Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
Are You a Survivalist Eco-Freak?
Dmitry Orlov, ClubOrlov
Based on some checklist I ran across on the Internet recently, I am a certifiable survivalist eco-freak. Solar panels – check. Composting toilet – check. Rainwater collection – check. Efficient light bulbs – check. Doing all my own maintenance – check. Three months of food – check. So I thought I’d check in with my readers, and see how eco-freaky they are, and whether they aspire to greater eco-freakiness.
My eco-freak leanings are all motivated by the fact that I live on a boat. And the top reasons I live on a boat are:
1. It’s a cheap way to live
2. It’s a cheap way to travel
3. I like sailing
You see, the eco-freak survivalist motivation doesn’t make the short list. Even looking at the specific components, their choice is motivated by something other than the eco-survivalist ethos. The solar panels are cheaper to run and quieter than a generator set. The efficient light bulbs are a must because the solar panels are not that powerful. The composting toilet is more convenient because it doesn’t require regular pump-outs while living at anchor or at the dock. The food stockpile is because it is cheaper to buy in bulk. Doing my own maintenance is, again, cheaper than paying for labor. The rainwater collection system? Well, the cockpit awning drains onto the cabin top, and the cabin top scupper is right next to the water tank fill.
“So what’s it like living on a boat?” people inevitably ask. Well, it’s cozy, if not to say cramped, but really quite comfortable. Everything is within easy reach, and there is never any wandering from room to room in search of things.
(31 January 2008)
Porous Streets Work–Even in Rainy Oregon
Erica Barnett, WorldChanging
… Pringle Creek, a 30-acre, 139-lot development, boasts the largest porous street system in the country, although interest has been increasing exponentially, according to the Oregon Asphalt Pavement Association, whose director, Jim Huddleston, told the Portland Journal of Commerce that he looked forward to a day when cities routinely used porous asphalt to pave roads, not just parking lots.
Porous pavement has been around since the 1970s. It consists of regular asphalt from which the smallest particles have been removed, allowing the vast majority of liquid that hits the pavement to pass through. Stormwater drains through the asphalt and infiltrates slowly into the underlying soil. Although it does cost more, it holds up as well as or better than traditional asphalt; a test street in North Portland demonstrated that porous streets can hold up to regular city traffic.
Most importantly, unlike impervious pavement it allows 90 percent of stormwater to infiltrate back into the ground. Impervious pavement, in contrast, gets rid of stormwater in the form of runoff; that in turn leads to more polluted waterways, more frequent and severe flooding, loss of natural storage capacity in plants, wetlands, and soil, and reduced groundwater recharge.
(30 January 2008)
12 that have Shaped Green
Rebecca Bryant, Professional Remodeler
Our list of the top influencers on green building and remodeling
1 NECESSITY
The picture came into focus in the 1970s; more people were using more resources. This shaped supply and demand curves, which dictated that tell-all number: price. Higher energy bills led to tighter buildings that exhaled VOCs. Higher lumber costs led to innovations such as OSB and SIPs. Meanwhile, ecosystems languished under the strain of producing raw materials. Keep an eye on necessity via this report from the Worldwatch Institute. www.worldwatch.org/vs2007
2 SIM VAN DER RYN
In the mid-1970s, architect Sim Van der Ryn restored a 100-year old Victorian in Berkeley, Calif. The design – solar panels, a composting toilet, water reuse, and backyard food production – was way ahead of its time. He called it “ecologically integrated living.” Walking through the front door or reading about the project introduced thousands to whole systems design. www.ecodesign.org/edi-portfolio.html
3 EDWARD MAZRIA
In 1979, architect Edward Mazria published the “Passive Solar Energy Book: A Complete Guide to Passive Solar Home, Greenhouse and Building Design” which brought passive heating, cooling and lighting to the fore of ecological design. He went on to build a number of award-winning passive homes in New Mexico. His third act “Architecture 2030” is an attempt to reduce the building sector’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent. www.architecture2030.org
(1 January 2008)
