SanJoseGreenHome.com

So you want fertilize your lawn. But you also want to avoid using unnecessary chemicals because of their potentially hazardous effects. So what can you do? There are several organic solutions for feeding your lawn without sacrificing environmental health. Most organic fertilizers are made from animal by-products, most often from animal dung, say cow or bat manure, for example. But there are a variety of other options as well.

Types of Organic Fertilizers

The two basic types of organic lawn fertilizers are organic and synthetic organic. Organic fertilizers contain animal, plant, or fish by-products. They come in either a granulated form, which can easily be distributed over your lawn using a fertilizer spreader, or they can be found in liquid form. Liquids are just as effective, but they can be harder to spread evenly over a lawn.

Synthetic organic is formed using “urea”. Urea is a chemical compound found in urine that can be synthesized. It contains nitrogen, which is an important nutrient in lawn care products. The reason synthetic urea is considered organic is (more…)

Considering building a new patio or deck to enjoy a lovely weather but want to be mindful of the environmental impact?  Millions of homeowners across the country continue to use”standard” patio materials like asphalt, concrete and cement to support their patios because they’ve proven their worth time and again but is it time for new awareness?

Problems With the Status Quo

Unfortunately, your asphalt, concrete or cement patio is liable to be among the least sustainable elements of your property. In fact, standard patio-building materials present several key problems for environmentally conscious homeowners.

For starters, these surfaces all contain synthetic or petroleum-based components that require huge amounts of energy to fabricate. The amount of energy that goes into a given product’s production is known as “embodied energy,” and it’s one of the main factors that contribute to its overall environmental footprint.

Asphalt, concrete and cement also contain toxins that can leak into your lawn, groundwater and pool during bouts of rain. What’s more, these nonporous “hardscape” surfaces can direct rainwater in concentrated streams and cause surprising amounts of damage to your yard. In the long run, this runoff could even eat away at your home’s foundation.

You don’t want to find out what that looks like.

A Gentler Way

Fortunately, there are several sustainable alternatives that feature lower levels of embodied energy as well as a more sustainable product life cycle. Some of these alternatives are “natural” materials that incorporate locally sourced or low-impact raw materials like soil cement. Others are reused materials like (more…)

One would have a hard time denying that swimming pools are some of the most wonderful and luxurious comforts in life. Merely at a touch of warm and soft water our bodies relax and minds blend with the basic elements of nature. However, maintaining a pool in the backyard is not a cheap proposition, neither financially, nor environmentally.

When my husband Ed and I decided to install a family swimming pool, we looked for things we could do to make our pool less taxing on the resources. Here are 10 ways we have found to make our pool more eco friendly:

1) Efficient heating. We love to swim during the months when it gets a bit chilly, so we installed a solar heater. We cut down on the amount of fuel we use to warm the pool. It also saves on our energy costs, and I love that part.

2) An insulated pool cover. When we’re not using the pool, the cover keeps it warm and prevents loss of heat. After a long discussion about cost, Ed won and got a pool cover with a push button mechanism. Sometimes I think he (more…)

Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Trends in housing are turning more and more to sustainable living. Many home buyers are looking for ways to incorporate little changes into their homes that not only saves them money, but also helps them to do their part in reducing their own carbon footprint. Here are several things that are trending in home designs that are really starting to catch on.

No Yards

While this may not be a new trend, it is one that seems to be catching on more and more these days. Certain parts of the country have already made it trendy to not have a lawn because the water supply is so limited. This is very common in desert states such as Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and part of Utah and California. This doesn’t mean that these home owners do nothing with their yards, it is actually the opposite. By using rocks and desert-friendly plants, there are a lot of ways to make yards look appealing and well cared for without being high maintenance and water-laden.

Harvesting Rain

Depending on some city ordinances, this option is not available in all areas. When building a house, adding a large cistern under the house is a great way to recycle water. The process is fairly (more…)

It is estimated that up to 95% of all flowering plants, 1/3 of food crops, and 1/2 of the world’s oils consumed by humans today rely on animals for pollination to assure reproduction.  Over 180,000 plant species and more than 1200 crops require the services of these hard working, often unseen bio-contributors and out of every three bites of food we consume, one is there due to the efforts of pollinators.

Considering California produces over 400 crops, grows almost half of the United States’ vegetables, fruits, and nuts, and is the nation’s top agricultural state the importance of pollinators, both for large operations and small, cannot be overstated!

Why is Pollen Important?    

Pollen is essential to the reproductive system of most the world’s flowering plants and is distributed and transferred via a variety of animals (this essential genetic material is carried on their bodies) as they move from plant to plant.  These industrious travelers not only provide a vital service with regards to the food we eat and flowers we enjoy but also play a role in sustaining bio-diversity and promoting vibrant and vigorous ecosystems worldwide, not to mention (more…)

Solar Panel Supply Will Far Exceed Demand Beyond 2012 – Forbes Mag

The cost of a residential solar system has come down 33% since 2008 improving financial payback¹.  However, have you ever asked yourself about the energy payback of the solar panels?  Energy payback refers to the length of time it takes a solar system to produce, or payback, the same amount of energy required for its manufacture, transport and installation.  A 2011 study² found that it took about one year for a solar system to generate the same amount of energy required to manufacture, transport and install that solar system.  Seven years earlier, in 2004, the US National Renewable Energy Lab³determined that it took three to four years for energy payback.  In just seven years the energy payback is significantly faster.

We can expect the future energy payback time to be even better.  For example, recent manufacturing breakthroughs could reduce the amount of pure silicon used in a solar panel by up to 90%.  Creating pure silicon is an energy-intensive part of making a solar cell, so reducing the amount of silicon used results in a faster energy payback. 

The energy payback calculation also depends on the location of the installed solar system.  In the 2011 study, the PV system was assumed to be in a climate similar to the Midwest or East Coast.  In the Bay Area a solar installation with little shade can be expected to generate about 20% more energy per year.  So the energy payback for a solar system in the Bay Area would be closer to 10 months.

The useful life of a solar PV system is (more…)

“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.” – Earl Nightingale.

For the uninitiated, living an ecologically friendly lifestyle may seem like a hassle, another chore to be added to the list of things to do every day. Being careful with the types of products you buy and putting in the effort to recycle and reuse is not what many in our society are used to. But, like most things that require thoughtfulness and effort, making the switch towards “going green” can actually be fulfilling and add a dimension to our lives that we may not have expected.

Conserving energy with LED light bulbs, shopping for California avocados at your local organic store, and frying sustainable seafood is all good fun but who could have thought that all this living green can actually make us happier?  When you think about it, it makes sense – when we choose to live a life that’s more in line with our values and the natural laws of nature, we automatically improve our own well being.  Below, I offer a few small small changes that can further improve your connection to environment and make you proud of your daily activities and the overall direction of your life.

Find Your “Ecosophy”

Living a green lifestyle implies a concern that the things we’re doing to the world aren’t sustainable. That worldview—while probably true—can turn into fear. Some ‘eco-freaks’ make eco-friendly living a pedestal, an obsession, or a religion. In these extreme cases, it is no longer a happy middle path—it’s a time sink, a phobia, a soapbox.

Back in the 1980s, the Norwegian book Ecology, Community, and Happiness worked with the idea of living happily with the ever-present concern for the environment and the world. Original author Arne Naess and student David Rothenberg write that the key to a happy co-existence with eco-living is to find a system of belief—a world view or an “ecosophy” that helps us guide our actions and live in line with our values.

Each person can come to value green living (and different kinds of green living) through his or her own thought process. The more individual belief mixes with a widespread movement, the more (more…)

The mkLotus prefab green home - the latest design by Michelle Kaufmann Designs

Prefabricated homes aren’t really that new of a concept in the building market. For many decades now, modular prefabricated homes have been built and sold as a less expensive alternative to buying a home on the market. The difference today is that prefab has become trendy. With a bit of an aesthetic facelift and a rebranding scheme, modular homes have become the hot new thing in home building and buying. As statistics on unemployment, a failing economy, crippling debt, soaring college costs, and so much more bombard our views, the thought of owning a house is almost impossible. Many young professionals struggle to pay off college loans well into their adulthood and years after they have completed their degrees. This causes major adult life steps like getting married, buying a house, and having children to get pushed back further and further. But, the prefab homes that are on the market today may be just the answer. Keeping many modern-day issues in mind, prefabricated eco-friendly homes have a lot of offer the young home buyer.

1. Inexpensive

One of the most enticing things about prefabricated homes is that they can really cut back on the price of purchasing and owning a home. Though not all prefabricated models are a cheaper option than buying an existing home, they can offer many aspects of financial relief. For one, many prefab eco-friendly home companies are focused on using reusable and highly efficient materials. By working hard to create the most energy efficient constructions, prefab homeowners can actually save a lot of money in the long run. Builders (and therefore owners) save money on materials using (more…)

Guests: Paul Hawken, Author, Blessed Unrest and Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org.  Both these authors are well-established environmental activists. The presentation was conducted as a panel discussion with the moderator posing questions to the two. At the end there was audience participation. I thought it was a very interesting discussion on climate issues – both the politics and the science. Here is what I captured. In parenthesis I have introduced some of my own thinking:

• “Problem is that government policy has artificially increased consumption. There have been tax incentives for home ownership and government subsidies for freeways to get to all the homes. Thus, we have created a housing/work transportation design, which is very carbon-intensive (driving long distances) and now that carbon based fuels are expensive, it is an expensive design. Nevertheless, studies show people in cities have twice as many close friends as those in suburbia.
• Financial meltdown will take 10-12 years. (I have heard this before. It is not clear to me that without substantial changes to our economy that simply waiting will relieve our problems. The Great Depression was not relieved for 12 years until (more…)

If you’ve never been to Newby Island Landfill in Milpitas (near San Jose, California) you would be up for a treat if you visited.  It would totally blow all of your concepts on how our trash is managed.  During an annual Earth Day event, organized by Allied Waste, one can go on a romantic date with one’s trash in a comfy limo bus.  

State of the art landfills like Newby Island are quite effective at managing food scraps for compost materials, yard waste for mulch, concrete for paving the roads at the facility and many other great things.  Perhaps you would be most impressed to learn how the methane from rotting organic matter is captured and then used for electricity production that helps power some of the surrounding homes in the area. 

The thing that hit me during that trip is that no matter how well our waste is managed it takes tremendous amount of energy and resources to further sort, downcycle and burry our trash.  Furthermore, when I asked whether they truly “recycle” plastic bags, the lowered tone response was not a very clear one – “Yes, but into lower grade plastic bags that are further shipped to China.”  You be the judge whether this makes any sense to you or sounds anything close to the truth.  

Frankly, you can’t blame the guys if these plastic bags simply go up in fumes.  Recycling plastic bags is a total financial disaster; it’s nothing but a big headache and a huge expense.  It’s really up to us to use more bio-degradable trash bags and cloth or at least paper bags at the grocery stores.  

Enjoy the short video of the tour that started with a wonderful lunch and a few speeches.  (Make sure to click off on the Google ad so that it’s not in your way of viewing.)