National Energy Awareness Month - Saving Energy at Home
In celebration of National Energy Awareness Month, below is a list of home energy conservation tips to get you through today, this week, this month, and the end of the year.
In celebration of National Energy Awareness Month, below is a list of home energy conservation tips to get you through today, this week, this month, and the end of the year.
You don't have to completely give up your car to prove how much you care about the environment. Simply changing the way you commute can radically reduce the amount of air pollution, greenhouse gases and carbon emissions you produce each day. And what's more, alternative modes of transportation can benefit your health, save you money and even lead to new friendships (hello, carpool buddies!).
October is National Energy Awareness Month. This year's theme is POWERING AMERICA; We're On Target.
For attic insulation I would recommend either:
These are both nontoxic, no-VOC, and formaldehyde-free. Both products also have good soundproofing qualities, contain a high amount of recycled material, and are easy to work with.In fact, I installed both in my own house during a recent remodel.
As a working mother, I usually spend my rare moments of downtime daydreaming about what I'm going to do when I find myself blissfully alone. These fantasies often involve hopping on an airplane bound for tropical locales or the more realistic but equally enticing dream of taking a hot bath in a quiet room. The water is steaming hot, it's pin-drop silent and a soothing fragrance wraps itself around me. For 20 or 30 minutes -- 45 if I'm lucky -- I'm in a fancy spa without a care in the world. The secret to this transporting experience: a few drops of lavender essential oil, tipped strategically into my bathwater.
There are several factors to consider when defining a green driveway. Most often the factors depend heavily on the location, use and exposure of the site.
Here are some tenets which may individually or together define a driveway as green.
It's easy to forget that the components of the classic sustainability slogan "reduce, reuse, recycle" are actually listed in order of importance. Recycling is undeniably significant, but reducing and reusing -- using less and using something again -- have a greater impact. Enter "upcycling." It may sound like a tortuous spin class maneuver, but upcycling is nothing more than reusing with a twist.
Passive House and the Passive Solar houses of the 70's and 80's are not the same thing.
When I decided to make a huge change a few years ago and transition my life from New Mexico to California, I discovered that there was only one place in the world that I wanted to be: Santa Monica. Santa Monica is an incorporated city in its own right, but it is best known for being part of the greater Los Angeles area. I used to travel in and out of Los Angeles a lot for business, and I always knew that it was my destiny to eventually call the city my home. I had much to figure out before transitioning my entire family here, though (a family that included my two small children and my ex-husband). I knew that I would never want to divide our co-parenting arrangement – for the children's sake – between two states.
Twelve weeks remain on eligibility for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) so if you are in the market for a new hot water system, consider going tankless and you could be eligible for a 30% tax credit.