Supermart for green building products

The Green Building Exchange held its grand opening Saturday in Redwood City, Calif. It is the first shopping and meeting center of its kind serving home buyers, builders and nonprofit groups. Products on display include solar panels, recycled renovation materials and low-toxic furniture.

"Home Depot doesn't have the service that comes with this," said founder Michael Schaeffer, who has worked in construction for more than 30 years.

But are the prices as low? "If you plan right, they're not necessarily higher. Sustainable homes have less frills."

Although many green building materials remain costly, Schaeffer believes prices will drop as consumer interest rises. He considers the polluting construction techniques of the 20th century to be a fad. Schaeffer hopes the location between two major Bay Area airports will help to attract people from far-flung places.

House-greening products and services are becoming big business as more people seek to reduce energy expenses and improve indoor air quality. As many as 10 percent of all new homes will include significant "green" features by 2010, according to projections by McGraw-Hill Construction and the National Association of Home Builders.

Credit: Elsa Wenzel/CNET Networks

This is the way we wash our clothes....

We have been living in Nairobi, Kenya for 2 months. While my wife goes out every day to conduct her research (the reason we're here), I keep the apartment, care and feeding of the kids, cooking, and washing. Though washing dishes is pretty much the same as home - sink, scrounge, suds, etc. - the clothes washing is not. We have two buckets in the bathroom. I place the buckets in the bathtub, half-fill each bucket with water, and some washing soap into one, then it is just time and hand power to get the clothes scrubbed clean (and then hung out on clothes lines on the apartment's rooftop).

I ran across this notion and could really do with a thingy like this. I am really looking forward to a clothes washing machine when we get home, but with a device like this, I might be able to share some of the washing chore with my kids. Hmmmm....

How about pedal washing your clothes? Healthy for the planet and healthy for you, and especially for those (like me) who a prolonged use of this method might help them go down a couple of waist sizes. Sadly, the various offerings all seem to be in prototype.

The Cyclean seems to be the nearest to market. Here is a site, homelessdave.com that has some extensive plans and photos of his efforts is making a pedal-powered washing machine.

Here is another model, invented by Bart Orlando, that also shows promise.

Romantic and Green Lanterns

Renaissance Lantern w/Flickering Light $29.99 from SmartHome.com

This solar powered LED light "flickers" like a real candle all night long, switching off come morning to recharge. LED bulbs can last up to 30,000 hours. Be green and romantic at the same time. 

Venture EV: Electric 2-seater

Venture Vehicles has in development what appears to be a fantastically green and cool new mode of transport. You can now pre-register for the VentureOne’s e50 and Q100 hybrids or the Venture EV (all electric)
The hybrids have a 300+ mile range and can get up to 100 miles per gallon with a top speed of over 100mph. It is a 3 wheeled vehicle that is fully enclosed with state of the art steel safety features and includes airbags and side impact beams, making it much safer than a motorcycle.

This mini-cooper sized vehicle seats two with sleek wrap around windows. The videos on their flytheroad.com website make this trike looks a blast to drive, the front “cab” driving area is able to lean up to 45 degrees on turns while leaving the engine area horizontal. The videos on the VentureOne website shows this very well.

The planned price tag of $23,000 for the EV model and 18K for the hybrid might be a bit steep for such a small “car” but your savings on gas and the good karma you’ll have by not adding to greenhouse gas pollution makes it a serious temptation. They plan to release this in late 2008.

Tree-Free Journals and Notebooks

Boku Tree-Free Kenaf Paper Makes Beautiful Books!

Our world is losing its forests at an alarming rate. Nearly half the trees currently harvested are used to make paper, but there is now a sustainable substitute source for paper-making fiber. The growing demand for paper made with kenaf, a fibrous plant from the Mallow family that's related to cotton and okra, has made it an increasingly viable alternative economically.

Boku Books' use of tree-free kenaf fiber paper has saved literally hundreds of trees already and is contributing significantly to the building of the first kenaf-only pulp mill - which will be the cleanest pulp mill in the US. Put simply, Kenaf offers a way to make paper without cutting trees, and the company's goal is to increase the amount of kenaf fiber in Boku Books to 100% before long.

Made from 30% kenaf fiber and 70% recycled sheet, Boku Books replace larger, loose paper systems for things like grocery lists, passwords, notes and messages, logs, etc and they are contained in a very small and beautiful package.

Let the sunshine in

Solatube Daylighting System

Natural light lifts spirits, makes spaces appear larger, and reveals our world in its true color. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, it also reduces eyestrain, increases our productivity, and lessens electrical demand. Unfortunately, today's buildings rarely have enough natural light.

Now it's possible to change that with a highly advanced, yet affordable Solatube Daylighting System. The Solatube Daylighting System utilizes revolutionary breakthrough technology to redirect light down a highly reflective shaft and diffuse it throughout your interior space. Whether you need to light a small bathroom or a warehouse, the Solatube Daylighting System has the right light for any residential or commercial need.

Off the Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy

Off the Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy

by Lori Ryker

ISBN: 1-58685-516-6, 8.5 x 11 inches, 160 pages

Availability: Available 10/1/05

Off the Grid confronts the ecological and cultural problems associated with the way we get and use energy, and explains how it is possible to live in a beautifully designed home using much less--no matter where your home is located. Our homes are connected by a nearly invisible grid of infrastructure that binds us together. It is a system of electrical poles, wire, substations, hydroelectric dams, telecommunication towers, and water extraction and sewage systems. From within this system we work, play, and raise families. We have also created one of the greatest environmental challenges known to modern civilization. The signs of our impact upon the world can be recognized in the reports of environmental changes occurring across the earth, and they can also be seen in the growing failures of the energy grids across the world as the current system is stressed beyond its capacity. Technologies that can be used to live off the grid (geothermal energy use, wind turbines, photovoltaic arrays, micro hydropower, rainwater collection and reclamation, and more) are explained as author Lori Ryker shows how to choose and incorporate these sources according to geography and climate. Off the Grid beautifully illustrates that this is not just a concept for rural living; examples of homes that are "off the grid" to varying degrees are found in New York City; Ontario, Canada; Stuttgart, Germany; Belmont, California; Pipe Creek, Texas; Clyde Park, Montana; Twin Lakes, Minnesota; Laytonville, California; Venice, California; and New South Wales, Australia. Off the Grid shows how we can take responsibility for our future choices and conveniences now, and proves that off-the-grid living is a concept that can be easily understood and adopted by everyone, regardless of where you live or how much money you make. More Info