2012 June 15

Going Green in Your Bathroom

Tips for a GREENER Bathroom

Nowadays, there are many ways to be environmentally friendly in the bathroom. In fact, you have so many different options now it can be hard deciding which elements to include. As a private contractor in the Hamptons, I have done my fair share of bathroom makeovers. So, instead of being confused, follow a few simple tips I have come up with that will leave you with an aesthetically beautiful, as well as environmentally friendly new bathroom.

Start with surfaces

When you substitute green materials into your bathroom you not only are improving the sustainability and décor in your bathroom, you are making them safer hygienically. Almost all modern materials have added benefits on top of being environmentally sound. While touring Brooklyn real estate a few months ago I came across a novel use of bamboo for a bathroom countertop. Bamboo is a durable material that is anti-microbial by nature, is nearly waterproof, and is flexible enough to use in a variety of settings. You can use high quality bamboo for flooring as well.

Don’t want wood in your bathroom? Natural linoleum has many of the same properties as bamboo while at the same time being biodegradable, free of toxins, and very easy to maintain. As an added bonus, natural linoleum is extremely durable – it should last years or more. It comes in a wide variety of colors, shapes and patterns.

Make your vanity sparkle

Are you looking to add a bit of “wow” to your bathroom? Your vanity is an ideal place to add a distinctive touch. Instead of going out and purchasing all new cabinets and cupboards, consider making the environmentally sound choice and reusing old furniture. You can repurpose an old chest, or find quality old pieces at antique stores or on eBay. Using older pieces can add a vintage bit of flair to a bathroom. Or, you can update your old furniture to better fit in with your new look and color scheme. A couple of coats of low or no volatile organic compound paint or stain will have your vanity looking better than new.

Saving water

The biggest green updating you can give your bathroom is in using new, high efficient fixtures. The less water you use, the better off the environment will be. The biggest water savings will come in switching your showerhead over to a super-efficient model. Moen makes several models that use almost 20 percent less water, while still giving you an invigorating shower.

Another great way to lower your water usage is to install a lavatory faucet that meets the WaterSense criteria. WaterSense is a program started by the EPA to lessen indoor and outdoor water usage by promoting water-efficient products and practices. Moen has a new single-handle faucet that meets the WaterSense guidelines. Its technology lets the water flow at 1.5 gallons a minute as compared to the 2.2 gallons found in traditional faucets. As with all Moen products, you do not sacrifice style for performance.

Green accessories

Your bathroom decorations can also be a great way to go green. The first thing you should do is avoid rubber and plastic whenever possible. A rubber mat or plastic shower curtain can be detrimental to your air quality. This is particularly an issue in a small tight space such as a bathroom. It’s best to use PVC-free plastics for your shower curtains and liners. Even better is to use natural fabrics such as bamboo or cotton. Hemp is also a great option as is naturally resistant to mold. Another great way to go green in your bathroom is by using organic cotton for your towels and rugs. Organic cotton is hypoallergenic and is grown in a way that lessens the impact on the environment.

Ford Cut Energy-Usage Per Vehicle Made by 22% Since 2006, Wants to Cut 25% More by 2016

What goes on behind the scenes at the manufacturing plant is important, even if it is often invisible to the people who drive the cars.

The Beauty Of Industrial Energy Efficiency

Industry is about producing more, more, more. And that means sucking up more and more energy. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If industrial development is viewed through an efficiency lens, America could grow its industrial strength while using substantially less energy.

As part of its Reinventing Fire series, the Rocky Mountain Institute has outlined a plan for increasing the U.S. industrial base 84 percent by 2050 while using 9 percent less energy. The plan is founded on a concept RMI has been championing for many years: integrative design. By taking advantage of system-wide efficiency opportunities at facilities rather than one-off projects, the need for expensive pieces of equipment diminishes, often reducing the upfront cost and accelerating savings.

RMI has produced a great new video on the concept. It’s worth a look:

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World’s Largest Wind Farm is Now Fully Operational

Walney Wind Farm, claimed to be the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm with 102 turbines, is now in full working order, it was announced by SSE, one of the companies behind the development.
Located off the Cumbrian coast, the £1 billion wind farm has a total capacity of 367.2 MW, of which SSE’s share is 92MW, delivering around 1GWhr per day.
SSE’s Managing Director, Renewables, Jim Smith commented: “Walney is a great example of how much offshore wind has matured as an industry in a relatively short time, and will provide a significant contribution to the UK government’s CO2 reduction targets and fuel security ambitions.”

Officially opened in February this year by Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Davey, the wind farm development has been handled by Walney (UK) Offshore Windfarms Limited, a partnership between SSE and Dong Energy.

Allen & York specialise in renewable energy jobs.  Current job opportunities include:

Three Things Goldman Sachs’ $40B Greentech Investment Means, and Two It Doesn’t

More than any other investment bank, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is famed for its skill at picking good investments. Last week, the bank announced it would invest another $40 billion in green technologies over the next 10 years (or an average of $4 billion a year.) While this is a drop from the $4.8 billion invested in 2011, the last time Goldman Sachs made a commitment to green tech was 2005. The $1 billion pledged then ended up as $4 billion in direct investments of Goldman's own money, and another $24 billion of financing arranged by the bank.

Electric cars are sexy. Energy efficiency? Not so much. And that’s a problem.

Electric cars are sexy. Solar panels look cool. Wind turbines can be striking.

HVAC?* Uh, no.

 

Unfortunately, when we think about energy efficiency, we may think about Jimmy Carter in a sweater, telling us to turn the thermostat down. That’s conservation–a good thing–but energy efficiency is something else. Energy efficiency is the ability to generate the equivalent output while using less energy. It’s a building that’s well-insulated, or lights that require less electricity or a car that gets more miles per gallon.

Energy efficiency is the cheapest, smartest and fastest way to curb carbon emissions, create jobs, promote energy independence and make the American economy more competitive.

Yet policy at the federal level, at least, is much more robust when it comes to electric cars (you get a $7,500 subsidy), wind or solar power.

This isn’t to say we should not support clean energy. We absolutely should. But let’s not neglect efficiency because it’s boring. Or complicated. Or because you can’t see it. Or because the solar or wind lobby has clout.

That, at least, was my conclusion after attending today’s Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington, which I covered for GreenBiz. Here’s how my story begins:

“Real estate is the largest source of clean energy in this country, and it’s very inexpensively tapped.”

So said Tony Malkin, the president of Malkin Holdings, owner of the Empire State Building.

Malkin spoke today [Thursday, June 14] at the annual Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington, D.C., and he’s got a point, albeit a controversial one.

If we — or, more to the point, the people who represent us in Washington — have $1 to spend, better that it be spent on energy efficiency than on clean energy.

That’s not way things work now. Today, wind and solar power get generous tax breaks and subsidies. Energy efficiency investments do not. The government  has it exactly backward.

Why? First, let’s stipulate that money spent on efficiency and on clean energy creates short-term jobs. The efficiency-related jobs are more likely to be US jobs (because most solar panels are made in China) but set that aside for a moment. What matters is what happens after the insulation goes into a building, or the solar panels go up on the roof.

The problem with clean energy is that electricity from wind turbines or solar panel, as a rule, costs more than power generated by burning coal or natural gas. If it didn’t, the wind and solar industries wouldn’t need the investment tax credits and renewable portfolio mandates that are vital to their business. But over time the higher costs of clean energy create a drag on economic growth, whether they are paid by the government or by energy users.

By contrast, money spent on efficiency reduces costs over time. So, whether we are talking about more efficient factories, commercial buildings, homes or even cars, the spending on efficiency makes the economy more productive, driving economic growth and creating jobs in the long run.

Yet the government generously subsidizes wind and solar. Efficiency, not so much.

You can read the rest here.

*HVAC stands for heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

New Jersey Beats California For Most New Solar Power Installations

In the first three months of 2012 the Garden State installed roughly 20 MW more solar power than the Golden State.

A Closer Look at Smart’s Award-Winning Electric Bike

Smart's ebike is highlighted in Germany's most prestigious design awards program, the Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, and we have exclusive photos.