SanJoseGreenHome.com

It’s been official for months now – California again is facing water crisis. Unusually dry and hot weather had eroded our priceless Sierra snowpack, the supply of much of our water.  Our local reservoirs have been low for years now. In addition, water demand in beautiful state is growing each year and our sources of water are drying up.

Climate change models demonstrate that California will become a much drier place in our lifetimes.  Not only precipitation will likely decrease, but our precious Sierra snowpack is expected to shrink and leave of only with 10% of its current capacity.

Even more interesting, according to the California Energy Commission, 20% of our state’s electricity is used for the treatment and pumping of water.  Groundwater pumping has greatly shrunk our underground aquifers.  Parts of the San Joaquin Valley has now seen soil level drop 50’ from the removal of groundwater. Every single river in California has been dammed, wiping out fish populations, including endangered Chinook salmon. Two out of five most endangered rivers in the U.S. are in California. 

Let’s face it; this is not our grandkid’s head ache. Very soon water will become a treasured commodity.  Sadly, you’d never know it by the way we are dumping it down the drain. A traditional home has potable water piped in from a local water supplier. Amazingly, one half of this water is used for irrigation, where potable water is absolutely unnecessary. Almost all the remainder is used for non-potable water needs in the house, where it is then flushed down the drain to our local sewage treatment plant.

Now that sewage plant spends an enormous amount of time, money and energy treating this so called “greywater” like raw sewage.  This makes no sense, does it?

Here are two ways to re-use water already available to us (more…)

Whether you live in San Jose or any other part of the world, energy is an essential part of our lives. Our bodies need it to function and stay focused, and our homes need it for lighting, powering appliances, electronics, heating, cooling and even charging our cell phones. Most of us don’t even think about energy until a power outage occurs and we find ourselves reading our favorite novel under the candle light.  Yet another punch of reality may settle in when we are faced with that ever bigger utility bill. 

Did you know that residential buildings account for nearly a quarter of the worlds carbon emissions (21%)?  Nationally, energy prices in the residential building sector have maintained the highest in relation to other well known sectors such as transportation, industrial, and commercial buildings. The state of California is ranked among the top states in the nation for highest energy costs – only coming in lower than some east coast states and Hawaii.  

So what can we do to lower the pain on those energy bills and go easy on the environment?  Well, one way is to start being mindful of it and applying some “controlled conservation.”  It is easily one of the best methods of reducing high energy costs.  It includes shutting off lights, taking shorter showers and using energy at off peak hours.  This just the tip of the iceberg for energy conservation but most of us don’t do it.  Why?  Well, controlled conservation can (more…)

When most people hear about “Greening” their San Jose home they automatically think solar panels. While it is true that getting off the grid is fun and rewarding there are many more simple steps we can take towards a more greener home.  In fact, installing expensive solar panels may not make sense if we have a drafty, energy leaking house.

Since homes produce twice as more greenhouse gas emissions than all passenger cars, giving your San Jose house a green energy tune-up may be the best place to start.  It is incredible how much money you can save by simply implementing a few tips: 

1.      If your heating bill is higher than your mortgage and your Persian cat is wearing a sweater it’s time to change those windows.  By replacing old single pane windows you will not only be more comfortable in your house but also put a plug into one of your main enegry leaking sources.       

2.         Switch all of your light bulbs to fluorescent type. They are four times as efficient as traditional incandescent bulbs, and they last 10 times as long.  You can find them (more…)