Quality installation of the two types of site-manufactured foam insulation is no easier than fiberglass batt and no less important. Here is how to avoid the most common problems.
Not really, of course. But after five-plus years I’m ending my weekly Energy Solutions blog to focus more on the Resilient Design Institute and re-making Leonard Farm back into a farm.
The divide between the worlds of design and sustainability is persistent, but returning to core values can bridge it.
For me, the creative tension between beauty and green performance came to a head in 2006, when I began working with the staff of Architectural Record on their new magazine: GreenSource. (GreenSource is no longer a separate magazine; it’s now an insert in the products magazine SNAP. And I’m no longer involved with it.)
With each new program, ILFI continues to push the building industry (and now other industries) toward greater stewardship and a “living future.”
I’m just back from Portland, Oregon where I attended the annual Living Future Conference.
The Living Future Conference was created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) initially to provide a networking and learning venue for designers and builders involved in creating buildings that are being certified through the Living Building Challenge.
We oversized our PV system so that we will be able to use solar energy to power around-town driving with a plug-in hybrid
Whether or not you believe that climate change is happening, implementing resilient design strategies will make you and your family safer—and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions
What will it take for policy makers and the public finally get on board with the need to do something about climate change?
The United Nations’ IPCC is leading an international effort to understand climate change, and efforts like the Kyoto Protocol have grown out of that background work. But are we getting closer to solving the problem?
A recently approved U.S. patent for drying out building spaces defies common sense and could squeeze builders whose only “sin” is dehumidification.
Saving energy isn’t only about using less electricity and fuel; it’s about saving water.
In this weekly blog, I’ve focused a lot of attention on the energy-saving measures at our new home—from the innovative insulation materials we used to the air-source heat pump heating system and our top-efficiency heat-recovery ventilator. What I haven’t said much about are the measures we’ve taken to reduce water use and why these measures save energy as well.
Tension and pressure, tears and creeps. The Wingnut Test Facility (WTF) gets dope-slapped in our latest round of experiments.
This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.
Human urine collection and use provides a better way to recycle nutrients than use of composting toilets.
Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy this blog over a cup of coffee here’s an article on…urine?
Really?
Let me explain.
A California company, Blue Planet, is reinventing concrete and envisions a world in which the 8 billion tons of concrete used each year sequester billions of tons of carbon dioxide.
