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 As an EcoBroker, I understand how important conserving energy is and I work to assist clients in their pursuit of properties with green features.
This page will feature energy saving tips, practices that provide greater energy efficiency and reduce pollution, providing healthier indoor air and reducing water usage.
Check back here often for new tips and information!
Roaming Around the EcoWorld
Check Out the Websites Below for More Information on Protecting the Enviroment!
www.centerforsustainablecommunity.org
www.afreshsqueeze.com
www.treehugger.com
www.ecotalk.net
www.buildinggreentv.com
www.mnn.com
www.leedbuilding.org
www.epa.orgwww.chicagoclimateaction.org
What We Choose Today Affects
Our Grandchildren For Decades
Meet Your EcoBroker
For the past several years it became obvious that real estate would need to re-examine the building process. Times were changing rapidly, energy was becoming increasingly expensive and threats of shortages were rearing their ugly heads. Global warming was becoming a fact of life not just talk.
People began thinking about what can be done to save the planet, cut energy costs and have happier lives. This is when I discovered EcoBroker International. I took the course, studied, took my exams and learned a lot about what we shouldn’t do, what’s available to us and what we need to do. I completed the course and received my designation. My hope is that I can help to direct people to healthier lives while protecting our planet. Come join me!
Carol Mrowka
www.carolmrowka.com
e-mail - carol.mrowka@cbexchange.com
www.coldwellbanker.com
Phone: 312-266-7000
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Center for Sustainable Community
Community [csc@stelle.net]
Chicken and Cheese Workshops, CSC Open House Sat. June 6
Center for Sustainable Community Newsletter
Dear Friends of CSC,
CSC's next open house and afternoon workshop topic are a direct result of feedback we have received from our Newsletter readers and workshop attendees. A poultry workshop has been the most requested topic on our comment cards and this open house will be on a Saturday so folks unable to make it on the usual Sunday dates will have the opportunity to take part. If you have any thoughts on what you would like to see CSC present, please reply to this email. We want to know what you're thinking.
Saturday, June 6 is CSC's open house and 'Chickenomics' workshop. Many towns and suburbs are considering changes to their ordinances in response to the huge public interest in keeping a few hens in their backyards. This workshop will cover the basics of how to start and manage a chicken flock. Three different models will be presented including a cooperative, a certified organic commercial operation and a backyard flock. There will be the opportunity to tour two of the systems. Please register by Wednesday, June 3 for the tour, lunch and/workshop.
One of CSC's new programs this summer is an Intro to Cheesemaking workshop - It will be held at Nisse Farm in Manteno, IL. Learn the basics of making cultured dairy products including ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and yogurt.
July 18 - Permaculture Pond Renovation co-hosted with Midwest Permaculture.
All day workshop at the Stelle Pond in the garden/orchard area.
More information coming soon for:
August 1 - CSC Open House and Beekeeping Part II workshop.
For new beekeepers and seasoned apiarists alike, this program will start with a question and answer session by a panel of expert beekeepers followed by hands-on honey extracting.
Quick Links
Events Calendar
Chickenomics
Intro to Cheesemaking
Country Living
Cob Oven
Ride Sharing to CSC Events
CSC TIDBITS
Is it Possible to Raise Organic Plums in the Midwest?
Last newsletter I mentioned that the plum trees were full of blossoms. Well, those blossoms have turned into grape-sized plums, approximately the size where in past years they would begin to fall off the tree en masse. You might ask, why would all the plums fall off the tree well before ripening? I asked myself that same question for over a decade before I discovered the reason. The culprit is the plum curcullio. The plum curcullio is a small beetle that lays eggs under the skin of stone fruits. The eggs hatch and the larvae burrows toward the seed. In the case of a peach, the larvae remains inside the seed causing little damage, but in the case of plums, the larvae head toward where the fruit connects to the stem. This causes the fruit to fall long before it is ripe and thus the entire crop is lost.
The plum curcullio is the scourge of an organic orchard here in the Midwest, but despite that I must say they have some admirable qualities. Practically every business owner I've ever known would be delighted to have employees as diligent and efficie nt as the curcullio. It lays one egg in nearly every fruit and typically it lays only one egg per fruit. You will recognize its activities by the crescent shaped scar located normally at the bottom of the fruit, although about 20% of the time it is located on the side or top.
After learning what was causing loss of my plum crop, I explored organic methods to eliminate the curcullio damage. One common method is to beat the branches with a padded bat or board early in the morning when temperatures are cool and the curcullio is sluggish. To keep the curcullio from climbing back into the tree, you can catch them on a white sheet and kill them. Using this method, I actually produced a decent plum crop. Unfortunately, it is very time consuming and must be performed every few days to be effective. Recently, Julie introduced me to the book The Apple Grower. Although focused on apples, this book addresses virtually every aspect of organic fruit raising. One of the little gems in the book is its recommendation for controlling the plum curcullio. Its solution is to spray the tree with kaolin clay (sold under the name Surround). This is a natural white clay that irritates the curcullio. If other food sources are nearby, the curcullio will depart to lay its eggs on those sources.
Although I have had kaolin clay for many years, I did not realize it was effective for keeping the curcullio at bay. This year my plum trees are white-ish with clay and I have my fingers crossed. So far, the curcullio damage is far less than in previous years at this stage of development. If all goes well, you can stop by in late August and we can enjoy a few plums direct from the tree.
csc@stelle.net.
Center for Sustainable Community | 123 Crescent Lane | Stelle | IL | 60919
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MOTHER NATURE NETWORK
Plenty magazine has been taken over by Mother Nature Network and its great!
Check out the new site!
Website: WWW.MNN.COM
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| Green Outlook
Click on the Link Above to Visit the SPRING 2009 ECO-BROKER NEWSLETTER!
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When Organic Pays
Organic really pays is when money goes to fund new research that then gets into the hands of the people who really need it, such as a mom who learns that feeding their children organic foods can reduce their dietary pesticide exposure by 97%, and then makes the immediate switch to organic baby food. Or, people who learn that of the 11 most important nutrients, organic foods contain, on average, 25% higher concentrations of these nutrients, and then switch to organics in order to feed their bodies more nutrient-dense foods. How about the farmer who stops spraying his crops organophosphate insecticides for the health of his grandbabies in a house across the field.
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Luma Luxury
Luma Luxury
These organic cotton bed linens, throws and towels are sooooo yummy looking—it is enough to make you want to throw out, oops recycle, everything that you own now. The fabrics are organic cotton, environmentally-friendly linens and silks, and pure wools, including pashmina, merino and angora. The cotton is grown by rural communities in developing countries. Luma works very closely with factories in India and Peru that have fair trade practices and with small farming communities, cooperatives, and companies supporting traditional skills. The throws come with handmade labels showing the name and village of the weaver from a women’s co-operative in Northern India.
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Affordable Homes of Discarded Materials
Dan Phillips builds homes. But there is something a little bit weird about Dan’s work. The design is a bit unconventional, and so are the materials. In fact, Dan’s houses are built almost completely out of discarded materials of all kinds, from picture frames to dishes. “Every town has a crushing need for affordable housing, all across the country!” says Dan. And when he says affordable, he’s not talking about a $140,000 house - but a $20,000-$50,000 house. Dan helps the working poor build their own home. According to his calculations, enough good, usable materials are thrown out in his town to build one small house every week. The only criteria for prospective new homeowners - $500, no bad credit and a steady job. As for his building philosophy: “Use mostly recycled materials. Hire only unskilled labor. And keep it small.
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Clean Diesel. The Way To Go?
We recently interviewed Alan Schaeffer, the executive director of the Clean Diesel Technology Forum, a not-for-profit whose mission is “to help people understand the value, and the progress potential, of diesel.” We’ve also heard about ultra-low sulfur diesel and some of its benefits. With the recent announcement that VW will be coming out with a 70 mpg diesel-hybrid Golf, it seems clean diesel has hit the mainstream. However, not everyone is jumping for joy over clean diesel. A recent blog post by Jerry Garrett on the NY Times Wheels blog looks at the pluses and minuses of the technology and finds that, in the end, his “enthusiasm has been damped.” See why by clicking link to full post.
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Cornstarch Resin Jewelry
Part adornment, part anti-plastic statement, these nickel- and lead-free cornstarch-resin-based bracelets by EverybodyGreen were designed to aid environmental non-profits, as well as raise public consciousness about eco-friendly alternatives. Strung on organic hemp cord and embellished with a “Go Green” charm made from recycled brass, the bracelets come in coordinating sets of three ($15), in color themes with names such as “berries,” “crystal,” “ocean,” and “dusk.” EverybodyGreen will donate 10 percent of each sale to selected organizations such as Oceana, Earth Resource Foundationa, and The Clean Water Fund. (The company’s goal is to raise $1 million by the end of 2008.)
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New Thin Film Solar Record
The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has created thin film solar panels that are very close to competing with their more traditional silicon-based cousins. “The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell recently reached 19.9 percent efficiency in testing at the lab, setting a new world record.” 19.9% refers to how much of the sun’s light is converted to electricity by the panel. Multicrystalline silicon-based solar cells have shown efficiencies as high as 20.3 percent (without concentrators...), so thin film is very close. Any fraction of a percent makes a big difference over the decades of useful life of a panel. We also link to other solar breakthroughs.
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California’s Cow Poop Biogas
You can almost smell the photo above: “a vat of liquid cow manure covering the area of five football fields and 33 feet deep”. Ew. But as long as we are stuck with all that manure from industrial farms (and aren’t using it locally like on the Polyface Farm), something might as well be done with it. The Vintage Dairy Biogas Project, wants to provide enough natural gas to power 1,200 homes a day. As cow manure decomposes, it can produce “close to 99 percent pure methane.”
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Faber-Castell Launch EcoPencil
In line with the beginning of the school year in Argentina, German firm Faber-Castell has launched a new line of products called EcoPencil, produced with 100% FSC certified wood from reforestation sources in Brazil. The EcoPencil’s commodity is wood from the ‘Arboris’ project, a 10 thousand hectares reforested area in Minas Gerais (Brazil) that produces 20 cubic meters of wood every hour. The area, which used to be a sterile ground, is now also house to 307 species of native plants.
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DHL’s Guilt-Free Shipping
UPS has efficient delivery vehicles and FedEX is using diesel hybrid electric vans and now we have DHL unveiling a program called Gogreen Express “to give environmentally conscious shippers the ability to choose carbon-neutral package delivery. Using Gogreen Express is as simple as paying an additional three percent fee on top of the cost of the overall bill. DHL then invests the money into green projects like vehicle technology, solar panels and reforestation.”
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No New Power for Plug-ins?
A new study by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory looked at the impact that plug-in hybrids (and indirectly, electric cars) might have on the US electricity grid in the next few decades. They found that, as they say, timing is everything: If the cars were recharged after 10 P.M. there might not be a need for new power plants (in their “high-demand” scenario, 8 new plants are required). And we’d hope by then any new generation power plants built will be clean (wind, wave, solar, etc).
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Solar Robot Lawn Mower
A meadow might be preferable to a maintenance-requiring lawn, and a front-yard food garden would be even better. But if the lawn is there to stay, Swedish Husqvarna’s new robot mower combines a battery-powered (NiMH) no-hands mowing system with solar booster panels that help the mower extends its charge time. If you buy green electricity, you’ve got pretty low-emissions’ mowing. The solar hybrid model is supposed to use the same amount of energy as a 40 watt light bulb.
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“V” Bike: Swedish City Cycling
Small balloon tires, a low-rider frame and lots of hauling attachments are the features Swedish cycling company Skeppshult felt would be most needed in a short-trip urban bike. With an all-steel frame construction and weighing in at 17 kilos (42 pounds), the three-gear V might feel like a pair of hefty toddler twins if you try to lug it up a lot of stairs day in and day out. But V’s maneuverability and its front and back hauling attachments are pretty nifty. There are extra-wide package racks that can be positioned into either end, and attaching boxes with lids that can take about a 20-pound load, as well as metal attachable baskets. Base bike to be priced at around 4,800 Swedish crowns (around US$775).
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EcoGir Recycled Suit
How Many Plastic Bottles Did it Take to Make This Suit? Thirty. Bagir, which clothes one in six British men - has just taken post-consumer waste to a new level. Both the lining and the EcoGir jacket is made from 100% discarded PET bottles. We love it. Garments made from post consumer waste save much more energy compared to manufacturing virgin fiber. And Bagir recognizes this too. The company has also invested $100,000 to determine the carbon footprint of its garments and plans to label its suits in the next year. If wearing around old pop bottles isn’t your thing, the company also offers a line of organic cotton blends, with bamboo linings, and buttons from Tagua palm tree seeds.
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London Retrofits Public Buildings
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, announced a new project last week to cut public buildings’ energy use by 25%. Contracts were awarded for the first stage of the project, in which 42 public buildings will be retrofitted for energy savings over the next ten years. The Greater London Authority is the first city in the Clinton Climate Inititative’s C40 group of large cities to begin the process of retrofitting public buildings to reduce energy usage. (That project, announced last May, which brings together 4 energy service multinationals, 5 of the world’s largest banks and 16 of the globe’s largest cities. For London it will produce energy savings of £1 million a year, paying for itself over 10 years.
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White LED Big Breakthrough?
Lighting residential and commercial buildings accounts for about ¼ of all electricity used in the U.S., and since most of that light is produced very inefficiently (incandescent and halogen light bulbs could be called “heat bulbs”), there is potential for huge savings. Compact fluorescents (CFLs) are a step in the right direction, but light emitting diodes (LEDs) remain the most promising next step: more efficient, longer lasting. Researchers at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey, have made a find that brings LEDs closer to widespread adoption. They discovered that coating blue LEDs with a layer of engineered nanocrystals can turn the blue light into a warm, soft white glow, of 300 lumens.
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Greenhushing Doesn’t Help Anyone
Or Why Green Business Should Speak Up. Greenwashing is the corporate image version of money laundering − a shiny thin veneer of change. One of greenwashing’s negative effects is that it dissuades genuinely green companies from promoting their own far more substantial green practices. Companies that are authentically doing good stay silent, for fear that they’ll be tarred with the same brush as those who are carrying on with business as usual. We hereby christen this unfortunate phenomenon “greenhushing.” Although its intent is admirable, its effect is almost as negative as greenwashing. Companies that fail to integrate their responsible practices into their brand are selling themselves short.
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Forget Flying, Amtrak is In
Amtrak ridership is at an all time high - last year 26 million passengers took the train instead of driving or flying. While this may not compare to the hundreds of millions of passengers on Europe and Asia's high-speed rails, there is a clear trend toward increasing rail ridership in the United States. Our linked video looks at Amtrak's Acela, the closest thing in the United States to high speed rail. It's easier than driving and more convenient than flying. Yet while the government funded highways to the tune of $35 billion last year, and air travel received $14.5 billion, Amtrak received a measly $1.3 billion - the same as it got in 1980. And President Bush is proposing to slash that by 40%.
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Milk Jugs Recycled Into Toys
When you send the milk jug in your fridge on to the recycler, it's often the last you'll think of it. But Green Toys, Inc. is busy recycling them for profit into their line of classic children's toys. And as they point out on their website, every pound of milk jugs recycled means an energy savings equivalent to 3,000 AAA batteries, three weeks worth of the electricity needed to power a TV or enough to run your laptop for the entire month ahead. Currently, there's a tea set, cookware, a beach bucket, and even a gardening kit for kids. Teach your kids about recycling! And I'm willing to bet that Green Toys will be giving folks like SEE Toys and Sprig Toys a run for their money in the eco-toy competition.
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Nike Trash Talk Made From Waste
Steve Nash, the All-Star Guard for the Phoenix Suns, and Nike have teamed up to create the Nike Trash Talk, the first Nike performance basketball sneaker completely produced from manufacturing waste. It meets Nike's Considered design standards for sustainability, which we've previously discussed at length. In this case the upper is pieced together from leather and synthetic leather waste from the factory floor using zig-zag stitching, he mid-sole uses scrap-ground foam from factory production, the outsole uses environmentally-preferred rubber that reduces toxics and incorporates Nike Grind material from outsole manufacturing waste. Packaged in a recycled cardboard shoe box.
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Roll-Your-Own Green Bldg Certs
It is official: The National Association of Home Builders have launched their own green building certification system. We griped earlier about it, suggesting that it was LEED lite and would confuse the public; let's be more positive this time and look at the finished product. Starting off, it is really LEED ultra-lite; a builder rates his house on the online scoresheet. It is a straightforward system and could very useful at the design stages, as it is written in comprehensible language that doesn't need a trained professional to interpret up front. All houses won't be designed by LEED credited architects, so the fact is getting more people building green is better than being pedantic and perhaps elitist.
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Green Tower in Moscow
Can a 2,000 foot high tower be green? Lord Foster (Foster + Partners) is trying hard with the new Russia Tower, whose pyramidal form benefits from a highly efficient composition to achieve the maximum stability with the minimum structure. It is a mixed use building with both offices and residential. They'll use water and heat pumps to redistribute the heat to where it is needed from where it is not. By harnessing the heat created by the offices in winter and the cooling properties of the ground in summer, the energy cycle is a hot water circuit that runs through the building, distributing the energy to regulate the temperature and heat water throughout the day and the year.'
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| Past Articles
Matteriashop: New Online Shop
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Wind Turbine Payback Time
Anson Mills' Heirloom Grains
2007 Green Car of the Year
Locavore vs. Life Cycle
Center for Sustainable Community
Products For a Happy Life
Recycled Hotels
The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See
Eco Hero's Clever Idea to Clean Up the Bayou
Dutch Company Siphoning Heat from Asphalt for Energy Uses
Project H Design: Initiatives for Humanity, Habitats, Health and Happines
Cars Before People is a Snow Job
Amtrak: In the Red, But Green
Argentina's Energy Saving Plan
Solio on Safari
Local Paper for London
Sydney Greens its NYE Fireworks
Green Delights of Junk Mail Gift Wrap
The Carbon Footprint of Christmas
Green Gifts for Eco-Warriers
Truffles and Champagne are Green. Right?
Lifestraw, Version II: Now Without Aftertaste
Ontario's Bikes are 8% Cheaper
The Soul of Africa Initiative
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Clean Burning Stove Wins Prize
Bambulance for Kenya
Sorry, Out of Gas
50 Ways to Cut Your Food Bill
Play Rethink & Learn About 'Stuff'
Tis Better to Freecycle Than to Buy
Ecovillage Conferences
Dress Converts to a Teddy
New 'Cold Cathode' Fluorescents
The Wind-Up iPod: Trevor Baylis’ Eco Media Player
Eurostar's First Carbon Neutral Trip
Jaime Lerner on Urban Acupuncture
2pac Chair by rawstudio
Recycline's Preserve Kitchen
Greener Flying Tips
Windterra's Residential Roof Turbine
Electric Bike Prototype: The EV-X7
Wine Carbon Study: Drink French
A Detergent Made With Soapnuts?
Swedish Glögg, Glögg, Glögg
New Zealand's Wooden Longboards
Argentina's New Leather Gadgets
UKs Parmedic Cycling Unit
Delightful Dutch Designers
Global Warming For Gamers
IdeAs Zero Carbon Headquarters
The World's Newest (and Cheapest) Subway
Foodprint: The Surprise of Local Meat
Green Basics: Indoor Air Pollution
Local Farms Want Fair Trade Cert, Too
The Freeconomy Pilgrim
Kelp Takes Our Breath Away
Ethical Jewellery, Not Blood Diamonds
Go Green, Live Closer to Work
Stewart + Brown Autumnal Wears
Can Big Kitchens Be Green?
Safeway Sold on Solar
Coffee Lifeline Rwanda
Farmer's Market Comes to Work
Boxhouse: It's a Renovation
Peak Oil and Local Resilience
Nanoparticles Improve Solar Performance
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| What do you need?
If you need specific information and you don't see it, please Email Me and I'll find the information you need and post it.
Carol
Helpful Links:
Tips for gtting the best gasoline mileage
Energy Star's 5 steps for reducing air pollution
New Blog:The Pink Panther Energy Blog
another good informational
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