Winter in Wyoming can be a cold, windy season of drifting snow and slippery roads; hence the erection of snow fences to stop drifting snow from piling up on the state’s windswept highways.

Wyoming-based, Centennial Woods harvests Wyoming’s snow fence before it needs to be burned or thrown in a landfill and replaced.  Beginning in 1999 Centennial Woods has repurposed more than 5 million feet of beautifully weathered snow fence, saving the state $9 million and preventing 9,000 pounds of CO2 emissions.  The reclaimed fencing is made of sustainably harvested, fast-growing Ponderosa Pine and Lodge Pole Pine from the Rocky Mountains.  Unlike most barn wood or salvaged building boards — it has never been treated, may remain totally natural when reused and emits no harmful off-gasses when it make its way into, or onto, your home.

Centennial’s one hundred percent recycled wood products and vintage hardware have been used in the building of Mountain Living’s Natural Dream Home in Colorado, Southern Living’s Idea House in North Carolina, and is a central design element in Whole Foods Markets and Bass Pro Shops across North America.

contact info:  centennialwoods.com

An emerging player in the booming prefab and green building movement is EcoSteel Building Systems, a residential and commercial builder with a “hybrid approach” to prefab.

EcoSteel, which is headquartered in Park City, Utah, is currently completing five modern prefab steel homes in South Carolina, New Mexico, Utah, Maryland and Massachusetts, while three other projects are starting — two in California and one in Georgia.  (more…)

A British study has found that many micro, or home wind turbines, don’t deliver the energy wallop that their manufacturers’ claim.

Home turbines included in this particular study produced less than 5% of a home’s daily energy consumption, versus the 30% that many turbine manufacturers claim is possible. This study was funded by the British Wind Energy Association and the government which inspected turbines in four rural, 10 suburban and 12 urban sites for a year-long period.  The small sample size leaves the results open to question. The British Wind Energy Association still estimates that small and micro wind turbines possess the potential to produce 10% of Britain’s energy needs.  Wind turbine performance is directly related to site-specific: wind speeds, location and design.

source: physorg.com

Leading power tool maker, Black and Decker, has seen the light and it’s ‘green.’  B&D has created its Energy Saver Series of energy monitoring tools to help you stop wasting energy and cash.

The Power Monitor (at left above) was the first energy saving gadget released in the Energy Saver product line.  An easy to install wireless sensor is attached to your electric meter to show your electrical power use, and to send the data to a wireless handheld monitor.  You program-in the rate that you pay per kilowatt (from your electric bill) and you can see in real time what leaving that computer on, using that toaster, or firing up that plasma screen is really costing you by turning stuff on and off.  Seeing is believing.

B&D’s latest addition to the series, The Thermal Leak Detector (above right – coming soon) does just that — it shows where your home or apartment is losing heat via electrical outlets, windows, and poorly insulated gaps in door jams and patio doors, so you can take positive steps to help reduce your heating and electric bill by stopping energy loss.  You set a reference temperature, point the device at the area you want to check and any change in temp is indicated by changing red and blue lights (hot or cold).

Stop guessing about your energy use and start saving money.  Knowledge is power.

A greener approach to moving has been formed upon a recent relocation of where I hang my heart. The strategy eliminates the heavy dose of boxes, plastic wraps, packaging foam, tissue paper, and tape that more traditional approaches administer to the Earth.

Below are some simple ways to help make your next move, a more eco-friendly move.

(1)    Boxes: Don’t buy them! Ask local paint stores, electronic stores, pet shops, etc what day their shipments come in; request their donations to you.
(2)    Packaging: Use (a) old, cleaned and crumbled Styrofoam containers, (b) crumpled up junk mail in place of tissue paper, (c) clothes/towels (clean clothes for dishes; “dirty” clothes for dusty decorative items), (d) old sheets and blankets for furniture covers.
(3)    Driving: rent the biggest van you need to eliminate multiple runs.
(4)    Tape the entire way across the bottom, but only a simple perpendicular strip on top with boxes that won’t be closed for long (or simply fold box flaps into each other).
(5)    Mail: Put your new address on a do not mail list before moving. Otherwise, you’ll receive endless advertisements from just about every business in the area.

As I understand that many might cringe at the thought of using clothing or towels as packaging material, these are only suggestions. What I hope is that these steps are able to spark your creative green engine during future moving endeavors.

Bask in the intrinsic character and beauty of reclaimed wood flooring while doing your part to conserve our trees and forests.  Deforestation and logging of old growth forests are a threat to ecosystems worldwide, why not do your bit for the planet while imbuing your home or office with the natural richness and warmth reclaimed lumber can provide. Kansas City-based, Elmwood Reclaimed Timber creates great looking wood flooring from reclaimed woods including white oak, heart pine, chestnut and walnut.

Elmwood also creates reclaimed wood counter-tops, paneling, mantels, cabinets and ceilings.  They keep it green in all phases of their operation, and all of their antique wood products are 100% reclaimed from old buildings, barns, rural structures and sustainable sources of reclaimed timber.  They’re also FSC certified.

see more @ elmwood reclaimed timber

If you’ve ever read the label on the back of conventional paint cans, you’ll find a list of ingredients hazardous to your health.  In fact, a Johns Hopkins University study (scroll to Paint via the link) reported that 300 toxic chemicals and 150 carcinogens may be found in oil-based paint.  When paint dries, the liquid chemicals evaporate into the air, known as volatile organic compounds (VOC).  Breathing these vapors can be particularly harmful to your health.  And, if paint is improperly disposed, it can pose serious threats to the environment.  Because paint is used nearly everywhere, including buildings, airports, and homes, there is a great demand for safer paint, to preserve human health and protect the environment.

Benjamin Moore Paints has made a green promise ensuring that their environmentally friendly paints do not merely meet industry standards (including LEED and Green Seal), but often exceed them, without compromising quality. (more) (more…)

If you want to put a big dent in your bottled water use install a water filtration system on your kitchen tap. This relatively inexpensive, under-counter model from Kenmore is highly rated by Consumer Reports.

Comes without a filter cartridge, ($16.99).

$54.99 @ sears.com

Thinking of adding a fresh coat of color to your walls? If so, make sure to choose a brand of paint that is low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds), or better yet, one that contains no VOCs at all, such as The Freshaire Choice, which is available at Home Depot.

VOCs are chemical gases emitted from products such as conventional paint, paint strippers, aerosol sprays, cleansers and dry-cleaned clothing. These gases can cause adverse health effects, which, according to the EPA, include eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, headaches, skin reactions, fatigue, dizziness, and possibly even cancer. Scary stuff.

Thankfully, The Freshaire Choice is available in 65 colors and received the highest level of certification by the Greenguard Environmental Institute, a non-profit organization that provides verification for low-emitting products. Using a no-VOC paint is an easy and important way to make sure the air quality in your home is safe for you and your family.

more @ freshairechoice.com

At some point in time we’ve all embellished to enhance our feeling of pride or to bring excitement to someone else. Likewise, we probably all know someone who’s boasted to win a hot date, or told their spouse of a greater sale price than they actually received. Intentions provoking these exaggerations, however, are not always good and organizations exist who seek to take advantage of our big green hearts.

A recent suspect to this predatory practice is the Energy Star program whose logo in our homes represents our diminishing carbon footprint. But does it?

Watchdogs at Consumer Reports have recently examined various Energy Star products and found them failing to deliver their promised energy savings. This was partly due to Energy Star compliance checks being conducted when appliances weren’t operating in ways representative of everyday home use. For instance, a refrigerator being tested for energy consumption while the ice-maker and its cooling center is off.  Consumer Reports also cast light on the fact that the products Energy Star supports have had their only evaluations completed by the manufacturers themselves. Perhaps a bit reminiscent of the countless “Best Burger in Town” signs coating city streets?

These aren’t the only flaws. David B. Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) remarks that test procedures are “out of date and problematic,” while Energy Star itself admits that “federal test procedures haven’t kept pace with technology.” Amidst the rumble, Consumer Reports still holds that Energy Star is a useful reference that needs only a dose of rigorous third-party review.

To see the article in full, visit: consumerreports.org

To view the EPA’s rebuttal: energystar.gov/

To inspect Consumer Reports’ rebuttal to the rebuttal: blogs.consumerreports.org (download the pdf)