If the price of oil, gas, and electricity is blowing through your bank account make sure the heat in your home isn’t going out the window. In addition to weatherstripping and proper insulation you might want to cut down on drafts and heat loss by installing insulated curtains for the winter months. The curtains pictured above are backed with 100% acrylic foam insulation which blocks winter’s drafts and heat loss from warm interior air hitting cold windows.

these and others (on sale now) @ plow & hearth

The amount of solar energy the Earth receives in 40 minutes is equivalent to global energy consumption for a year, so it’s no surprise that solar photovoltaic cells have become the world’s fastest growing energy source.

Whether you’re inclined to do your part for mother earth, or just want to lower your energy bills, a solar panel system may be an attractive fit.  Whether it’s a feasible option, however, will vary from home to home, depending on where you live and how much sunlight you receive.

Essentially, a solar panel system is a long-term investment.  Although a system typically has a high initial cost, the consumer saves money in the long run because the costs are eventually paid off in energy bill savings.  And, any solar power generated thereon after is entirely profit.

What varies is the amount of time it takes for you to make your money back – called, the payback period.  This depends on a number of variables – including: sunlight exposure, the system size, regional electric rates, household energy consumption, equipment placement, and the list goes on.  Generally speaking, systems typically average a payback period of 10-15 years.

Here’s how to calculate your payback period:

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Operating out of their renovated factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, IceStone creates great looking, highly durable surfaces for both homes and commercial spaces.  IceStone’s products are created with 100% recycled glass in a cement matrix via a process designed to conserve both water and energy.  The company makes surfaces for kitchen countertops, bathroom vanities, tabletops and patio surfaces.

IceStone’s surfaces contain high recycled content, VOC-free ingredients, and they’re the first durable surfaces company to receive the MBDC’s Cradle to Cradle™ Gold certification, (very green).  The company’s products are ideal for projects seeking LEED certification.

learn more @ icestone.biz

When you think of a rain barrel what do you picture?  Don’t you think of a huge ugly barrel that is an eyesore?  I know I do.  Finally here is an attractive alternative for saving rainwater, the Cascata Rain Barrel.  This environmentally friendly water capture device has to be one of the more appealing rain barrels around.  From a distance it looks like a clay pot, however, on closer inspection, you’ll find it’s made from a durable roto-moulded plastic. (more…)

There’s a new Website out there to help you extend the life, and create other uses of all the everyday stuff in your home. “Whether it’s using hairspray to remove ink stains, vodka to clean your eyeglasses, or coffee grounds to fertilize your garden, AltUse taps into the planet’s collective wisdom so you can keep more in your wallet and send less to the landfill!”

AltUse.com lets registered users upload ideas and product info to be entered into the database and onto the site (upon approval). Registered users can also vote for items they think are the most helpful.  You can search by Use or by Product.  Pretty cool.

A large percentage of the waste that goes into our landfills is organic material comprised of yard and food waste.  Over 90% of of gas emissions from landfills are methane and CO2 created by decomposing organic waste.  How can you help alleviate this problem?  Start composting.

This compact and handy Envirocycle Composter has some great features:  It’s made with durable recycled plastic and produces both solid and liquid compost.  The drum rotates easily on 8 rollers and can be rolled to any spot to spread solid compost.  The base collects liquid fertilizer (more…)

During my recent trip to the sunny state of Florida, I pondered the reality of subdivision after subdivision covered in terracotta tile roofs.  The thought occurred to my sun scorched brain that Florida, California and many southwestern states would be a perfect environment for solar tile roofing technology.  I took up the search for a product that integrates solar cells into the actual tiles of the roof – foregoing the use of boxy, obtrusive, traditional solar panels and conforming to the pervasive roofing style.  I unearthed a partnership between two companies, California-based, US Tile, and SRS Energy, that has developed Solé Power Tile.

The Solé Power Tile system is designed to seamlessly integrate with US Tile’s traditional curved, clay roofing tiles, while incorporating advanced photovoltaic technology into the new tile’s design. (more…)

If it rains any more here in the northeast we’re going to start growing webs between our toes – making it a great time to store precious water for the inevitable dry spell to come.  A rain water capture system connected to your home’s gutter downspout can provide chemical free rainwater for a multitude of outdoor watering tasks.  This handsome 60 gallon Great American rain barrel can fill itself up on as little as a 1/4″ of rain, depending on your roof size and gutter system.   It’s easy to attach to your home’s downspout, and two or three can be linked together for extra storage capacity.

Remember, rainwater is better for your lawn, garden and plants than the chemically treated stuff that comes out of many faucets.  Another green feature is that the barrel is made of food grade, recycled polyethylene.

pictured in Nantucket grey, it also comes in green and black $129.99 @  rainbarrelsource.com

Related: greenhouse environmental management – the green house provides businesses with tailored waste management programs to minimise their waste output and costs.

In these trying economic times, many of us are making-over our homes and offices as cost effectively as possible, and oftentimes this means doing it ourselves.  A great green resource for eco friendly building and home improvement supplies is Green Depot.

On the Web for the past four years, and with a new location in Manhattan, everything from eco-minded flooring, paint, tiles, countertops to cleaning supplies and home decor are all (more…)

I happened to declutter 3 closets yesterday (jealous, I know), and was enjoying the mental high…when I ran across Cindy Adams’ column today in that pinnacle of style and culture, The NY Post.

She captured my struggle with pithy wit and humor.

“…Redoing my closet is like draining the Panama Canal with an eyedropper….The big decision is the “in case” clothes…in case I lose five pounds, in case I lose eight pounds, in case I lose 10 … in case this comes back in style, in case this qualifies as vintage and I can sell it, in case I grow taller… in case I break the zipper on a certain other one which is basically the same look but which I like better, in case I’m up for the role of a misfit in a play and must supply my own wardrobe for the audition…

…One of those declutter experts came to my apartment.  They’re all blondes.  If they could pass the test, they’d be real-estate brokers or interior decorators.  And they all sound nasal.  As if they stuffed an angora sweater up a nostril…”

After passing along 5 industrial strength sized bags of stuff to friends and family yesterday, I’ve decided that’s really the best way to free cycle pre-loved goods.  And I vow always to be able to see floor, wall and shelf space in my closets. case closed

Water, precious water…don’t waste that H2O surging off your roof and through the gutters of your home.  A roof area of only 1,000 square feet can provide approximately 600 gallons of water during a one inch rainfall.  You can capture that run-off with a rainwater harvesting system like this handsome one from Fiskars.  The unit’s flat back minimizes “dead space” between the barrel and your home’s exterior.  The kit includes a 58 gallon barrel made of UV treated impact resistant Polyethylene with built-in base, cover, worry-free downspout connector kit and threaded spigot for garden hose attachment.  Easy to install.

$189 @ rain-barrel.com

Klip Biotechnologies’ founder, Joel Klippert, designs and creates these EcoTop countertops from a 50/50 blend of FSC-certified, post consumer recycled paper and renewable bamboo fiber, then binds them with a new 100% water-based system. The result is an innovative, new surface product that promotes sustainability without compromising quality or style.

Klippert, who is the original creator of Paperstone recycled paper countertops, markets EcoTop as the most durable, user-friendly green surface material available. (more…)

UDATE: July 28, 2009 - Here’s a Marcal small steps store locator (original post, follows…)

Marcal Paper Products is not really a newcomer to the eco movement; as the company states, they’ve been “saving trees since 1950.”

Last month they began to roll-out Small Steps, a new eco friendly line of bath tissue, paper towels, napkins and facial tissue; and they asked us if we’d like to check it out. We said, sure. (more…)