global warming
B.Y.O.B
Sustainable Tip of the Week- Bring your own bag
If you haven’t heard the facts about the plastic bag issue, it’s worth investigating.
- According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
- According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion.)
- Plastic bags are made of polyethylene
- Polyethylene is a petroleum product
- Production contributes to air pollution and energy consumption
- Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year
- Americans use over 380 billion polyethylene bags per year
- Americans throw away approximately 100 billion polyethylene bags per year
- A plastic bag can take between 500 to 1000 years to break down in the environment.
- On average, we use each plastic bag for 12 minutes before discarding it. It then can last in the environment for decades.
- Plastic bag litter is lethal in the marine environment, killing at least 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles every year. After an animal is killed by plastic bags, its body decomposes and the plastic is released back into the environment, where it can kill again.
Until now Germany, Australia, China, and Uganda are some of the countries that have banned, or are working towards banning plastic bags. Although the U.S. has not banned plastic bags yet there are several companies taking a responsible approach to the issue.
What can we do? Say goodbye to plastic bags and say hello to stylish cloth bags…
EcoVixen made in the U.S from recyclable cotton. Left. ” You don’t want to return as a bag do you”?… Don’t mess with Karma. Right. I’m not made in China. Made in the United States…and proud of it.
For a proud and responsible Bostonian. A product of Sea Boston USA made from 100% Cotton Canvas.
ECOBAGS EarthTone Cotton String Bag Set. These colorful cotton string bags are great to store away in your purse, great for your produce.
Verde Bags were created by Gina Sample as a stylish statement against plastic grocery bags.
Happy Bags has a wide variety of bags with fun designs on them, some of them are even made from recycled water bottles.
Mini Maxi Shopper. Lorelei has this one and can vouch for how efficient it is. “I keep it in my purse because it can fold up to be a wallet sized pouch, and when I need it come grocery time, it’s there.”
This concludes our sustainable tip of the week. Tune in next week for more!
Sustainably yours
Nathalie Zegarra
Paint without Poison
If you are a homeowner or just renting something we all do is paint our house. Most people think about the color they would like and nothing else. They don’t think about the company they are buying the product from, or how the paint is made, or even what chemicals it may contain, and whether these are harmful to your health.
Sound familiar?
Take for instance Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). These compounds are solvents that are found in most paints and are emitted through fluids such as paints, varnishes, cleaning liquids, disinfectants, which all release organic compounds. These compounds have proven to be a public health hazard, and are a contributing factor to the ozone.
At d2e we think it’s important to question how sustainable your paint products really are, for this reason we have compiled a list of sustainable paint companies for your home.
Old Fashioned Milk paint contains only natural ingredients. The milk paint is made from milk protein, clay, earth pigments and lime. It is biodegradable and comes in 20 colors. It contains no VOC’s or harmful toxics whatsoever.
What makes Aura paints eco-friendly is that when it dries, it releases only one third as much in VOC then your regular paints. Aura features something called Colorlock which means it has full washability in all sheens, and has minimal odor, and one hour recoat time. Best part is these are available in 3,300 colors.
This company is run by Meredith Erinson was one of the first companies in the U.S that makes natural clay paints. These paints contain no VOC’s. Sustainability for this company comes for the shared responsibility of choosing premium raw materials to produce a product that does not harm the environment or the household in which it is used.
Green Planet Paints does not contain petroleum, in fact their paints are Soy-based and contain waterborne alkyd resins. Since it is a small company they produce small batches of customized paints so that the waste is minimal.
They have paints for both interiors and exteriors, what makes this company sustainable is it’s use of clay paints, milk paint and lime plaster finishes. They have both low VOC, and zero VOC paints. As part of their theme on sustainability they feature natural colors for the home which can be viewed on their website. These paints are Green Seal certified and are a non-profit organization setting standard for environmentally responsible products.
All of Mythic Paints are low VOC’s their paint is both sustainable, and still has high performance. Their patented technology is scientifically formulated to offer qualities of water-based paints without the need for toxic solvents. This is what avoids the bad smell. Their paint does not contain lead, mercury, formaldehyde, or other known toxic materials.
Until next week!
Nathalie Zegarra
Sustainable Architecture Part II
Let’s begin!
The Macallen Building, formerly a printing press, was designed by Office dA, Inc. in collaboration with Burt, Hill architecture firm. Located in South Boston this building has a green roof technology, that collects rainwater runoff for landscaping use, saving the building 600,000 gallons of water annually! The building also has vents that are kept open in order to let fresh air into the apartment lofts. This building also uses sustainable materials such as insulation made from recycled jeans.
The Epicenter. Home of Habitat for Humanity, a non-for-profit organization located in the South Boston. It was designed by Arrowstreet Architects, and is one of the few platinum LEED certified, non-for-profit buildings in Boston. This building features solar panels, recycled car windshields, and other recycled materials for their washrooms, most of which were recuperated from building debris. The building is conveniently facing south where huge windows let the natural light in. The Epicenter also uses natural ventilation as a replacement of air-conditioning mechanisms. To top that off they store rainwater which is harvested and stored for landscaping!
The Genzyme Center, located in Cambridge Massachusetts is designed by Behnisch & Partners, architecture firm is based out of Venice, California. The creative minds behind this impressive commercial building have incorporated a top lit atrium allowing natural light to enter the entire building while providing light to almost every corner. This building has night time ventilation, and uses a curtain glazing system. There are several indoor gardens for employees to enjoy while looking up at a complex system of mirrors that deflect the light from the sun into different parts of the building.
San Francisco Federal Building, designed by Thomas Mayne (founder of Morphosis) is located in San Francisco. This building takes into account the health of it’s employees and the environment. Take for instance the incorporation of sensors that open and close the windows mechanically during the day improving the in door air quality creating natural air flow ventilation. This building also reduces the need of electricity by having big windows that rung from the floor to the ceiling. An interesting concept in this building that perhaps not all employees are happy with is that the elevator stops every three floors to encourage employees to utilize the stairscase as a way to exercise and socialize with one another.
New York Times Building, designed by Renzo Piano (Italian architect) last on our list today demonstrating the evolution of sustainable, commercial designs. This building is made mostly from glass and steel. It uses technology to monitor the amount of direct sunlight and glare entering the building and adjusts the intensity of the light on the inside accordingly. It’s ventilation systems incorporates 85% efficient filtration and a humidification system to maintain optimum indoor air quality.
Well that’s a wrap for this weeks sustainable architecture, join me next week to see what we have on our lists
Sustainably yours
Nathalie Zegarra
Off-White Christmas : Dirty Snow
Thanks to a few December snowstorms, the Boston area had its first “White Christmas” in several years. Although the snow buried the urban grime for a few days, pristine snow doesn’t last long in the city. Here’s a pile near my apartment. Eww.
But dirty snow isn’t just an aesthetic issue. It also contributes to global warming. A study by students at UC Irvine proposed that dirty snow in the Arctic might be responsible for one-third of the alarming temperature increases in the region, which is most often attributed to greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane.
Normally, clean snow reflects sunlight back to space (which is why fresh snow appears so bright to our eyes on sunny days). But tiny particles of soot from forest fires, dust storms, and burning fossil fuels are settling on top of snow, and acting like billions of “tiny toaster ovens.” The dark-colored particles absorb sunlight, causing them to heat up and melt surrounding snow.
Dust storms from the American Southwest and even China are sprinkling the snowy Colorado Rockies with particles, and causing snow to melt earlier in spring. This is already impacting ski resorts, hydropower companies, white water rafting guides, and farmers whose crops rely on spring melt water.
I always think of greenhouse gases as the primary cause of global warming. I read about taxes, cap-and-trade systems, and sequestration projects for carbon dioxide every day in the newspapers. But this research reminded me that there are other culprits as well.
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