The Earthship

An Earthship is a radically sustainable home made of recycled materials.
Electricity is from the sun with solar panels and wind with wind modules.
Water is caught on the roof from rain and snow melt.
Sewage is treated on site in interior and external botanical planters.
Heating and Cooling is from the sun and the earth.
Food is grown inside and outside.
Earthships are constructed with recycled materials and perform as expected in any part of the world, in any climate and still provide you with what you need to survive.
Earthship Biotecture is a global company, based on 40 years of research and development by Michael Reynolds, principal architect of Earthship Biotecture.
*From http://www.earthship.net

Using Natural Light

Using Natural Light
By Josh Peterson

Article from Planet Green

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The sun is the source of life. It thanklessly powers the planet. Almost every creature on earth is dependent on the sun. There are some weirdo animals that live in the ocean that survive off of geothermic energy, but they just do that to be different. Humans, however, even the melancholy ones that listen to goth rock, need sunlight. On Renovation Nation, we have seen plenty of homes that utilize natural lighting.

The benefits of natural lighting are many. It increases the aesthetic beauty of a home, decreases energy costs and the stuff is healthy. It literally contains a vitamin. A vitamin that falls out of the sky, you can't beat that.

Sunlight provides vitamin D. That's just great. Vitamin D prevents many types of cancers, helps with depression, obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis. You only need like fifteen to thirty minutes of sunlight a day to give you the health benefits; so it is also convenient.
Natural lighting can also decrease your energy costs. By lighting a room with natural light, you can decrease your heating bills. Letting more light in inevitably lets more heat in. If you want to get fancy, you can buy windows that have heat-trapping or heat-reflecting glazes. This allows you to let light in and control where the heat goes.

Natural light looks nice. Not only is it practical and economical to rely on natural lighting, it also pretty. You can't go wrong. The next time you renovate or remodel, keep natural light in mind.

BUILDERS LEAD THE WAY IN ENERGY EFFICIENT HOUSING, CONGRESS TOLD

BUILDERS LEAD THE WAY IN ENERGY EFFICIENT HOUSING, CONGRESS TOLD

WASHINGTON, April 24 - Calling green building "the next evolution in residential construction," the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress today that the best way to help small home builders promote residential energy efficiency and sustainability technology in home construction is by extending tax incentives for new energy-efficient homes.
Testifying before the House Small Business Committee, Michael Hodgson, president of the Stockton, Calif.-based energy consulting firm ConSol, said these incentives dovetail with the normal supply and demand for home construction. "A tax credit program leaves important production decisions in the hands of builders, buyers and home owners and does not require expensive administrative oversight that is usually associated with a mandate," he said.
Under current law, builders who construct a home certified to achieve a 50 percent reduction in energy use are eligible to receive a $2,000 tax credit. That credit is set to expire at the end of this year, and although pending legislation in the House and Senate would extend it, there is still no agreement between the two chambers over the appropriate budgetary offsets.

"Unless Congress can end the political debate and extend this credit soon - with or without offsets - it will be a tremendous loss for my business and will eliminate the only federal incentive for efficiency in new homes," said Hodgson. He also urged Congress to increase the dollar amount of the credit, because achieving the 50 percent threshold required by statute is costly, especially for small builders.

Hodgson said that the housing industry is committed to the advancement of green building techniques that reduce energy consumption, improve indoor and outdoor air quality and conserve water and natural resources in both new and existing homes - all hallmarks of the NAHB National Green Building Program.

"NAHB members are leaders in the green building movement and were active on this effort long before the recent media interest in climate change and global warming," he said. "In fact, NAHB will be hosting its 10th annual National Green Building Conference in New Orleans next month and has consistently been ahead of the curve in promoting and developing energy-efficient and environmentally friendly construction techniques for the mainstream home builder."

NAHB and the International Code Council are awaiting final approval by the American National Standards Institute for the National Green Building Standard. The goal is to offer local jurisdictions an "off-the-shelf" green building program for all new homes and remodeling projects that is consensus-based and truly green, but flexible, said Hodgson.

"Green building means making intentional decisions that positively impact energy efficiency, resource conservation and indoor environmental quality throughout the entire design and construction process," said Hodgson. "Green means doing the right thing for the builder, the home owner, and, most importantly, the environment."

With the economy teetering on the edge of recession, Hodgson also called on Congress to move quickly to enact a housing stimulus package that will jump-start housing, save jobs and restore consumer confidence.

Specifically, NAHB urges Congress to include the following tax initiatives in the bill:
- A temporary home buyer tax credit. Hodgson noted that a provision in House bill H.R. 5720 could shore up home prices by stimulating sales and reducing excess inventory in housing markets.
- A net operating loss deduction carryback expansion. Allowing companies to carry back net operating losses beyond the current two years would help all hard-hit businesses -- including financial institutions and manufacturers -- to weather the economic storm, make their payrolls and emerge from this downturn in a position to grow.
- Expansion of the mortgage revenue bond program. This would help struggling home owners seeking to refinance their loans and would be especially useful for communities trying to avoid a wave of foreclosures or an extreme excess of inventory.

NS2008-069
ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in residential building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct 80 percent of the more than 1.08 million new housing units projected for 2008.

Contact: Calli Schmidt
(202) 266-8132
cschmidt@nahb.com
http://www.blogger.com/www.nahb.org
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1201 15th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20005
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Green Innovation Plays in the Key of the Future

Green Innovation Plays in the Key of the Future
by Elaine Ireland

As we addressed topics and articles for this issue, I found myself stepping back to observe myself and what it is I do to make sense of the world. I'm doing it again just so automatically: I find commonalities, organize, and connect the dots. Its my process for compartmentalizing and structuring the pieces while keeping sight of the whole — the whole being greater than the sum of its parts and non-existant without them. And the parts not so gratifying without the whole.

When I stop to think about it, finding the commonalities and connecting the dots is how GreenSage came about — one of the first green websites (launched in 1999) and the very first, original to connect the dots online among green products, green experts and authentic information.

At that time this green movement was in the awareness-building phase. Pinpointing and demystifying some of the issues and pointing out their relationships to greener products and experts has been an amazing journey — an approach intended to spark creative thinking for even better and greener solutions and products. The dots are indeed connected whether we are conscious of it or not — not unlike the butterfly effect or the hundredth monkey.

Its a huge job to try and shift our entire thinking framework from one of excess to one of harmony, as in 'living in harmony with the laws of nature' — but so compelling and intriguing. How are we going to do this? As a nation? As a planet?

And now we're here — the next phase. The part I am attracted to most, and what I love so much about this "Green Movement" — the incredible, creative innovation now going on in this solutions-oriented phase that we've entered. The awareness-building gestation period is over. The birth has happened. Now, a plethora of new innovative approaches and products are being created to help us see the possibilities of our destiny.

True, that for the most part I've always been the penultimate optimist — an idealist that usually sees the potential. Forget the nay-sayers and the ain't it awful folks. Don't pay any attention. Just start thinking creatively. Innovation has always come to the rescue of our problems, of our needs, if we just let it. Green innovation is now coming from all over the world. People everywhere unabashedly taking on a piece of these issues. Americans especially are quite brilliant at it. Which is good because we're such a major contributing factor to the current problems. But it was a French writer, of the Renaissance period actually, Michel de Montaigne, who is supposed to have said, "A strong imagination begetteth opportunity."

I can't wait to see which green products get created next, and which issue they solve and what makes them green. I'm impatient to see which companies succeed and sustain their momentum. There are challenges, of course, in undertaking to resolve such huge world problems. There are hurdles to be jumped — making a new product where the entire manufacturing process also needs to shift to green; and selling that product while cultivating this new market category.

Consumers and many businesses alike adapt relatively slowly when it comes to plunking down their hard earned cash. They're a bit hesitant around that old nagging notion that green just automatically costs more. While there are still limited choices (comparatively few green manufacturers), lower volumes and limited supplies, basically, most products are a shade of green — evolving, becoming better and greener. But the important thing is that so many are trying, are innovating.

We're not too worried about 'green-washing.' This market is already fairly sophisticated about what makes a product green. We just have to keep on our toes and make the conscious choices.

Building this green movement as a solution to the problems facing us requires a commitment that's authentic, something more than just style. Its now about the power of positive thinking. Of creative breakthroughs. Some of them we've featured in this issue, like turning CO2 into useful products and shifting to green chemistry.

The awareness has been built. Some innovative, creative folks have put their dreams of a better world into gear so that we might all start living in harmony with the air we're meant to breathe and the water we're meant to drink, and the earth we're meant to live with.

Personally, I'm quite hopeful about the future. As Albert Einstein said, "Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions."

Insulation

Recycling On The Job