IntelEfficient

Last week, my 11-year-old daughter surprised my wife and me in a store with a handful of seed packets.  “Let’s grow our own vegetables this year!”  My mind raced in the moment, excited about the fact that this child, who we have a tough time getting to eat her vegetables, actually wanted to grow some.

I recalled the time years before when she came with me to the nursery to buy some bedding plants for our flower garden.  She’d picked out some that she wanted to plant and take care of on her own.  At that time, I wrestled with how much to water her plants for her versus letting her experience the consequence of seeing them wither.  That was a few years ago, though, and she’s learned a lot of life’s lessons since then. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all heard the adage “You are what you eat.”  As we acknowledge and embrace the truth of this assertion, many of us are starting to take a closer look at what we put into our bodies.  Whether you’re exploring fresh foods, raw foods, organic foods, or simply more natural foods that haven’t had all of the natural nutrition processed out of them, this can become either a casual quest or an ongoing obsession.

Truly fresh food is still alive.  The sooner you eat it from the time that it’s picked, the higher the concentration of enzymes, vitamins and nutrients.  Most of the produce in grocery stores was picked prematurely, before the food is fully ripe, and then treated with preservatives to maximize shelf life.  There are farms where you can actually pick vegetables yourself, but a more convenient way to get fresh food is to go to a farmers’ market. Read the rest of this entry »

On the eve after April Fool’s Day, all of the green people in St. Louis made a lunar landing on the Moonrise Hotel on The Delmar Loop .  While this sounds like science fiction, the Green Ball was the place to “celebrate the earth under the moon.”  The event raised thousands of dollars for the Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center, which promotes sustainability through environmental education and improving the built environment.

Over 300 guests packed the house to listen to Hudson and the Hoodoo Cats.  While so many other green gatherings are serious efforts to educate and inspire people to live in harmony with the earth, the Green Ball was a night to relax and celebrate.  Guests were encouraged to show their true colors in the Green Fashion Contest, which included things like skin paint, a paper-plate bra and a vegetable veil.   The Green Giant made his return from last year, looking like a cross between Rambo and an Avatar.  Pictures are a must see at MetroMix and Riverfront Times. Read the rest of this entry »

Geothermal heating and cooling systems are becoming increasingly common as a smart way to heat and cool buildings.  The big reason for this is a 30 percent federal tax credit that effectively reduces the cost by that much.  They’re not for everyone, but according to the EPA, geothermal systems are “the most energy efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective space conditioning system available today.”  

The term geothermal is also used in reference to the heat from molten magma, which in some places is close enough to the Earth’s surface that it can be used to generate steam and create electricity.  What we’re actually talking about in this article is ground-source heat pumps, much like the more common air-source heat pumps that the electric utilities like to promote. Read the rest of this entry »

Honey bees may seem mildly threatening on a summer day, but for the most part they just go about their business and leave us alone.  The interesting thing is that their business is big business, involving not just honey production but pollination of about $15 billion in crops each year, representing a third of our food supply.  The real threat is what’s happening to our honey bee population in recent years.

A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder has scientists baffled.  Since 2006, honey bee populations have declined precipitously, with annual declines of averaging 30 percent in the US.  Several European countries have experienced similar declines.

There may in fact be no single reason for this decline.  Researchers have looked at viruses, parasites, pesticides and malnutrition, but have not been able to conclusively determine the cause of the problem.  It’s normal to experience annual declines of 10 percent during the winter.  According the American Beekeepers Association, domestic beekeepers have experienced losses ranging from 30 to 50 percent in each of the last 4-5 years. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in the early 80’s, I wrote a term paper on integrated control systems for the home.  At the time, this was leading edge technology that promised the ability to program thermostats, security, lights and appliances, and control these devices remotely.  Since then, much of this has become an affordable reality.

Programmable thermostats are about as common as mobile phones these days.  There’s no sense heating and cooling your home to be comfortable when you’re not there, so if you have a reasonably predictable schedule, get one of these.  Laclede Gas will even pay about half the cost with their $25 rebate.  You can even set it to drop the temperature a few degrees while you’re under the covers at night, and have the house warmed up by the time your alarm goes off. Read the rest of this entry »

With the holiday season upon us, you might be thinking about more eco-friendly gifts to give this year.  You can head to the mall or Walmart and certainly find any number of possibilities, or you could make the shopping trip a unique experience that rewards you, the giver, as much as the recipient.

It’s always a good idea to support local businesses, because that helps our local economy, keeping the profits here too.  The Third Degree Glass Factory (ThirdDegreeGlassFactory.com) offers one-of-a-kind glass pieces that are made by local artisans, including beautiful ornaments, jewelry, and other home accessories.  You can observe glass blowers as they create the glassworks, and sign up for classes to learn how to work with glass.  That might make a great gift for the artist in your life! Read the rest of this entry »

I happened to be traveling on business the day after St. Patrick’s Day, and I came across the perfect addition to my limited Irish attire.  The Kelly-green baseball cap had the words “THINK GREEN” embroidered on the front, with the “I” in “THINK” serving as the trunk of a white oak tree.  Now it must be known that, in addition to the pride of my Irish heritage, green has always been my favorite color, I love plants and nature, and the beautiful emerald is my birthstone.  So it all fits together quite well.

I happened to be wearing this hat when I walked into a local restaurant.  The young man who took my order recognized me as a regular customer, and offered his unapologetic protest.  “I’ll think green when it’s convenient,” he said, smiling and not the least bit ashamed of what he’d just said.  We had a brief but friendly dialog rather than a debate, but it left me wondering about how to appeal to his perspective. Read the rest of this entry »

What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place?  That’s the fundamental question posed by the International Living Building Institute, which created a new building standard that seeks to promote true sustainability in the world’s built environment.

When the leaders of Washington University’s Tyson Research Center in Eureka started planning to expand their facility, they wanted a new building that was “over the top green.”  John Chase, director of the facility, found out about the Living Building Challenge, and decided that this was the certification they wanted to pursue.

The Living Building Challenge uses a flower to symbolize sustainable structures, where the building becomes an extension of the environment in which it is placed.  The LBC calls for each building to produce all of its own energy from renewable resources, and capture and treat all of its own water and waste.  This involves efficiency and conservation, but the standard also includes beauty in the building design.  The ILBI uses the petals of a flower to represent the primary facets of sustainable building, including site selection, water, energy, health, materials, equity, and beauty.  This standard is more stringent that LEED certification (the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard), with mandatory requirements that form an “all or nothing” certification.

Read the rest of this entry »

I remember as a child the commercial about a popular glass-cleaner encouraging the viewer to “bring all the sun in.”  There is an energizing feeling to have bright, natural daylight pouring into a room.  While dark, quiet spaces may have their place, a well-lit room is an inviting space to work and play.

Studies in the early part of the twentieth century showed that increasing light levels in factories had a positive effect on production, and industrial engineers looked for ways to capitalize on this idea.  As electricity became an increasingly insignificant cost of production, buildings were designed to replace natural light and ventilation with artificial light and air-conditioning.  Over time, we learned that natural light plays a key role in the body’s biological rhythms, immune system and brain chemistry.  Numerous studies have shown that daylight has a positive effect on health, productivity, learning, and general well-being in schools, offices and retail spaces.  So it’s only logical that these same benefits would be experienced at home, too.

Read the rest of this entry »