Green Home

Eco-Smart Gardening

While a well-maintained lawn and garden can provide a rewarding opportunity for weekend botanists, all that grows in the yard is not necessarily green for the environment.

The EPA has determined that gasoline-powered landscape equipment like mowers, trimmers, blowers, and chainsaws account for over 5% of our urban air pollution.

When combined with the vast amount of water used (30% of water consumption in urban areas in the eastern United States is for watering lawns), the tons of waste produced from mowing, and gallons of chemicals washed into the water supply from fertilizers and pesticides, your lawn could be one of the greatest spoilers of the environment in your neighborhood.

But keeping your yard healthy does not have to be at the expense of the community or planet if you take the green path to greenery. With a little bit of effort, education, and commitment, your yard can be a healthy tool to not only conserving natural resources but also improving the state of the environment.

Green Building

Thinking about building a new home? If so, there is no time like the present to take advantage of techonologies that conserve energy and other resources and help minimize the impact your home will have on the environment. The opportunities are many, from solar collectors to heat pumps to sustainable building products.

What is Green Building?

Green is as much a philosophy as it is a tangible attribute to a building product or technology. While there are many shades of green, committing to this ideology can challenge every aspect of your life.

The key to a truly green product is that it takes the entire lifecycle into account. This includes how and where it was manufactured, transported, installed, used, and ultimately re-used or recycled.

Flooring made from recycled cardboard boxes may sound great, but if it's manufactured halfway across the globe and wears out in three years, it probably won't pass the green test.

When searching for green building materials, look for the following:

* Use of recycled or renewable materials

* Resource conservation in manufacturing and use

* Locally produced* Healthy for occupants (low or no VOC)

* Very durable and requiring little maintenance

Usually the first question to ask yourself when going green is "Do I really need this?" If you own a rake, do you need to use an electric leaf blower?

Instead of getting a new tool box, can you just clean out and reorganize the one you have (imagine what you might find!)

Toxic paint removers may be easier than elbow grease, but in the green world the easiest choice isn't always the best choice.For major remodeling and landscaping projects, site selection is also a critical part of a green home. This means if you are expanding the physical footprint of your home, you should consider erosion, water drainage, tree removal, and long-term durability of the new space.

The key to green is to thoughtfully examine every aspect of your construction project and then use means and materials that do the least harm to the environment.

.