Catherine Rust is the Founder of Butterfly Effect Consulting, or BEC Green.

We’re all about helping to demystify what makes a green building product green and what doesn’t…. I decided it was time to start a blog dedicated entirely to green building materials available in the greater Toronto area, so here it is!

Cathy lives in center-city Toronto “within walking distance to the subway, shops, movie theatres, bookstores, and five (5) authentic French patisseries. Our new location has cut our driving miles in half annually and my teenage boys know the subway system by heart.” Her favorite green product is Concrobium, a mold-control substance. She rhapsodized about it here.

My greenness is of the practical, almost armchair kind. If it’s easy to do and within my price range, I’ll do it. Conservation in particular is one of the rules I live by — it’s probably why our house looks so dark at night! I’m not one to easily part with my money, so a green product has to be something that actually makes sense before I’ll consider buying it…. We don’t live a green lifestyle: we’re not vegetarians, we drive two cars (one is a mini van, the other a Jetta Diesel) and we have three kids — all pretty much environmental no-nos. I am a walking contradiction — like most humans.

Cathy Rust and her family

Cathy discovered Practically Green a few months ago, and she blogged about it this week:

When you first use Practically Green you can take a quiz to find out just how green you really are. It’s a way to see what you’re already doing and what steps you can take to lighten your CO2 load. Unlike other online “green lifestyle” quizzes I’ve taken, this one is quick but accurate. For the most part, when I’ve taken other quizzes, the quick ones are incredibly inaccurate while the detailed ones have you pulling out a year’s worth of utility bills for measurement. Practically Green has done a lot of thorough research behind their quiz, so if it seems simple, it is, but the results are sophisticated. The quiz focuses on your current lifestyle behaviour. Once you’ve completed the quiz you’re given a rating from “Barely Green” all the way up to “Superbly Green.” I hate to brag, but I’m, ahem, “Impressively Green,” second highest level. The quiz gives you points in four categories: Water Use, Energy, Health and Stuff. These are great categories because they basically cover everything from the kind of materials you shop for and put in your home, to what you eat, what kind of transportation to use. Your initial score serves as your benchmark. My worst marks were in water efficiency, something I’ll have to investigate further because I thought I was actually doing well in that area — I see aerators in my future!

Achieving the next level of “greenness.” Once you’ve figured out your starting point, the site offers endless ways for you to advance to the next level of “greenness.” It also gives you the opportunity to commit to different actions and you’re awarded a different number of points depending on the action taken (ie. “carpooling” gets way more points than “using cold water for laundry” which also acknowledges the increased effort level and benefits).

Each time you log in and go to your account you see how you’re doing. You can also share your efforts with your friends and invite them to join in. Doing something in a group can further help you achieve your goals. Practically Green also shows you how you’re doing in comparison to other Practically Green participants. If you’re competitive, this is a great way to push you to do better.

The detailed explanations as to why you should take a particular action are also helpful and all of the information on the site is backed up with authoritative data and more resources if you’re interested in learning more about a subject.

Finally, once you’ve committed to taking a particular green action, the site offers suggestions for the materials you can use and, if possible, where they’re available. Practically Green is still in its early stages so give it a try! They’re always looking for feedback to continually improve the site.

Last year, Cathy earned a LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). She holds a B.Sc. in Biology (specialist, Human Genetics) from McGill University, and an M.A. in Political Science and Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto. Before becoming a mom, she worked as an environmental consultant, in the 90s, “which was pretty much like talking to a brick wall.”  You can find her at http://becgreen.ca

News Picks:

Think Green and Young: Children’s clothing and toy store Area Kids has a fabulous collection of eco-friendly duds for your little ones. The store is in Brooklyn, but offers products online. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice the “style” part of your “green lifestyle.”

Calling all Green Entrepreneurs: YouGoods is a design contest that challenges you to submit a product idea that is “practical, unique, and eco-friendly.” Act quickly, submissions are due on the 19th!

Are Chemicals Speeding up Your Daughter’s Childhood? There has been much talk in the news lately about exposure to chemicals such as BPA disrupting girls’ hormones. Hopefully the Safe Chemicals Act and the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act will help to put a stop on this disturbing trend. Click here to get PG points for your chemical free-cleaning.

Mulit-Media Pick:

Save That Stuff can help your business with its recycling needs by providing cost-effective alternatives to traditional waste disposal. See the video below for astonishing visuals of all the waste they recycle! The video is a little long, but everything worth seeing is in the first three minutes. Get PG points for recycling your stuff. Enjoy!

New and Cool Pick:

No more shoving a sponge into your Klean Kanteen: This cool brush made from recyclable materials will save you some serious time and effort. It’s hard to clean sticky drinks out of your eco-friendly reusable water bottle (my water STILL tasted like apple juice for at least three re-fillings), but this nifty brush makes it a breeze. It cleans both the inside and the outside at the same time.

Nancy Mims is a Practically Green Motherboard member who really knows her way around home decor. She’s a co-founder of ModGreenPod, an environmental leader in sustainable and fashionable design. Nancy has a thriving young company, two ingenious children, and a husband who we imagine is exceedingly content. When she told us about her passion for furniture makeovers, we asked her if she’d blog about it for us, and here’s the result, illustrated. Enjoy!

One of the perks of my job is seeing the great “before & after” photos and hearing the accompanying stories that our customers send us when they use our fabric on an upholstery project. It’s so satisfying to see a shabby old piece of furniture not only avoid landfill doom but be completely reinvented with fresh, new fabric through the skills of a local upholsterer. The result is a one-of-a-kind, locally produced piece of art filled with stories and soul.

Chair: Before

All of the upholstered furniture pieces in my house are vintage, and all were lovingly reupholstered and with Mod Green Pod’s organic cotton by my favorite two Austin upholsterers. Last year, when I went through the process of working with the very creative and capable upholsterers at Spruce to recreate the Victorian camelback sofa in my living room, I blogged about each step in hopes that I could demystify the process: http://modgreenpod.blogspot.com/search/label/nancy%27s%20chair. For that project, we salvaged everything that we could from the original piece and sourced the greenest materials we could for whatever needed to be replaced. It remains a great “how to” resource for working with an upholsterer, for those who have never done so.

Detail of restored chair

The most recent piece of furniture in my house is The Anticipate Chair, which Practically Green featured in its rather unfortunate “before” state in late spring: http://blog.practicallygreen.com/2010/05/home-decorating-with-ec-friendly-wallpaper-fabric/.

Seeing beyond the tattered brown exterior, I instantly loved the shape of the chair the second I spotted it at Room Service, my favorite vintage shop in my neighborhood. I‘ve learned from most upholsterers that furniture that predates the 1970s is usually built really well and can withstand much more time if properly refurbished. So I could see that it would make a gorgeous statement for a new pattern I had designed, Anticipate https://modgreenpod.com/item/52/.  I selected a lush but neutral medium grey for the ground color and a pop of citrus yellow for the center of the cream colored swirling motif. I had the opposite colors printed for a contrasting throw pillow. (For more information about ordering Mod Green Pod’s fabrics in custom colors, click here: https://modgreenpod.com/tep-user/i/customguidelines.pdf and contact us.)

"Anticipate" chair: after makeover

I delivered the chair to Sabrina at Under Cover Upholstery in Austin, and she measured and told me how much fabric to order. When the fabric was ready, I delivered it and she and I discussed the basic orientation of the pattern. Like most upholsterers, she had worked with a huge variety of prints and had great ideas about how the fabric should be laid out. A few weeks later, the chair was ready and WOW, did it exceed my expectations.  Even Sabrina was stunned by how well it turned out. It’s really amazing to look back at the “before” photo; I can’t even believe it’s the same chair.

The “after” result is fresh and modern but also elegant and timeless–the perfect combination for a side chair that is now a usable piece of art!

Follow Nancy on Twitter @modgreenpod and friend her on Facebook for terrific updates on all the new designs at ModGreen Pod.

News Picks:

Eco-friendly cook out: Here at PG, we enjoy a good summer cook-out. But the cook-out has always been one soirée that poses many green problems: paper plates are a must, the kids love hot dogs, and did we just see you reach for that lighter fluid? This article will help you with all of your green cook-out woes, and give you a piece of mind at your next backyard bash.

Green Innovation at its Finest: Freeaire is a refrigeration system that amazingly uses the greatest source of refrigeration ever created: winter. Developed by Richard Travers and based out of Vermont, this system helps save money, energy, and the earth. Brilliant. Check out Freeaire on the Science Channel here.

Multi-Media pick:

The Tip-Tank Game: First, we want to apologize for giving you another way to put off paying those bills/cleaning the kitchen/finishing that report. That being said, you MUST try this game from our new obsession, Water Use it Wisely! In the Tip-Tank Game, you must find all of the matching pictures before the water runs out, learning tips about saving water along the way.

New and Cool Pick:

Chemically Naked: A new line called Chemically Naked by Kaia House not only has all-natural nail polish that comes in a variety of chic colors, but also (drumroll please…….) all natural nail polish remover! A great way to get ten points on your Practically Green profile and fulfill your “use natural nail polish” action.

News Picks:

Trash-Free for an Entire Year: Could you live trash-free? We at PG are always trying to find ways to make less trash, and this couple is definitely a prime example. A couple in Oregon found that not only was it possible to live almost trash free for a year, it was “easy.”

Playground Safety Hazard: Please use caution when taking your children to the park for some summer fun. From the 1970s until 2003, some wooden playground equipment was pressure-treated with a substance that (shockingly) contained arsenic.

How Green are Your Favorite Brands: You might want to think before shimmying into a new pair of jeans. A new rating system has been developed for some 100 well-known apparel and footwear brands. Just as appliances have Energy Star ratings, the “Eco Index” will eventually tell consumers the environmental impact of their purchases. The Index hopes to encourage brands to be thoughtful of the environment when designing apparel, and it gives brands that strive to be eco-friendly the credit they deserve.

Multi-Media Pick:

The Environmental Impact of a Pair of 501s: View the life cycle of one of America’s most popular brands of denim. You may be as shocked as we were to find out that to make a single pair of 501s, 3,480.5 liters of water are used. This is the equivalent to running the garden hose for 106 minutes!

New and Cool Pick:

Energy Saving Night-Light: Skip the plug-in night-light to keep those monsters away for the kids and get them a cool, solar powered Sun or Moon Jar! The jar works by being placed in direct sunlight during the day (on a windowsill for example), and automatically illuminates in the dark.

Nancy Mims lives in Austin, Texas, where she runs the blossoming eco-friendly fabric and wallpaper company Mod Green Pod. ModGreenPod is everywhere these days, it seems: launching a custom fabric collection, unrolling new wallpaper designs, on NaturalHome, True Up,  and Sew4Home. The latter deemed Mod Green Pod Sustainable and Stylin’.

Exactly.

Nancy’s a guest expert for the Organic Trade Association. Here’s an excerpt from a recent Q & A with Nancy on the OTA website. If you’d like a clear, calm explanation of why organic textiles and fibers are important, please read on.

Q: Why should people “go organic” when they are buying home decor textiles?

A: It’s a matter of taking control of and improving our indoor air quality. Too many home products on the market are treated with toxic, off-gassing chemicals that are supposedly added to make our furnishings more durable and beautiful. Not only are these chemicals unnecessary (and mostly just convenient or profitable for the manufacturers), they are degrading the air we breathe in our homes and work spaces….

Most home textiles go through a series of chemical processes throughout the manufacturing chain from raw fiber to finished product. One of the most pervasive and dangerous chemicals in textile finishing is formaldehyde. I have been shocked to learn from manufacturers how use of formaldehyde is standard and simply unquestioned, even though we have known for decades that it is carcinogenic. Many if not most apparel textiles also contain chemicals such as formaldehyde, but some of it is washed away in our laundry (which presents a whole other set of issues as the chemicals are added to our wastewater) but most home textiles (and the attached chemicals) go straight from the bolt to the furniture, never to be washed.

GOTS certification labels

When manufactured according to organic regulations (such as the Global Organic Textile Standard or GOTS), organic cotton products are free of formaldehyde and other toxic chemical inputs. Beginning with U.S.-grown certified organic cotton, Mod Green Pod’s textiles are woven in a certified organic mill in the South and printed or dyed using low-impact inks and dyes approved by GOTS. We then finish everything in accordance with GOTS, using mechanical processes in lieu of chemicals such as formaldehyde.

Mod Green Pod fabrics

Q: At Mod Green Pod, you use 100% certified organic cotton to create your products. Why is this your material of choice?

A: When we first established Mod Green Pod, one of our priorities (in addition to creating a beautiful, environmentally-friendly, home-healthy product) was to manufacture our product domestically, using U.S.-grown fiber. As soon as we educated ourselves about organic vs. nonorganic cotton, we were committed to organic 100%. We’ve also been excited to pioneer several supply chains that have helped bring more business–especially organic business–to the textile factories in the United States. We love being able to help the textile industry with business but also help it become a bit cleaner in its practices, one yard at a time.

Q: How can consumers be sure that the home textiles they purchase are, indeed, made from organic materials?

A: Ask questions, read labels and most importantly, call companies to ask about their practices. We field several calls a day from consumers who are curious to know the details of our manufacturing–what we do and do not use on our fabrics–and we’re more than happy to engage in that conversation with our customers. It’s time consuming to have an educational side to the business, but we truly enjoy helping consumers learn about the importance of organic cotton and indoor air quality. Happier, healthier homes result in happier, healthier people.

Practically Green has dozens of suggestions of things you can do to improve indoor air quality and banish toxins from your home. Why not pick one and think about doing it?

Lots of us are getting our hands dirty in the garden the summer, and even more are eating wonderful food from farm stands and local co-ops. How about growing veggies in Alaska? Today we heard from our friend Debbie Clarke Moderow, a musher, mom, and gardener who lives eight miles south of Denali National Park. Debbie has run the famous 1,100-mile Iditarod race across Alaska twice; she and her husband and their two kids have thirty-seven sled dogs who are “the center of our household.”

We’re refreshed just thinking about being there!

“I loved the quiz at Practically Green. It encouraged me! Alaskans are behind, you know. Yes, we have some LEED National Park Service buildings, but for most of us, recycling might mean leaving stuff off that would get shipped to Seattle. So that sets you back, you stop doing it. Alaskans face recyclng challenges, due to low volumes and long distances. We are trying hard however! We have changed our habits over the years. We use cloth napkins. And when I took the quiz I thought, I’m not doing that badly! I liked it, and I wouldn’t like it as much if it made me feel guilty.”

“This is a really unlikely place to have a greenhouse. The summers are so short. But the days are so long and the temps so cool, nothing bolts! Right now my greenhouse is a jungle! I don’t have anything that isn’t organic in the greenhouse. I love going out there, cutting some chard and eating it. It makes me really happy.”

Debbie is working on a memoir as part of her work toward an MFA in Creative Writing at the Rainier writing workshop. Here’s a preview, reflections on gardening near the Arctic Circle:

Like many details in our Denali Park home, my greenhouse bears no resemblance to those of my Connecticut childhood. My mother was a horticultural wizard, and although we never had a greenhouse, I often tagged along when she went to visit others’. Those wondrous glass caverns were set on manicured lawns, beneath towering oak and maple trees. A visit inside revealed rows of orchids and lilies, begonias and geraniums, destined for blue ribbons in the upcoming garden shows.

No, my greenhouse would not turn heads in Fairfield County yet I know Mom is smiling down at my little treasure. Hand-built by my husband and son for my 54^th birthday, my greenhouse is tiny – 8’ x 10’ if you stretch the measuring tape. It has a Dutch door to keep out the arctic hares, one window, and a ceiling fan that comes on (a few times a week) when the temperature rises above 75 degrees. It sits fifty yards from our sled-dog team, and as I run to it in the mornings before feeding the dogs, they serenade me with an exuberant “it’s-a-new-day” howl.

The dogs’ home – our home – is located just 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle, in a landscape fiercely bound to winter. Summer is short here – some say you might miss it if you travel out of state for a weekend. Still, the hours of daylight are long, offering the possibility of horticultural miracles. My greenhouse holds the warmth of the midnight sun, and yet stays cool enough for leafy crops to thrive for long weeks at a time. Stir fried greens with eggs and goat cheese for breakfast, basil pesto, butter leaf salads with pea pods and radishes–these are a few of the delights we are enjoying this season. Aware of the recent heat wave in the “lower-48,” last week I walked into my little warm haven, closed my eyes, inhaled and tried to recall summers when this would have felt cold.

Young greens by Debbie

It’s mid-July, and there’s a new chill in the air. The long hours of daylight have peaked, and now a construction heater sits alongside my peas and rainbow chard, set to turn on when the night temperatures drop below forty. I know harvest will take place in the next four to six weeks, but with the trusty heater, my crops just might make it to September 1. There are other things to harvest between now and then. The blueberries along the dog trail are ripening, and they’ll be followed by plentiful low-bush cranberries. By mid-August we’ll be running the dogs daily, then coming in for lunch salads and the traditional blueberry pie. Finally we’ll busily gather what’s left in the greenhouse and preserve what we can for brightening the dark winter nights. I’ll sadly close her up, but not before detailing the drawings for the little addition we’ll add in the spring. Maybe I’ll try some of those geraniums next summer.

Debbie is a Princeton graduate who found her way to Alaska after college and never looked back. She works for Innisbrook, the ubiquitous school fundraising gift-wrap outfit: “Innisbrook is striving to be the greenest it can be….they’ve introduced paperless online ordering, taken tubes out of the inside of the rolls, all of our giftwrap rolls are printed on partially recycled paper, etc., but let’s face it, my friends who are really green wrap their presents in cloth!”

News Picks:

FarmVille Goes Organic: Show your green side in the virtual world by “planting” organic blueberry crops on FarmVille. Cascadian Farms introduces an organic feature for your favorite Facebook pastime!

Celebrities for Solar Energy: Even oil tycoons are advocating for renewable energy…well, sort of. Larry Hagman, who played Texas oil tycoon J.R. Ewing on the hit show “Dallas,” encourages people to use solar energy in his new ad campaign for Solar World.

How Honest Tea Stood Up To Coke: Honest Tea lives up to its name by refusing to remove “no high fructose corn syrup” from its packaging to appease its biggest investor, Coca-cola. Well, we at Practically Green appreciate their “honest-tea.”

Multi-media Pick:

Bring your family to an eco-friendly festival: If you’re in the Vermont area this weekend, Solarfest, is being held in Tinmouth. Solarfest boasts over 85 workshops in sustainable agriculture and solar energy for the whole family to enjoy! The festival also includes performances, vendors, food and activities for kids. More information about the festival, as well as where to purchase tickets, can be found at www.solarfest.org.

The festival will include performances by the Guy Mendilow Band, who take their commitment to the environment a step further by creating some of their own instruments out of recycled materials. See the video below where the band’s lead singer, Guy Mendilow, describes what they’re all about!

New and Cool Pick:

A New Way to Protect Your Family From UV Rays:
Just when we thought the iPhone couldn’t get any cooler, a new app, Sun Alert Lite, calculates how long you can stay in the sun without getting burned. So go ahead, let your kids play in the summer sun and have the Sun Alert Lite app tell you when it’s time to apply sunscreen!

Photo Credit: http://appstorehq-production.s3.amazonaws.com/asunalertlite-iphone-120138.185×185.1262771347.51137.jpg

I’m at our beachy place in Rhode Island, in a house that was built in 1919.

Most summer days it’s delightful to be here, with the birds playing happily in the high grasses, and the ocean breezes wafting through the old window frames. The west-facing living room, with its time-worn paneling, glows in the late-afternoon. The setting sun makes the entire room throb with golden light.

It is a bit rundown, but that’s part of the charm. We inherited it recently, from a family who used it as their cottage from Memorial Day to Labor Day. It has no insulation to speak of, no basement, and if you were to mention air conditioning I would have to collapse. During a thunderstorm, the whole place comes to life with rattles, bangs, and leaks. We don’t even have shades on all the windows, that’s how shabby chic we are in this place.

Last week, the house was an inferno. The sun was HOT streaming in through the windows. I got up on a chair and bang bang nailed random odd sheets and pillowcases onto the remaining bare window frames. Yes, the décor now reminds me of a fourth-grade play, but this old house is now many degrees cooler than it used to be. Don’t ask me how much cooler, exactly, we don’t have a thermostat. And I’m busy: I’ve got to go switch the sprinkler again.

The Green Building Advisor’s special on energy savings during hot weather couldn’t be more timely. It’s full of helpful advice, e.g., creative improvisations for shade, guidelines for when to open windows and when to keep them shut, and other simple passive measures for staying comfortable in hot temperatures. This is not stuff they teach you in school, and it’s most welcome.

From Alex Wilson, a leader in the green building space:

“We’re into those hot days of summer–really hot–with temperatures predicted in the mid- to upper-90s, even in Vermont, this week. In this column I’ll provide some simple tips for keeping (reasonably) cool in hot weather or, if you use air conditioning, operating that air conditioning equipment most efficiently.”

Please click here for the full column. Abbreviated version below.

Keep the sun out

Shading windows is the easiest way to keep your house cool or keep your air conditioning bills down.

Keep hot air out

Closing windows on hot days seems counterintuitive to some (don’t we want open windows for breezes?), but it makes sense.

Minimize interior heat loads

Try to avoid generating a lot of heat and humidity in your house in hot weather.

Use a fan to circulate air when you’re in a room

All other things being equal, a breeze will keep you a lot cooler.

Wear lighter clothing

This is common sense, but bears repeating.

Control your air conditioner wisely

To save energy, raise the temperature setting on your air conditioner’s thermostat when you’re not home.

If you’ve already been to Practically Green, you know that many of these practical, energy-saving suggestions are described more fully there. Take the assessment quiz for a personal selection of smart next-steps you can take to be comfortable and energy-efficient in every kind of weather.

Note: GreenBuildingAdvisor.com is an offshoot of the venerable BuildingGreen, LLC, which publishes Environmental Building News. Alex Wilson is a founder of Building Green and the Executive Editor of EBN. You can read his blog, “Alex’s Cool Product of the Week,” follow him on Twitter @atwilson, and consider his book Your Green Home (2008).

News Picks:

Got a hybrid? Zoom to the brand-new Hybrid Scorecard, which rates all hybrids on U.S. roads today on their environmental impact, technological value, and consumer affordability. From the Union of Concerned Scientists. Enter the UCS contest by July 4 to win a 2010 green auto!

From tap water to back-yard playsets: Be safe at home. The Environmental Working Group has created a list of simple ways you and your family can reduce your exposure to potentially cancer-causing chemicals.

Need a green handyman? Peruse the info-rich Green Home Guide of the U.S. Green Building Council. This week: “Are solar windows best for reducing summer heat gain? I live in New Jersey.” “I’m re-doing my bathroom. What’s the greenest choice for showers, tiles?” “What size AC unit do I need for a 1,986 sq. foot house in Texas?”

Multimedia Pick:
Michael Pollan’s Food Rules: We have always liked Michael Pollan but we liked him even more after watching this video. Busy green moms need fast, easy ways to remember what (and what not) to eat!

New and Cool Pick:
Brabantia Wallfix: Who said line-drying laundry is an objectionable eyesore? Not with this sleek drying system. It even collapses against the wall when not in use!

Photo Credit: http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/cleaning/laundry-drying-racks-7-small-space-solutions-119748

Here at Practically Green, we take design pretty seriously–we like things that are stylish, practical, and sustainable. Needless to say, we get excited about new products that include all of those qualities! We just discovered two items worth talking about. The first is a lamp made out of plastic drink bottles, designed by Sarah Turner. Sarah’s ingenious design won her the grand prize for Inhabitat’s Spring Greening Contest. (Did I mention she is British? Could she get any cooler!?)…

How did you start your green journey? Were you raised to be eco-conscious?

I have always been into making things from waste materials. Growing up, nothing in my house was thrown away, cereal packets, tin cans, plastic bags… it was all kept for me to make my creations from! Then, when I was at university I wrote my dissertation on recycling in design and decided to make some products made from waste materials. This is when I first started to make lighting from wasted plastic drinks bottles. It’s something that is thrown away so much here in the UK and I’m sure in other countries too (only 5.5% of plastic bottles are recycled in the UK). So I wanted to make something beautiful from them.

How do you incorporate other green habits into your lifestyle?

I do the general things a lot of people do nowadays. I reuse/recycle my own rubbish. I am a bit of a hoarder so anything I think I can use again gets kept and put to one side. I use public transport or walk everywhere. I have been able to drive for years but haven’t justified the need for a car. I am lucky that the city I live in has a good public transport system…For my lamps, I collect the bottles from local cafes and households. Of course as word has spread amongst friends and family about my design projects I have many volunteers collecting their bottles and donating them to me.

How does she do it? The plastic bottles are cleaned and sandblasted, then cut and formed into beautiful shapes. For the Cola lamp (shown in the top picture), each strip of plastic is then attached to a recycled card base and secured using its own bottle top.

Itching to get your own handmade Sarah Turner lamp? Her lamps aren’t sold in the US yet, but they are available to purchase online at http://www.sarahturner.co.uk/. For international sales inquiries just email sales@sarahturner.co.uk.

The 2nd item we are going gaga over is this paper shredder turned coffee table we found on Design*Sponge. Pigeontail Design is behind this sleek and clever table rightfully called the Papervore.

Do you love these designs? Do you own a piece of sustainable furniture that you want others to know about? Share with us!

Photo Credit: http://www.sarahturner.co.uk/news.html http://www.sarahturner.co.uk/bluebell1.html http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/thanks-for-shredding-my-paper-coffee-table.html

News Picks:

40 Uses for Baking Soda: Baking soda is cheap and free of toxic chemicals, so put it to use in multiple ways! We’ve always used it in the fridge to neutralize odors: why not use it to make homemade mouthwash!

Best Baby Bike Seats: The first day of summer is Monday, June 21st! Get outside and pedal off with your little one close by you in these stylish and convenient seats….

4 Kid-safe Bug Repellents: Everyone hates getting bitten, but we don’t want to spray ourselves (or our kids!) with harmful chemicals. These options are natural & organic.

Multimedia Pick:
Planet Green’s The Fabulous Beekman Boys: Discovery’s Planet Green aired this hilarious show this week. It had us in tears, it is so funny! Who knew city boys and goats could mix?

The Fabulous Beekman Boys from mike goubeaux on Vimeo.

New and Cool Pick:
Eco-Friendly Candles: Melo candles are made of soy and fragranced with essential oils, and they are hand-poured into unique containers. Our favorite is the Field Grass scent in a vintage glass.

Photo Credit: http://www.etsy.com/listing/49065057/large-vintage-soy-candle-field-grass

What’s your first reaction to the words: prefab house?

Cheezy?

Ugly?

Sheri Koones’s latest book, Prefabulous and Sustainable: Building and Customizing an Affordable, Energy-Efficient Home, provides a new vocabulary for prefab construction: beautiful, green, and available in a range of price points.

“I wish I had more knowledge about building sustainably when I was building my own house,” Sheri says. “Since then I’ve learned a great deal both doing research for my books and attending the Boston Architectural College. I’ve found so many ways to cut down on energy and create a healthy home environment.

“I now try to incorporate sustainability into my life — by driving a hybrid car, growing vegetables, limiting energy use by closing rooms that aren’t being used, and recycling as much as possible. When my preteen son outgrew his cute little ‘cowboy’ designed bedroom, he was also becoming concerned with environmental issues. He requested that when we redo his room, it be healthy and kind to the environment. Because he has asthma, we decided to rip out the carpeting, which can trap dust, and replace it with bamboo flooring, a rapidly renewable resource. We repainted his badly stained walls with no-VOC [volatile organic compound] paints, reused as much of the furniture as possible and replaced all incandescent light bulbs with CFLs [compact fluorescents].”

“For years I’d heard about global warming without a clear understanding of its significance. It appeared to be such a huge problem that nothing one person could do would ever possibly matter. Now, however, it’s clear to me. Whether it’s driving less, making do with what we have, repairing something rather than replacing it, or even changing out old light bulbs — the impact of our decisions and actions grows.

“Nothing in our lives costs more than our houses. So when we build, we build, we need to ask: what kind of roofing, siding, flooring, paint, construction method, foundation, insulation, windows and doors, cabinets, systems, and fixtures should we use?” Koones argues that prefab construction saves time, reduces waste, and eliminates unnecessary transportation costs. Modular construction can be built under ideal conditions “protected from the elements, sparing of material, conscious of efficiency and waste.” And, these homes are “healthier homes,” Koones says, “without the VOCs, mold, and countless other biological and chemical pollutants.”

“The common misconception is that green is too expensive and only for the wealthy,” Koones writes in her book. “This argument is beginning to lose traction. While a home built with the latest green techniques and technologies may cost somewhat more upfront, the added cost is negligible compared to the investment.” She adds, “many green construction options cost very little, or sometimes nothing. A properly oriented house with properly placed windows will make maximum use of the sun’s energy,” for example.

Check out the Practically Green if you’re interested in switching to high-efficiency bulbs or using low-VOC paint. You’ll find many other actions you can take to go green at your house – from changing your toothpaste to using the AC a bit less.

Sheri Koones lives in Connecticut with her family. Visit her website: www.sherikoones.com for more info on Prefabulous & Sustainable and her other books. Follow Sheri on http://Twitter.com/sherikoones

News Picks:

5 Natural Summertime First-Aid Solutions: Whether it is sunburn or bee stings, these natural remedies will help sooth your summer ailments without loading on all the toxins. (Lauren here: I have tried the aloe plant remedy and it really works!)

Pesticides Linked to ADHD: A study shows there may be a possible link between pesticide exposure through consumption, inhalation or poor water quality and the occurance of attention-deficit disorder in children. Scary! The “persuasiveness” of a link makes us want to switch to organics for life…

Eco-friendly and Efficient Laundry Tricks: Okay, you may already use the Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent but these tips are easy and cheap, so why not try them?

Multimedia Clip:
We keep hearing great things about the Slow Food Movement which promotes “good, clean and fair food” and this video from the President of Slow Food International (Carlo Petrini) does a great job summing up why it is important. Plus, we love his humor and Italian accent!

New and Cool Pick:
Eco-Friendly Office Supplies: Lexon Design’s new line of eco-office supplies are so cute and still very functional. Maybe a great Father’s Day gift? Or maybe a nice splurge for yourself? We think so…

Photo Credit: http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/17/lexons-renewable-energy-office-products-made-from-bamboo/

The U. S. Green Building Council may sound like an organization for serious contractors and electricians, but don’t let the name fool you. It’s an amazing resource for homeowners who want to learn more about green building materials and practices. After all, the USGBC is the Mother of the LEED green-building program.

The USGBC has chapters all over the country—from Alabama to Wyoming, from New York City to San Francisco—and most places between. Locate your branch on this map:  http://www.usgbc.org/FindaChapter/ChapList.aspx.

Margie McNally, Practically Green’s  resident expert on Green Building Materials, wants to help you tap into this incredible network of expertise on sustainable stuff for your house. She encourages everyone to “Get out there and see what’s new in green building materials for your home!” To ask her a question—on lighting, flooring, roofing, insulation; or on any room in the house—please post a comment, or email her: margiemcn@comcast.net.

Margie attended a recent event at the USGBC affiliate in Boston, Green Roundtable/NEXUS (reception area is pictured above), and we asked her for a report.

Last week I attended the semiannual building products showcase at the Nexus Center. Over 40 green-building product manufacturers were represented, and architects, designers, students and other building professionals participated in the lively event. I was impressed by the diversity of product categories including a display by Xerox Corporation highlighting their environmentally sustainable copy machine; ENERGY STAR-labeled, smaller, recyclable solid-ink cartridges; office optimization and scanning solutions; and paper. Since paper is the number-one contributor of office waste, it makes sense to look at greener options in the workplace.

Here are some of the other highlights:

• Kirei board presented their sustainable wood alternative made from reclaimed sorghum straw and no added urea formaldehyde adhesive.
• Plyboo bamboo flooring was laid out in a variety of warm finishes.

• Bostik spoke about their adhesive, coatings, and sealant technologies that minimize environmental impact.
• Marvin’s Integrity series offered a “window” of opportunity to view the latest collection of high-performance glazing options. On display: a cut section of the window’s energy-efficient construction. The site has info on the homeowners’ tax credit, which applies to replacement windows through December, 2010.
• Natural stone products from Pierre Habitat are sourced exclusively in North America and available in an array of smooth textures and earthy colors….
• Good old-fashioned, natural linoleum from Forbo lends itself to multiple applications….simple, sustainable beauty with guaranteed longevity and color choices galore.

• Green Product Technologies: Structural insulated panels (SIPS): quick assembly, energy-efficient and fully recyclable.
• Haworth and KI office furniture and systems: adaptable workspaces with greener options. Haworth furnished the USGBC headquarters in Washington, D.C., pictured here.

• Image 4 ‘s “Rapidly installed and totally reconfigurable” Reform wall system has green attributes such as recycled content, reduced construction waste, and the ability to reconfigure with ease. The primary target is museum and other exhibition projects, but a residential application would be amazing!

In summary, this showcase was a genuine eye feast for the green-building client and professional.

The NEXUS Resource Center is a year-round trade show of green building products—from structural elements to flooring and countertop materials—with resources and information on each product. You will find that green can be beautiful as well as sustainable as you glide your fingers across the silk-like texture of Ice Stone recycled glass countertops for your kitchen or bath! (See “persimmon” below.)

In addition to the display, NEXUS offers a dizzying program of workshops, lectures, and events including LEED training. Chances are there’s a USGBC affiliate near you! Whether you’re building a home or embarking on a small renovation project, check out your local USGBC chapter location to learn about the latest green technologies that will save you energy, water, time, and money.

The front hall at our house is a decompression chamber in disguise. Here’s my concept: no matter how stressed out you are, no matter how crabby, when you walk through the front door, this space is guaranteed to restore you.

When we bought the place ten years ago, I picked out a vivid jungle pattern with lush and detailed foliage, birds, turtles, and insects all climbing the walls. You could almost hear the cicadas in that space. My husband would sometimes come in after an intense day at the office, grumbling a bit, and presto! Mr. Pussy Cat! He was transformed simply by walking through the “jungle”.

Yes: that was beautiful (and effective) wallpaper, but it wasn’t green. It was printed on another continent, with high-impact inks, on non-FSC paper and — like most wallpapers — it had a coating of toxic vinyl.

Two summers ago, we had to replace the jungle paper because of an involuntary major demolition-renovation. I called the decorators who sold me the jungle paper. I explained that I’d like to use a “green” paper this time: made in the USA, with low-impact processes, no toxic ingredients, organic if possible. They came over with swatches that ranged from bland to blah to blech. I complained: “They look like dishwater! Why can’t green wallpaper be interesting, fun, shocking?”

Enter Nancy Mims and Mod Green Pod:

“Twelve years ago a designer friend saw my doodles,” Nancy told us. “She said, why don’t you sell those? It had never occurred to me before! I jumped in and eventually formed Mod Green Pod with my sister-in-law. Both of us have little kids and we wanted to bring ethics to the company — including organic cotton, healthy inks, and no toxic anything, ever.” Click here for more on Mod Green Pod’s green practices and processes.

Nancy’s kids fool around with her fabric:

“I bought this chair for $40 at a thrift store. It’s amazing what you can find, even on the side of the road! I love the idea of turning some trashy item into a one-of-a-kind piece. I love saving a piece of furniture that might otherwise get tossed.”

We love this idea, too, and we’re going to stay in touch with Nancy as she transforms this unfortunate chair into something beautiful. Stay tuned for the result! Here is the fabric she’s going to use:

“I want to help people learn the art of re-upholstery. My grandparents’ generation would buy a piece of upholstered furniture and redo it every couple of decades. We need to get back to that idea, I think. Too much of the time, my generation just tosses their furniture, goes out and gets more.”

Here’s Nancy impersonating framed artwork on a Mod Green Pod wall:

And, here’s our Front Hall a.k.a. Decompression Chamber:

Go see more Mod Green Pod at http://modgreenpod.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mod-Green-Pod

Twitter @modgreenpod

Here’s a great question from a Practically Green Facebook fan. Our expert, guest blogger Margie McNally, provides an illuminating answer.

Q. Please tell me about light bulbs…. how to dispose of new-fangled ones (mercury) and how to figure out what to buy. Some don’t work on dimmer switches… some take a while to heat up and are bad for places like garage. There are so many choices at Home Depot my head will explode. Want to go green on lighting but still can’t get the hang of it. How do you figure out what to buy??

A. There is so much information out there on energy efficient lighting sources that it’s easy to become confused. The technology is changing rapidly — no wonder it’s hard to keep up. Ten years ago the compact fluorescent screw base bulbs were bulky, too big for enclosed ceiling domes and table-lamp harps, and they took an annoying amount of time to come to full brightness. This has all changed with newer and better technology.

First, start with the lights that are used most often and left on for long periods of time. This is where you will get the most bang for your buck in energy savings and life expectancy. CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) use one-third the energy of typical incandescent bulbs and last up to ten times longer, some up to 10,000 hours. Next, check limitations on the fixture you are substituting the bulb in. Is it on a dimmer? Many CFLs are not suitable for use with conventional dimming controls and will not work properly; they may even pose a fire hazard. Dimmable cfls are available. Is the table lamp on a three-way switch?… Yes, there are three-way CFLs available as well. Will the fixture be exposed to low outside temperatures? Choose one that is suited for outdoor use.

When you find the appropriate lamp, make sure that it carries the ENERGY STAR label www.energystar.gov to insure quality, color and guarantee. The ENERGY STAR site has lots of useful information, including several FAQs… it’s a great place to research and get information. ENERGY STAR-rated CFLs must meet strict standards set by the Department of Energy for instant starting time, color temperature of the light, minimum life expectancy and two year money-back guarantee, among other criteria. ENERGY STAR also certifies hard-wired fixtures with pin-based lamps. Unattractive fluorescent fixtures are a thing of the past with the latest in styles and finishes to blend with any décor.

Compact fluorescent lamps must be disposed of properly, but not to worry! There are many facilities that will recycle your lamp at the end of its useful life and the amount of mercury in each lamp is only about the size of the tip of a ball-point pen. Just follow instructions for disposal, and if accidental breakage should occur:  http://www.lamprecycle.org

As the laws change you will see incandescent lamps be phased out. As early as 2012, your typical 100 watt A lamp will be replaced with more efficient halogen, fluorescent, and LED technology. This is because a typical incandescent lamp gives off 90% of its energy as heat. LED technology (light emitting diode) is new to the residential and commercial markets. We have seen it used in electronics but now it is being used to light both interior and exterior spaces. You will find under-cabinet lighting, recessed down lighting, table lamps and cove and rope lighting available to suit any application.

LED innovation and design is developing rapidly. This technology is extremely efficient—more so than CFLs—and there is no mercury to be concerned about. Life expectancy……. Some manufacturers claim up to 100,000 hours! That’s decades of light! However: the technology is not inexpensive today. There is a premium for this highly specialized light source.

Philips has interesting choices, and you can see some of these on the Home Depot website. At $50.00 per bulb, the Philips 15-watt (which shines more like a 75-watt incandescent) is expected to last for 25,000 hours. That’s 20 cents per hour for great light, no worries on mercury, and infrequent replacement.

Please be careful with home-store LEDs. They vary greatly in quality and lumen output. Look for quality and ENERGY STAR-rated products.

I’ve loosely defined an eco-freakout as an incident when one throws research and fact-based caution and practicality out the window in a decision involve some facet of eco-living.  It usually involves spending too much money.  It often involves one’s kids.  And the lack of time to figure out the right decision is also a significant contributor.

One of my biggest eco-freakouts involved buying a big boy bed.  Which was the reward for my son having ten “dry nights”.  We celebrated the victory (months in the making) by taking a trip to Jordan’s Furniture which is the Framingham, Mass equivalent of Disneyworld.  He pushed his little taxi at racing speeds through the children’s section, got ice cream, and proceeded to jump on nearly every bed in the place to test them out.  Honestly, FSC wood, low VOC paint or buying previously owned never even crossed my mind at the time.

We picked the simplest and one of the cheapest wood slat beds, the guy asked about a mattress and we said to just give us a standard kids one.  We scheduled delivery and in 40 minutes were back watching the Blues Brother show.

It was on the drive home that the fact I hadn’t done a lick of research on this decision began to gnaw.  I remembered reading something about mattresses being on the bad end for VOCs and I hadn’t even asked whether they had a frame made out of FSC wood.  I hadn’t perused my favorite eco-stores for options first.  Nothing.  I had done a complete eco-180.

At which point, with 5 days between purchase and delivery, I began to read.  I had remembered correctly on the off-gassing.  To quote the Green Guide, “Conventional mattresses are often made of petroleum-based polyester, nylon and polyurethane (PU) foam that, especially when new, may give off harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with upper respiratory problems. Some mattresses are also pretreated with formaldehyde-emitting stain- and water-repellants whose manufacture releases perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a likely human carcinogen according to an EPA advisory panel.”

But I had also totally forgotten the dust-mite issue.  My son had tested positive to a dust-mite allergy and mattresses can be breeding grounds for the little buggers.  We had been fighting them using mattress covers, but his mite-induced snores still reverberated through the house.  Lots of allergy websites offered “healthy” mattress alternatives, usually latex, for allergy sufferers, but delivery would be weeks not days.

By day 2, I had called Jordan’s and returned the mattress over the phone. On day 3, I headed back to Jordan’s to find a mattress that could be delivered the same day as the bed.  Ideally latex AND organic. And I had a sum total of 24 minutes to buy it before being late home for the nanny.  All these factors contributed to my son becoming the unsuspecting owner of a Nature’s Rest luxury latex/super green mattress and my wallet, and practicality, feeling very under assault.

This next point may just be eco-justification, but my son did stop snoring almost instantly.  I’m not convinced he needed “the world’s best latex mattress” for that to happen, but we are not complaining.  This eco-freakout, which is in my all-time top 10, was also a really good reminder that a) it’s very easy to slip back into old habits and that b) being green AND being practical does require some work and very often more than 2 days for delivery.  Incidently, Natures Rest has a manufacturing plant in Chelsea, MA.  I’m holding out hope that my mattress was made locally for point #2 of my eco-justification list.

We were already envisioning a standing-seam metal roof on our new barn, inspired by the soaring examples at Shelburne Farms in Vermont. Our decision to go with a thin-film PV material made sense, because it can easily be integrated into that type of roof. I had no idea how easily: one morning last week a white van pulled up, out hopped five guys, and by lunchtime they were done.

The entire process reminded me of lining bureau drawers with contact paper. Glenn, the leader, commandeered the troop: two men up on the roof, and the other two guys on the ground near the barn. The ground team laid each 26’ x 16” metal “pan” across a simple trestle table and cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. Then they placed a roll of flexible photovoltaic material at one end of the pan. One of them picked at the corner of the white adhesive backing and zipped it off as four hands guided the shiny black-and-blue material onto and into the pan. Using purple hand-held rollers, Glenn and his men began rubbing, hard, to adhere the material to the metal. Once Glenn gave the okay, (after five minutes, tops), the ground crew carried the metal length to the barn, passed it up to the guys on the roof. They attached it to the previous length, clamping it all the way down. This process repeated itself twenty-four times. It was a remarkably quiet, smooth process, verging on meditative. And the roof is, to my eye, gorgeous: indigo rectangles along a black strip, and all of it slightly sparkly. “Better  than a new necklace,” my friend Dominique remarked when she came over to check it out.

I’m told that the system design for our barn generates 3.5 KW, which means it will produce 3.5 kilowatts when conditions are ideal, e.g. on a full-sun day. There is some reduction of this total capacity in the process of converting the DC power to AC (usable) power…maybe a 10-15% loss. It’s bears repeating that the system is grid-connected with a net metering arrangement with National Grid so that your meter will be turning backwards when we’re not there (or there but not using much electricity). This is the financial “overjoy” described in a comment on our previous Solar post: “I heart solar energy!” Just imagine how much power could be generated if the folks up at Shelburne Farms decided to install thin-film!

For more on our roofing manufacturer, including thin-film installation, go here: http://www.englertinc.com/ThinfilmSolar_info.aspx?Page=1

News Picks:

10 Beauty Products to Ditch When Pregnant: Protect your baby when you are pregnant by avoiding these chemical-ridden products.

Too Much Soap is a Bad Thing For Appliances: Using too much of the sudsy stuff can actually decrease efficiency and shorten the life of your dishwasher and washing machine.

Herbal Essences Decreases Toxins: Proctor & Gamble plans to reduce levels of carcinogens in its well-known hair care line.


Multimedia Link:
Microwaves can get messy but we don’t like the idea of cleaning the inside of the appliance with harsh chemicals or cleaners because we cook our food in it. This video shows you how to clean your microwave in a green and healthy way.

New and Cool Pick:
Dutch entrepreneurs invented Smart Energy Glass windows that allow you to control the amount of light entering the room while collecting solar energy and generating power. (We want these in our office!)

Smart Energy Glass from Peerplus on Vimeo.