CaraMia

The US Green Building Council maintains a listing of approved Green Raters who are qualified to verify that a residential home is designed and built to the requirements of the LEED for Homes Rating System.  All projects pursuing LEED for Homes certification must have a LEED for Homes Green Rater perform the on-site verification.  Green Raters must be involved with the project from the design phase (prior to a preliminary rating wherein the projected certification level and associated... Read Full Story

This idea, designed for children, but also useful for some forgetful adults, demonstrates the length of time a light is left on.  Called the Tio, the concept of an energy saving light switch is designed to make children more aware of the energy they use in lighting their rooms. The color changes from green to yellow to red the longer the light is left on. There is also a web application that provides tracking of lighting use over time and includes information about how energy affects trees... Read Full Story

Not a new concept, but one that keeps showing up in new places to demonstrate how reuse of the shipping container can be a practical application.  Starbucks in Washington state (Tukwila) opens a new store with a LEED certified structure reconfigured from four containers.  Designed in-house by resident Starbucks architects, the container coffee shop is part of Starbucks approach to green building to reduce energy use and operational costs.  Read more at Inhabitat design... Read Full Story

The Florida Wildlife Federation passes on this information regarding their conservation priorities for the current legislative session and asking citizens to contact their state Senators: Support the $15 Million for Florida Forever.  The House currently has zero in the budget, the Governor's budget had $15M. Support the $40 Million for Everglades Restoration.  The House has $30 M, the Governor's budget had $40 M. For up-to-date information, follow #floridafriends #audubonflorida and... Read Full Story

Lately, I've been intrigued by the use of resin to block rips in the fabric between the universes in the TV show Fringe .  Artist Rodrigo Alonso, however, uses epoxic resin to produce a solution to the dilemma of what to do with waste electronic parts through his N+ew: No More Electronic Waste project.  An example of recycled electronic waste made into furniture can be seen at his website .  Each unique piece is produced in limited editions or special order. The collection was made... Read Full Story

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photo by David Room During the past seven years, TheOilDrum.com has hosted analysis and discussion surrounding the possibility and implications of a near term peak in global oil production and importance of energy to society in general.  One of the leading online knowledge-bases for energy-related topics. Most recently, an in-depth discussion of the obstacles to wind production in the US. Set aside a definitive chunck of time to peruse the archives. Read Full Story

Bottles, typewriters, surfboards and buffalo skulks are among the items gathered and assembled into unique structures by a California man featured in the video below: Read Full Story

This Kindle solar charger is a logical component of a Kindle lighted case.  Shouldn't all electronics have solar chargers as backup?  Including book lights for the paperbacks and hardbacks that are still on our reading shelves? Read Full Story

This may not be the answer to extremely low cost solar, but every i nnovation moves us a step closer.   (See video below). Notre Dame researchers have created a semiconductive paste, called “Sun-Believable,” which can turn surfaces its applied to into solar cells. The new material coats nano-sized particles of titanium dioxide with either cadmium sulfide or cadmium selenide, and then suspends them in a water-alcohol mixture to create a paste. The paste can then be applied to a transparent... Read Full Story