How You Can Become a Local Environmentalist

By the time a developer submits plans for a commercial or residential development, it is often too late to protect precious habitat or farmland. If there are large tracts of undeveloped land in your area, it is a good idea to find out what regulations or ordinances govern their development. Consider forests, stream and river habitats, open space, and other community assets.

Unless the community has already established environmental protection ordinances or if the land it protected by county, state, or federal regulations, once the property is zoned for a use, there is little in the larger scheme that can be done to protect habitat or other desirable community assets. The developer's planners and engineers generally design and make development decisions based upon the developer’s goals.

1. Contact your local planning and zoning or development department to review existing ordinances. Many municipalities have these regulations available online.

2. If you know of areas that are desirable for protection, find out what the process would be to change the local development codes or ordinances to protect them.

3. Find out what developments are being planned in your area. This may give you an idea of whether more is on the way.

4. Attend local board and committee meetings and find out about the development process.

Off the Subject--Another Picture of Oscar

One Way to Improve Indoor Air Quality: Mechanized Air Cleaning Devices

Since most Americans spend the majority of their time indoors, good indoor air quality is increasingly more important for overall health. The air in your home or office can be a soup of chemicals, pollens, particles, and microbiological agents.

There are three major approaches to improving indoor air quality as enumerated by the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency).

The EPA states:

“Solutions to air quality problems in apartments, as in homes and offices, involve such actions as: eliminating or controlling the sources of pollution, increasing ventilation, and installing air cleaning devices.”

One Solution: Mechanized Air Cleaning Devices

• Air cleaning devices, come in many forms, but one common type is medium efficiency air filter installed in a special housing on duct systems. These usually have an accordion appearance and are 80-90% efficient.


• The other common type is the high efficiency (up to 99.9%) HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Accumulator) systems installed on dust systems or as stand alone units. HEPA systems on ducts usually require additional fans to push the air through them. Stand alone and portable units also generate sufficient air flow to filter the air. These can filter down to 0.3 microns.


• There are also often adsorption filters that contain activated carbon to filter pollutants in the form of gases. The gas particles adhere to carbon as the air passes through the carbon filter.

AllerAir offers many high-quality, all-steel construction, portable units. Most units have HEPA and activated carbon. A UV lamp can even be added to sterilize bacteria, viruses, and mold present in the air.

The Controversy Over Bottled Water: One Solution--Home and Office Water Purification

Recently after San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (2007) banned the purchase of bottled water by City funds, there has been greater discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of bottled water. Some argue that the transport and processing of bottled water as well as the disposal of bottles negatively impacts the environment. They also argue that tap water is as healthy as bottled water.

While municipalities across the country do remove a majority of water contaminants, it is also true that there are residual contaminants in the water. The disinfection process also adds chloramines and other byproducts. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates allowable levels of contaminants in drinking water. A list of contaminants and their possible adverse health effects is available on the EPA website:

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html#dbps

The EPA categorizes possible water contaminants into: microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals, and radionuclides. There can also be turbidity from soil runoff and other nonregulated contaminants. Not mentioned on this list are possible contaminants, such as copper or lead, after municipal processing from local water pipes.

In reviewing the water quality report for my local city, for instance, I found small and permissible amounts of lead, copper, barium, nitrate, atrazine (herbicide), simazine (herbicide), and chloramines, among others. Even if the low levels present are acceptable by EPA standards, it is a personal choice as to whether one would prefer to ingest even lower levels of contaminants and also have better tasting water.

One solution is to add a whole house/office or individual faucet water purification system to remove the residual contaminants. Seagull, for example, offers water purification systems with a “structured matrix technology” that remove trace amounts of chemicals and any microbiological contaminants found in tap water and creates water quality that is as good as or better than bottled water. In fact, the structured matrix is also “certified to meet the EPA standard for microbiological ‘purification’.”

There is also the added benefit of having purified water for pennies per glass instead of the higher cost for bottled water.

Book Recommendation: Blessed Unrest by Paul Hawken

In his latest book, Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming, Paul Hawken provides an optimistic overview of the environmental movement on a global scale. This movement has no particular leader or ideology, yet, as he estimates, there are between one and two million organizations worldwide working on environmental and social justice issues.

The participants of "the largest social movement in all of human history" come from all walks of life, from the farmer in Africa to the urban activists. He looks as some of the roots of the movement as well as indigenous cultures and organizations as they are related to globalization. He then defines this movement as related to two biological terms, "immunity" and "restoration."

He ultimately explores the connection between environmental and social justice issues. The strategy, for instance, of a "zero-waste society" cannot be achieved without reducing both environmental or material waste as well as "waste on a social level"--underemployment and the marginalization of human beings.

This book is timely, given the recent attention to global warming, green living, and green business practices.

"Eco-Tecture", the New Face of Green Building

In the New York Times Magazine of May 20th, Nicolai Ouroussoff discusses the great progress that Europe has made in designing and building green buildings. In fact, Europe is way ahead of the United States in commonly requiring and integrating green building elements, such as energy efficiency and sustainability.

As he says "By the mid-90s, all new construction in Europe had to meet basic requirements in energy consumption, and many European architects began to make sustainability a central theme in their work." Most of the green architecture shown does not "look" green at all, but just quietly integrates these elements into the overall functioning and design of the buildings. Examples are the Dessau, Germany headquarters of the environmental agency, with underground pipes that heat and cool the building as well as the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart that has thick concrete walls to store hot and cool air that is drawn into an atrium.

This Magazine issue has several articles that discuss "eco-tecture"- the design movement of green buildings, zero-energy, green cities, and sustainable living.

It is good to see that the concepts of green building and sustainability are finally getting some needed attention.

When You Want to Take the Sneeze Out of Spring: Steps to Help Reduce Allergies

The spring season is a time of renewal for plants but also a time for allergies for many people. Here are some basic steps you can take, besides consulting your doctor, that may help alleviate your symptoms.

1. Clean up your home: read the earlier post (2/16/07) on basic steps to eliminate allergens in your home.

2. Clean up you bedding: invest in barrier cloth for your mattress and pillows to help reduce dust mites and other allergens from your bedroom. Gaiam (allergen mattess protectors) and the Heart of Vermont carry many of these products.

(GAIAM: Get Coupon Deal: 15% off with $50 purchase Coupon Code: AFC5 until May 31st 2007 if you use link on this blog).

3. Eat a healthy diet and take your vitamins.

4. Invest in an air purfier or filter to help filter out allergens in your home. AllerAir has a great line of powerful air purifiers.

5. Add stress reducers to your routine, such as yoga and exercise.

An Urban Planner's Wish List for Green Development

As an urban planner, I have worked on residential and commercial developments throughout the Dallas Fort-Worth area and before that on the East Coast.

I have developed my own "wish list" of practices I would like to see for all development in the U.S. Here is a short list to start.

1. Require green building standards for all new construction. Right now, certain communities require this, and most don't. These standards can be developed at the local level, modelled after programs and examples around the country.

2. Promote infill development (new development between existing buildings and projects) and adaptive reuse (reuse of existing buildings) whenever possible--and make every effort at the local level to prevent leap-frog development, particularly in the suburbs. Standards could include experiments with transfer development rights or incentives for developers.

3. I wish that all communities would identify environmentally-sensitive areas on a comprehensive plan and develop standards to protect these areas.

4. I would like more education to be available for realtors and development entities on green building and environmental planning practices. This concept should be part of the concept and design process.

5. The promotion of land trusts for prime agricultural and environmentally-sensitive areas.

What are Green Buildings?

There are many definitions. Some define green buildings as indigenous architecture that utilizes local materials and design options as well as utilizes passive solar. Adobe Homesin New Mexico are often a good example of this concept.

Others define green buildings in more modern terms. Over the past 20 years, the term "green buildings" has evolved from many experiments and programs developed around the country, such as Austin's green building program.

The U.S Green Building Council has developed LEED standards for commercial buildings and has a pilot program to develop LEED standards for residential buildings. Buildings become LEED certified by including a specified green building standards for construction.




In general, many of the green building programs often include some of these general principles:

•Site Selection, Design and Preparation: Design sites to have the minimum impact upon wildlife, trees, and other natural features.
•Educate contractors on minimizing environmental impact on construction sites. Recycle remainder building materials and minimize waste as well.
•Design buildings to efficiently use natural light, building orientation to sun, and other site features.
•Select low-impact building materials whenever possible—renewable materials (ex. Bamboo) or recycled materials.
•Select building materials with low volatile organic compounds and off-gassing for healthy indoor air quality.
•Energy-efficient appliances and HVAC systems.
•Solar energy whenever possible.
•Xeriscaping or other native plants for landscaping to eliminate the use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Minimize the use of water for landscaping. Use organic gardening practices.
•Select low-maintenance building materials whenever possible to minimize the future use of building materials and lower long-term costs.
•Promote less-toxic house cleaning practices to minimize indoor air pollutants and contaminants in water runoff.


For Books on Green Building

How Healthy-Home Gardening Can Save Water and Reduce Pollution

Landscaping choices for your garden can contribute not only to a healthier lifestyle but also can help save water and reduce water pollution. Water conservation has become a significant issue for many communities, particularly for many U.S. states in the west and southwest.

Texas is also now facing water shortages and future potential water shortages as the population growth outpaces the local water supply. Texas depends upon a system of lakes and rivers to collect surface water from runoff. This runoff can become polluted with pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and sediment. It is important for Texas as well as other communities to conserve water and preserve water quality.

The Texas Extension Service--Tarrant County and the North Central Texas Council of Governments, along with other collaborators, created the Texas SmartScape® program, http://www.txsmartscape.com/ ,to teach homeowners and businesses how to select plants and maintain landscaping to reduce water usage and reduce the use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. This program is based upon principles included in Earthkind, xeriscaping, waterwise, and yard-smart programs that many other communities around the country now support.

Some of the basic ideas are:

1. Select native or locally-adapted plants. These plants require less water, fertilizers, and pesticides.
2. Whenever possible, avoid chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers and opt for natural alternatives.
3. Water the garden at night or early in the morning when there will be less evaporation from heat.
4. Use drip irrigation when possible.
5. Mulch plants to preserve soil moisture and add beneficial elements as it decomposes.
6. Avoid watering immediately after applying any fertilizer, even organic slow-release fertilizer.

The website even helps homeowners or businesses design their landscaping.

Gardening and the Healthy Home

As spring approaches, many people have already begun their gardening or are planning their spring and summer garden. As I have learned, the outside of you home is as important as the inside.

Many chemicals and treatments used on lawns and in the garden can also affect our health as well as the health of the planet. The fumes of pesticides and herbicides can seep into your home from the outside. More directly, people as well as pets running and sitting on chemically-treated lawns can also directly absorb the chemicals. The residues can also be tracked into the home from the bottom of shoes or paws. The chemicals also contaminate run-off water, that can end up in streams and other water bodies.

As a rule of thumb, if there is a garden task, I always look for the best natural or organic alternative. There are numerous books, organizations, and even lawn maintenance companies that focus on organic and non-chemical lawn care. Most of the time, I do find an alternative.

One good book that I have used is Common-Sense Pest Control: Least-Toxic Solutions for Your Home, Garden, Pets, and Community This is a very detailed book on almost any pest you will find around your home or garden.

More to come.....

www.ecobasichome.com

Video on Eco-Living: Energy-Efficient Lighting

Furnishings and the Healthy House

The Basics of Furnishings

If you want to create a healthy indoor environment, you can make smart choices in purchasing new furnishings or refurbishing old ones.

Furnishings, drapery, and carpeting can be a significant source of indoor air pollutants. These pollutants can potentially have a variety of affects on health, including allergies; skin, eye, or throat irritation; headaches and more. Many furnishings contain contaminants such as formaldehyde, irritating fibers, synthetic dyes, resins, volatile organic compounds, and anti-stain coatings.

Furniture:

• Avoid synthetic upholstery and opt for natural fibers that have preferably not been treated with anti-stain or other coatings.
• Strive for coverings and pillow covers of cotton or similar natural material that can be periodically washed. Throws can cover cushions and washed frequently, particularly if you have pets.
• Select natural wood furniture and furniture with hard surfaces such as metal. These hard surfaces are good for minimizing dust and fibers in the air. Hard surfaces are also easier to clean. Avoid particle board, chip board, and plywood that often contains formaldehyde.
• Select water-based or natural finishes over synthetic oil-based finishes and stains.
• Avoid soft-plastics that can release volatile organic compounds into the air.

Drapery

• Select natural materials, such as cotton drapery, that can be washed.
• Venetian or wood blinds are a good option to minimize dust.

Carpeting

• Tile, hardwood, and marble are preferred over wall-to-wall carpeting. Formaldhyde is often used in carpet backing and padding as well as adhesives. Synthetic carpets are often a source of volatile organic compounds. Hard surfaces are easier to clean and don't trap dust, pollens and other allergens.
• If you prefer throw rugs, select natural fibers, such as sisal or cotton.

Look out for more tips in the next post.

Oscar Hard at Work Blogging

First Steps to a Healthy House

A healthy home has many components that are based on preferences as as well as health concerns.

This blog posting will begin the focus on the health component. Indoor air quality can have a significant impact on the immune system, allergies, and overall health. A first step to improving the air quality in your home is the following:

Evaluate the relatively easy-to-fix sources of pollutants in your home.

Look around you house and answer the following questions:

A. Do you have a lot of clutter that collects dust? Simplify where you can, and remove unnecessary magazines, newspapers, mail, and trinkets. This step does not cost anything and can leave more space for beneficial and beautiful things in your home.

Is your bedroom cluttered? Your bedroom is where you spend time sleeping while your body regenerates and rejuvenates from the day. Keep it particularly clutter-free, and place items in drawers or closed cabinets when possible. If you have a child with allergies or asthma, pay particular attention to stuffed animals and pillows. They are also a source of fibers and dust in the air.

B. What type of cleaning products do you use? You can make different choices for cleaning products that are not only healthier in not releasing chemicals into the air, but also can be cheaper than many cleaning products. There are many commercial products available in stores, such as Seventh Generation products. You can also create you own cleaning products from vinegar and other common household items. One good book on this topic is: The Naturally Clean Home: 101 Safe and Easy Herbal Formulas for Nontoxic Cleansers. This book includes recipes for many household chores, from scrubbing sinks to cleaning the floors.








The next posting will discuss some more things you can do. www.ecobasichome.com