Heritage High Roof

On Saturday, I traded my 15 miles per gallon Chevrolet Silverado Pickup in for a 30 miles per gallon Chevrolet HHR. I think that the HHR is a peculiar looking vehicle, but it is roomy and I just can't ignore the gas mileage it gets. What I really want is a fully electric vehicle, but there is no such thing available to your average consumer. So until there is an affordable electric car available to everyone, I am in the HHR. As you can see by the picture, I am sacrificing some cool for gas mileage, I am old enough that I care more about saving money than looking cool, up to a point.

Earth Day

Today I drove into work all by myself, like I do everyday. I don't carpool, I don't take any forms of mass transit. This behavior makes me feel like a hypocrite, but this is what I do. I can't afford a hybrid or an electric car. I don't have a bicycle, and if I did, I am pretty sure that I would not be willing to wake up two hours earlier so I could peddle into work. There is a 'park and ride' station near me for taking the bus, but again, my twenty minute drive into work would suddenly take an hour and forty five minutes because of waiting for the bus and then hitting every stop on the way to my destination. (I am not sure about the bus, I have not even stopped to check out the schedule). So while I think that doing things the earth-friendly way is a good idea, I don't really practice what I preach all the time. I think this is how most Americans go about being 'green', as long as it is convenient and cost-effective, then we are all for it. This frustrates me, but I am a perpetrator of that attitude, so what can I do. I guess if I work on my actions and behaviors, then that is a start.

Biomass Fuel

So one of the more popular renewable energy sources that I did not mention in my last blog that needs mentioning is Biomass fuel. There are five main types of biomass;

-Wood
-Crops
-Alcohol Fuels
-Garbage
-Landfill gas

Wood was the most widely used up until the 1800s, and had been for thousands of years. Crops is a very promising renewable energy source. I have a friend who is working with wild grasses that don't need any kind of crop rotation, replanting and can be used for a fuel source. Alcohol fuels almost falls under the Crops too, but there is a much more extensive refining process to get a usable fuel. The last two, are closely related and might be the most available, Garbage and a Landfill gas. Garbage is something that just about everybody creates a bunch of everyday. Garbage seems to me to be one area that has the most to be discovered with more Research and Development. Finding new ways to use our garbage, besides just burying it, that is an exiting idea. If we could come up with a way to power our houses with our own garbage, that would be a great step towards self-sufficiency.
I am going to continue my research and who knows, maybe I will be able to make some kind of contribution to coming up with a new or better renewable energy source.

Quality of Life

I wanted this blog site to be dedicated to improving my quality of life. Not having more money and things, but doing things smarter, healthier and 'greener'. I put greener in the quotes because this is an expression that has gotten a lot of use lately, but it is an idea that humans need to embrace and work towards.
The Earth has a limited amount of resources and we are using them up amazingly fast. If we all continue on as we have for the last one hundred years then we are doomed. Right now, our biggest problem is our reliance upon petroleum products. Not just oil for use in transportation, but almost everything we have and use now-a-days is petroleum based. We need to change our way of thinking, and this is going to be a big pain in the butt. However, it is easier than the alternative, (famine/drought/global warming). There are plenty of web-sites out there geared towards living green suggestions, so go find one and follow instructions. What I think would be a HUGE step is to come up with a renewable energy source that is viable. There are already some out there;
* SOLAR - Only works if the Sun is shining. So Portland, OR and Seattle WA have to come up with something else 8 months out of the year.

* HYDRO - Great option is places with plenty of water, but if that drought problem gets any worse...

* WIND - Obviously works in a place that is windy, so not every place is going to be able to utilize this.

Right now these three options are not in action in more places because it is not cost-effective. That problem is going to change in the next few years, as resources become more scarce. I have by no means listed the only three renewable energy resources, and each of these three have many different variations.
I have in the back of my mind that some garage inventor is going to come up with some idea that society is going to benefit from immensely. I hope he or she does that soon, we are running out of time.

Green Construction

Green Construction is a style of architecture that needs to be embraced by builders around the world. By taking only a few basic steps and being much more aware of impact on the environment, construction can have positive benefits for people and nature. Everybody Wins!

Green Construction Principles:

• Site Preperation
• Material Usage
• Carbon Footprint
• Construction Completion
• Site Completion

Some of the steps that can be taken when practicing Green Construction are:

Instead of disposing of all foliage on a site, work around it or remove it carefully to be replanted once construction is completed.

Instead of clearing away and disposing of the topsoil, save that topsoil to be used again on the same site or at another site once construction is completed.

Choosing of the materials used in the construction is very important. Earth-friendly and recycled products can be just as effective if not more effective than the non-renewable products used in the past.

Just a basic awareness of construction techniques and how they are affecting the environment and the 'neighbors', whether they are humans or animals, is a much friendlier and satisfying method of construction.

"Nature is my manifestation of God. I go to nature every day for inspiration in the day's work. I follow in building the principles which nature has used in its domain" -Frank Lloyd Wright

Types Of Construction On The Right Track

These are some of the construction methods that are headed in the right direction.

1. Earth-Sheltered Construction
2. Passive Solar Gain
3. Grey-Water Reclamation