits are available to change a corn stove into a multi-burning stove, from Amaizablaze at www.cornstoves.com Other web-sites for corn stoves include www.harmanstoves.com and as well www.drcornstoves.com

The entrepreneur spirit is alive and compacting in the green world, with the Ecopod. The Ecopod is a recyclables compactor for your kitchen. How the ecopod works is by throwing your bottle or can into the slot, then, just simply step on a foot pedal, and the 'satisfying sound' erupts; a compacted version of your cans and bottles drops into a bin. The clump in the bin is your new and improved trash. This new contained version of your recyclables is a really a cool idea for people who are still buying excessive plastic bottles of water and cans of soda. There is a great convenience offered here, with the Ecopod; it might inspire some to go to redemption centers to reclaim their deposits! Will this put the guy who pushes the shopping cart from apartment dumpster to apartment dumpster out of business? I don't know. But chances are slim, since the ecopod is sold through the upscale Williams Sonoma Catalog, not your usual redemption center crowd. The Ecopod is just a part of a wave of investment products possibly designed for people who are searching for more ways to green up their wallets off of people who are trying to green up their homes. In so far, it seems the Ecopod is more modern kitsch than modern compact. The reward seems to be in 'the satisfying sound of compaction' which reads as the main selling point on www.springwise.com/eco_sustainability/household_recycling_plant/ , and the purpose is said to be 'to change the way consumers take out their trash'. The Ecopod seems to be no more that a trash compactor marketed for bottles and cans. Just a reminder, new products mean more stuff that ends up in landfills. I think it would be great if a product with sustainability in mind delivered in a reasonable way to warrant it's eventual resting ground.

Recently, my 92 year old Grandma was told by an electrician not to turn on the lights to her bathroom. Grandma has vanity style lighting around the mirror from 1952, when things were built to last! These days things quit on you usually before the 15 year mark, but even if your old fridge or washing machine is still operating, it can be difficult to tell when to up-grade your appliances for reasons other than aesthetics.

Old appliances such as old refrigerators waste a lot of energy, and can emit carbon dioxide. But if your old refrigerator still works, is it really better to replace it? As a general rule, buying any new product means an old product will end up in a land fill, and that is bad news. However, The EPA has stated that any appliance over 15 years old is good to get the heave-ho. If it is over 15 years old, it probably is an energy waster, and replacing it can save you 10% to 50% on a year's worth of energy costs.

But who is going to pick up the old fridge for recycling? Typically, the place you are buying the new one from will, or check out your state or local government recycling program. Reselling an old appliance yourself just means it will be active once again as an energy waster in our environment. So even if it ends up in a landfill, it's better off. In a landfill, where a large appliance take up space, the parts will get picked over and recycled. EnergyStar will show you ideal replacements for your old appliances.