Saturday Thoughts
July 12th, 2008
First Green Edition
July 12th, 2008
First Green Edition
Just took a break from a very busy day at the office with my weekend job and decided it would be a good time for Saturday Thoughts. This week for Saturday thoughts I really wanted to touch on Going Green. This will most likely be the first of many Saturday Thought Editions that touch on this topic as it has quickly become a big part of my life, thoughts and obsessions. I've spent many hours this past week coming up with a detailed outline of what I would need to live a sustainable life once I have a place of my own. A plan that drew out exactly how I was going to use photovoltaics, rain water collection, water recycling, recycling of everything possible, all the materials and items I would need and a step by step plan of how all of this was going to tie in to my house, vehicle and everyday life.
The outline is coming along slowly but surely and when I am happy with it and feel it is pretty well rounded I'll post it up here. The research is actually a lot of fun to me as well as time consuming-there is a TON of things out there (as you can imagine like everything on the internet). I have yet to find things that seem bogus, impossible or completely false yet aside from conflicting reports and calculations. Even the calculations are only off by a few digits. Needless to say, there is a lot of credible information out there on ways to make your whole dwelling green. The next step on my plan is to research codes and requirements for Chicago and the surrounding areas to make sure all of my items and ideas will be able to go in place legally-again I'll put it up here as soon as I am sure everything is right and attainable.
If you live in Chicago and want some excellent ideas the Museum of Science and Industry has a pretty awesome and decent exhibit called the "Green House". It has a huge amount of sustainable and AWESOME ways to build your house green-and many of them can be applied to existing structures too. Possibly the biggest point for me were dimmable LED lights ALL OVER THE PLACE. LED's put out an enormous amount of light, generate no heat, and consume the smallest amount of power possible. They almost do not register on a consumption meter! and they are super bright. A composter in the kitchen, bamboo counter tops, flooring and cabinets also made me hold my breath for a second or two. Bamboo grows insanely fast, is easy to cultivate anywhere, and is incredibly strong in any form. They even had blankets and towels made out of bamboo-and the blanket was soft to the touch and I'll bet was incredibly cozy. The home was heated and Air Conditioned with a radiant floor system. Instead of running the tubing through concrete, they ran it under the wood composite sub floor and used aluminum sheeting to help dissipate the hot and cold energy being circulated by the system-and only using 75 gallons the house was very cool and comfortable on a pretty warm summer day. All these things are now on my grand master green plan and will be-without a doubt- be integrated into my future home along with some improvements on the Museum's ideas.
If anyone has any questions or wants to collaborate via email: comment on here with your email or question and I will be sure to get back to you. The Green Movement is not and CAN NOT be a fad, we all need to do something to be less harmful to our planet. Even just starting to recycle your paper products would be an excellent help!
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