Posts filed under ‘Recycling’
Building Technology Update for Sept. 16, 2010
Hello All! It has been some time since I posted and I thought that you should all get a great big thank you for continuing to visit while real life kept me away from my blog.
Tonight I have four interesting technology updates for you. The first and unfortunately farthest away is a supposedly radical re-envisioning of building air conditioning that could save anywhere from 50-90% of current power consumption! The full Story is here: http://www.miller-mccune.com/environment/air-conditioning-using-90-percent-less-power-20071/. The article mentions 3 plus years before it could possibly become commercially available and I hope that they are being conservative as HVAC consumes far too much energy and this, if widely deployed would make a big dent in our fossil fuel use even at 50% savings.
Next, can you soda bottle become a wall? According to this article on Greenopolis.com (http://greenopolis.com/goblog/green-groove/super-strength-polli-bricks-bricks-made-recycled-plastic-bottles) not only is the answer yes, but it is supposedly super strong.
Excerpt:
“They’re transparent and translucent. They interlock together to form a honeycomb structure that’s extremely durable. They can be used to build anything from buildings and fences to roofs and walls of light. So what are “they” referring to? They’re called POLLI-Bricks, and they’re a genius example of recycled bottle architecture.”
Third up tonight is pollution eating concrete! I can just imagine a super hero monster coming to solve all of the world’s pollution problems. Okay not so much, but what we do have is a product that manages to sequester common car exhaust pollutants through absorption. The article is here on Good.is (http://www.good.is/post/pollution-eating-concrete-to-save-your-lungs/).
Excerpt:
“Researchers in the Netherlands have recently tested a special type of concrete that has the potential to absorb nitrogen oxides, which are a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. If implemented, this concrete could cut down on the the smog and acid rain caused by car exhaust.”
Lastly is an article I just couldn’t resist because I really am a true geek! On How Stuff Works is a story about Transparent Aluminum Armor! (http://science.howstuffworks.com/transparent-aluminum-armor.htm) I like to think it might be the latest thing in bullet proof glass for those of you that might need that sort of thing for your facilities…
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Rainwater harvesting coming to city near you?
I have been an advocate of rainwater harvesting and redirecting for a long time. It looks like the City of Los Angeles is going to make it law finally! In an article on Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/los-angeles-may-get-mandatory-rainwater-harvesting-law.php?campaign=th_rss_science)
it looks like it may become law sometime in 2011. It looks to be a pretty well designed law, but of course the devil is always in the details
I believe that adoption of this is going to take some pretty extensive marketing on the City’s part. Developer’s are going to be making the calculation on which is cheaper, the on-site improvements or the fine. We need to get to the point where the only thought is how to make this happen. This will only come about if solutions that are acceptable to the City planners are put forward to the developer rather than waiting for the developers to propose them. It is this back and forth game that is what puts the uncertainty in this process and the frustration on the developer’s part. The solutions proposed by the City have to be pleasing to the eye as well as practical to implement.
This is very important and I hope they put together a great program, the health of the area’s water supply may depend on it.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Growing your own air, worth the effort or not?
I have been looking at and studying the various articles that purport to let you improve your own personal indoor environment with the addition of more and in sometimes specific plants to your home or office.
I am of two minds on the subject in that logically since photosynthesis generates breathable oxygen and uses up carbon dioxide, at least according to the science classes I had in high school and college. there should be some truth to this assertion. However the real question comes from the other effects that result from going down this path.
The article found on the Healthy Child Blog (http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/growing_fresh_air_with_8_powerful_plants/) is typical of one type that pushes this agenda with specific plants with incomplete science to back up their assertions. The main problem with this article is that they don’t mention the shear number of plants it will take to actually make a measurable difference in your space. Also look down in the comments section on this article and you find that there are often other concerns, especially with the toxicity of the plants being suggested. I know from experience that trying to specify a set of plants for my backyard that weren’t toxic to either my children or pets was a substantial task and set my remodel back weeks.
Now I have an example of the better type of article on this subject from TED.com (http://www.ted.com/talks/kamal_meattle_on_how_to_grow_your_own_fresh_air.html). If you have not experienced the TED talks I also encourage you to spend some time on the site and simply wander, the breadth of the topics covered is amazing. However in this talk the presenter gets into some specifics with his example in a commercial space. Depending on the section of his talk you either need 11 or 4 plants per person, they need to be tended daily including cleaning leaves along with the other issues of having live plants in an interior space.
In a commercial space you shouldn’t have the toxicity concerns and if his numbers prove out the 20% increase in productivity should easily cover any costs of maintenance. In my 20 plus years of caring for buildings there are always issues with live plants regarding insects and seepage on the carpet and the like. These can all be addressed up front with some simple rules like no dumping your old coffee in the plants and maintaining pans under all of the locations.
I know that NASA and other government space agencies have been studying this topic for years and so the data coming from these sources should be sound. Therefore I think that a little shopping for plants at least in my home office may be in order. I will keep you updated on my observations!
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Ghost Towns and Abandoned Places around the World
Looking over my post statistics for this blog I am surprised to find that one of my most popular posts has to do with “Ghost Towns – Past, Present or Future?“. So I spent a little time this morning looking into other sites that delve into this obviously popular subject.
I am surprised at the shear number of sites to be found by simply typing in “abandoned places” into Google.com. Here are a few of the ones I like best. First is the Abandoned Places Blog (http://community.livejournal.com/abandonedplaces) a fairly comprehensive resource on the subject. Of course the main draw of these sites are the photos to be found there.
Next we have Abandoned-Places.com (http://www.abandoned-places.com/). The interface is a little confusing and hard to use, buy the pictures and attached stories are worth the effort.
From the DIRJournal (http://www.dirjournal.com/info/abandoned-places-in-the-world/) there is a wonderful article about abandoned places in the world. It has some of the better pictures from a number of sites and is a good starting summary of the topic.
I also found a pretty good post in the Atom Community (http://community.atom.com/Post/The-Six-Creepiest-Abandoned-Places/03EFBFFFF0182C7B8000800BC1459) in an attempt to define the 6 creepiest places in the world. This is a pretty daunting challenge for anyone, but you will just have to make your own judgment on whether you agree with the list.
Excerpt : “This is Gunkanjima, Japan, also known as “Battleship Island.” It once had the densest population in the entire world: 1.4 people per square meter. Do you realize how insane that is? Let me put it this way: If you were a fat guy on Battleship Island, there would technically be another person partially inside of you, like the aftermath of some horrifying teleporter accident.“
Lastly today I would like to point you to the WebUrbanist site that does a fabulous job in showcasing all sort of interesting architecture. I have two links to give you here:
1. 100 + Abandoned cities, towns, building and property (http://weburbanist.com/abandoned-buildings-towns-and-cities/).
2. Abandonment in action (http://weburbanist.com/2009/08/13/8_cities_abandonment_deserted_modern/) which showcases several still inhabited places that look to become a future abandoned places feature.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Building Technology Update for July 1, 2009
I have a very wide ranging collection of technological improvements for you tonight, everything from new materials for sidewalks to new safety equipment to help you find your way out in a fire!
On the recycle and reuse front we have a couple of items that help divert waste from our landfills. The first is Rubber sidewalks (http://www.rubbersidewalks.com/rubbersidewalkskeepstrees.asp) where this product reuses a discarded tire for every 1 square foot of product! Imagine a sidewalk you could remove and reinstall in a single day to fix sewer problems, not to mention the injury savings from not having raised areas by tree roots.
The next item along this same tack is a roofing single product made from recycled palstic and rubber. The article on Cleantechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/06/28/roof-shingles-made-from-recycled-plastic-and-rubber/) speaks of the product Enviroshake that is very durable but at a significant price point increase. Still it may be worthwhile if you are in need of some LEED ponts.
Another old is new technology is a design we all may be needing as our climate heats up is the second roof as is shown in this great post on Green Building Elements (http://greenbuildingelements.com/2009/06/25/a-roof-designed-for-our-hotter-future/). This scenario presents a low tech very sutainable solution for making your house much more efficient in all types of climate situations.
One of the neatest items I have seen lately is this Halo light concept. It would provide a ring of light in a smokey environment providing much better direction and visibility in an emergency situation. The story is here on DVICE (http://dvice.com/archives/2008/10/halo_light_cuts.php).
Lastly we have a solar plus LED parking lot light solution from Visiable Light Solar. The story on Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/06/visible-light-solar-combines-solar-with-leds-for-big-savings.php) makes a great point that these very functional applications of exterior lighting makes great sense from a return on investment perspective.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Killing the Junk Mail Habit
Nothing bothers me so much as the piles of wasted paper that arrive at my home and office, advertisements that never get read or are useful for anything more than being used in any of the myriad ways we use newspaper after we have read it. It usually isn’t even good for those things and simply goes straight into the recycle bag.
Well we have some good news for those of you with post office boxes, the US Postal Service is expanding their lobby recycling program so you can responsibly dispose of that direct, or “junk” mail easily and quickly. The story can be found at Earth911 (http://earth911.com/blog/2009/03/26/usps-expands-lobby-recycling-program/).
Of course you can go a step farther and get yourself and your office off of some of these mailing lists at https://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/ or at the NRDC’s site, Catalog Choice (http://www.catalogchoice.org/).
There is even a new service where you can sign up for a virtual email box that is tied to your actual address called Zumbox (http://beta.zumbox.com/).
Excerpt:” Zumbox delivers paperless mail online – from street address to street address. What used to only be sent as paper mail can now be sent without the paper. How? We’ve created a nationwide paperless postal system with a Zumbox for every street address in the United States, including yours.“
This new service hopes to convince advertisers and other businesses to use its service for a more convenient and targeted approach although it would certainly be possible for folks to receive their utility bills and the like through the service. It is free to claim your address’s box and I would recommend it to make sure no one does for some illicit purpose!
I have even started to convert my trade journals to the electronic versions wherever possible. My goal is to reduce the paper that I must recycle by 50% by the end of the year. I have found that a well designed electronic version of a magazine is actually easier to read in some ways than the paper versions. I can carry them around with me on my Sony eBook reader meaning that my briefcase is lighter and that they are more likely to actually get looked at!
I am interested if any of you have additional strategies to help on my quest so let me know!
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Recycling News for Feb. 16 2009 – Good and Bad
A recycling program as well as a conscientious effort to recycle less traditional items is at the center of most folk’s minds who manage or own buildings of any size not just around the home.
So it is interesting and little disheartening to hear that recycling is taking a hit in these hard economic times. In an article on Earth2Tech.com (http://earth2tech.com/2009/02/13/recycling-slump-eats-into-waste-managements-sales/) shares how Waste Management’s profits from recycling have gone down as a result of the times. This is of course because in part that the market for the recycled material is depressed as well. A large part of that market, recycled paper is affected simply because of a lack of need for packaging material. If we aren’t buying there is no or at least less need to package new items. This is worrying because if a significant number of the companies in this market either pull back or go under a great deal of capacity will disappear and have to be rebuilt when times start to get better, setting back the gains already made.
One of the most difficult task a facility manager faces is what to do with old furniture. Often it is simply hauled to the dump as that is the most economical alternative. Well Steelcase has a new program where it will help get that used and still usable furniture into the hands of non-profits who need it. The story on Environmental leader (http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/02/13/steelcase-helps-companies-donate-of-old-furniture/) states that this program is in partnership with the Institutional Recycling Network (http://www.ir-network.com/).
Excerpt: “The furniture can be recycled, sold, or donated, to another organization, which minimizes the amount sent to landfill. When Notre Dame moved its Law School in January, the university donated 1600 pieces of furniture to Food for the Poor, a charitable organization in Jamaica and Haiti. While it cost $14,000 to have IRN recycle it, it would have cost $20,000 to send it to landfill.“
Lastly today we have the story of Herman Miller’s Aeron Chair having achieved cradle to cradle status. The story on Geenopolis (http://greenopolis.com/media/headlines/herman-millers-iconic-aeron-chair-goes-cradle-cradle) is very complete. This certification really means that the item is designed in such a way to make it easily recycleable as well as durable in the first place.
Excerpt: “After three years of work, the Aeron has achieved C2C Silver certification from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, adding to Herman Miller’s roster of C2C products and pushing it further down the path to eventually selling only products designed with the environment in mind.
“We’ve gone back over the last year and a half to re-engineer the arm pads as well as re-engineer a number of other components,” said Scott Charon, program manager for Herman Miller’s Design for the Environment team.“
The details on the certification and process can be found here: (http://www.c2ccertified.com/).
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
HVAC Filters made from recycled materials
An interesting product has come out from Alen Corporation, an air filter for your HVAC units made from 100% recycled materials. On the face of it this seems like a no brainier as long as the filters actually work and aren’t cost prohibitive.
I initially found the story on Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-gadgets-alen-corp-debuts-home-air-filter-made-from-recycled-plastic-bottles/) and the article while interesting is a little short on the details of the product.
For a product evaluation we need to go to the manufacturer’s website’s product page (http://www.alencorp.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=55) where we find that the overall performance is pretty good, certainly at the high end for performance and that the price point isn’t excessive. I am a long time asthma sufferer and currently use a power electro-static filter in my HVAC systems, but I may give these a try as they would give equivalent performance without the electricity cost.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
Unusual Building Materials for Feb. 8, 2009
I am always on the look out for interesting and innovative materials to consider for projects and I have a couple tonight for your consideration.
The first on the serious side of this discussion is Bio-Glass by CoveringsETC. Via a story on Treehugger.com (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/bio-glass-made-from-recycled-glass.php) comes this interesting material made from 100% recycled glass. Apparently each color comes from a different waste stream, quite an interesting idea and one that bears watching. The actual company website (http://coveringsetc.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=21) is a little sparse and I hope that more marketing materials go up that expand the story.
On the less serious side comes a story also on Treehugger.com (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/15000-corks-reused-wine-store-decor.php) that is an oldie but goodie. The reuse of approximately 15,000 corks as wall covering in, what else a wine store! I agree that this ia a great reuse project.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
CFL’s dead in 2 years? Long live LED bulbs!
It looks like the battle between compact fluorescent and LED bulbs is going in favor of the challenger and that the CFL’s will be at the end of their usefulness in about 2 years.
Both on Cleantechnica (http://cleantechnica.com/2009/01/29/new-3-led-bulb-lasts-60-years/) and Ecofriend (http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/eco-gadgets-newly-developed-led-bulbs-take-efficiency-to-a-whole-new-level/) there is a story about a greatly more efficient LED bulb being developed athe University of Cambridge.
The origianl story is here on the Daily Mail site (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1131183/Scientists-invent-2-bulb-60-years–theyre-greener-eco-bulbs.html?ITO=1490).
Excerpt: “Even better, the bulbs fully illuminate instantly, unlike the current generation of eco-bulbs.
It is reckoned the bulbs, which were funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, could slash household lighting bills by three-quarters.
If installed in every home and office, they could cut the proportion of electricity used for lights from 20 per cent to 5 per cent a year. As well as lasting 100,000 hours, ten times as long as today’s eco-bulbs, the LED bulbs do not contain mercury, so disposal is less damaging to the environment, and they do not flicker – a problem that has been blamed for migraines and epileptic fits.“
Sounds wonderful and I hope that they get to market sooner than the 2 years they mention in the article!
Until then and while we change over to the new wonderful LED bulbs you will need to recycle your old CFL’s right? Well here comes word via Ecogeek about a new recycling program (http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2519/). I imagine that my local Whole Foods will be partipating soon.
As always I thank you for your time and interest. Please take the time to Digg, Stumble Upon or add to the other social network of your choice to help me spread the word about these issues. Please forward any questions or suggestions to: askthefm@gmail.com
