When most homeowners set out to green up their house, they focus on interior upgrades like tankless water heaters and HVAC overhauls. In the process, many neglect the environmentally conscious options available where exterior home improvement is concerned. You can make your home far more eco-friendly and look stunning from the curb with these excellent outdoor renovations.
Swap Synthetic Siding for Red Cedar (more…)
Living an eco-friendly lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight, especially in today’s convenience-driven society. If you’re hoping to decrease your impact, green up your home, and make a difference for future generations, however, there are several things you can do to improve your chances of success.
Increase Your Reusable Habits (more…)
Fearing no insult, asking for no crown, receive with indifference both flattery and slander, and do not argue with a fool. -Aleksandr Pushkin, poet, novelist, and playwright (6 Jun 1799-1837)
Let that last thought sink in for a bit. When you see someone duking it out with Trump supporters on Facebook, ask yourself: (more…)
Big businesses are often blamed for the state of environmental decline, and many have done much to change their ways. With some efforts by the government and inside incentives from companies themselves, changes have been made to help reduce pollution and improvements made to turn over a new, green leaf. Here are just a few ways that modern big businesses are going green today.
Green Energy
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There are two important takeaways from the graphic here:
• We Americans use huge amounts of energy, and feel completely entitled to do so. Insofar as there are no pressures that would militate away from this level of overconsumption, it’s likely to remain in place indefinitely—at least for the next decade or so while the U.S. is still a dominant force in the world, both militarily and economically.
• The developing world needs to consume more energy, preferably in the form of electricity from renewable resources, used to provide clean drinking water and enable education, a precursor to affluence.
Re: this second point, here’s something I came across yesterday on bringing microgrids to the third world, in which I intend to become heavily involved. More on this later.
In one of yesterday’s posts I wrote on the U.S. rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline: “My viewpoint is that rejecting the pipeline was symbolic, but that it was an extremely important symbol.”
In response, a reader remarks: “That would appear to be what’s important to the more extreme in the environmental movement: “symbolism.” (more…)
The future of energy is changing, and geothermal is emerging as a viable and attractive option for homeowners. Geothermal energy has many benefits, and it is a renewable source of energy. For the sustainable-conscious families, geothermal energy is an environmentally friendly option; it doesn’t produce any greenhouse gases that can damage the atmosphere. Here is some important information about geothermal energy.
What is Geothermal Energy? (more…)
Here’s a piece that covers one of the many hidden costs associated with petroleum: cleaning up oil train wreckages. That, in and of itself, wouldn’t qualify it as unique, or even terribly interesting, given how increasingly common these disasters are (they’ve increased in frequency 16 times from 2010 to 2014). What is worthy of note here however is the admission that accidents like these are inevitable, and that they are clearly the result of putting profits in front of the health of the environment and the people who live in it.
From the article: (more…)
With the population growing and pollution spreading, it’s becoming more important for people to have concerns about the environment. Green initiatives are still in motion, so efforts are being made to preserve the planet and its resources. For example, renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind power have been around for years, but some have made panels and turbines into major parts of their infrastructure. It does, however, call into question which of the two sources generates more power. While it may seem like one has an advantage over the other, the truth is hard to pare down to a blanket statement. (Note: In the U.S. today, wind is ~5% of the grid-mix; solar is less than 0.5%. – ed) (more…)
A friend asked me if I’d be interested in collaborating on a book that would offer a sensible plan to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. I responded that I’d be thrilled to collaborate on such a project and offered a summary of my viewpoints on the subject:
• Nothing’s going to happen here without a Bernie Sanders-style housecleaning on corporate interests buying elections, overturning Citizens United, etc. (more…)
