Posts Tagged ‘indoor air pollution’

Jan

4th

Resolve: Greener Cleaning for 2010


A simple way to support your goals for going greener is to change the way you clean your home.  You can eliminate smells, germs, and grime without introducing toxic chemicals or supporting the production of these products using simple, inexpensive methods.

First, easily make your own cleaning solutions- Buy industrial sizes of white vinegar, baking soda, and some orange oil. Buy a non-noxious liquid soap like Mrs. Meyers and some Borax.  Buy or reuse a couple of sprayer bottles. Lay in a supply of microfiber cloths (so you can keep bathroom and kitchen cloths separate), rubber gloves, and a pumice stone.  You’re ready to go!

 Kitchen: Mix equal parts vinegar and water in your sprayer bottle for cleaning surfaces.  Especially greasy mess? Add a few drops of the orange oil. You will avoid combining toxic chemicals with food preparation surfaces.  Use baking soda for cleaning the inside of the fridge.  Make a paste of vinegar and soda for baked on oven messes (conventional oven cleaners have some of the most noxious chemicals going, and you will inhale them and introduce them into your food if you use them), and for stinky sink drains areas.  Stainless appliances?  A few drops of the liquid soap and wipe down with the grain.  If you have to have a commercial grease fighter to be happy, try Holy Cow in a gallon size, and mix with water in your sprayer bottle.  Not only are you eliminating toxic chemicals in your home, but reducing the demand for highly toxic chemicals in plastic bottles and all the environmental damage that goes with that entire process.

 Bathrooms: Use your 50/50 vinegar water spray here for surfaces and mirrors as well.  Baking soda paste scrubbed into grout and tub and sink gunky areas works great.  You can use Borax, which is cheap and non-toxic, for mildew areas in showers.  Industrial cleaners typically contain glycol ethers, which are easily absorbed through the skin and have been linked to reproductive problems and birth defects in animal studies.  Not a good idea, and way overkill considering the simple alternatives! 

Baking soda and your scrub brush to clean the “throne”, and if it needs whitening, hydrogen peroxide works or try (gently!) scrubbing stubborn stains with a pumice stone.

 While we are on the subject of clean, fresh smelling homes, please consider reducing or eliminating the use of aerosol sprays, scented oils, plug-ins, etc.  Many of these have not been tested for health effects, and add to the number of particles we breath in our indoor spaces that may contribute to allergies, breathing problems, and generally poor indoor air quality.  Opt for sensible ventilation practices instead; an open window when climate allows and use of vent fans to pull odors out.   

 Our Stanberry and Associates wish for you is a healthier, safer, and more eco-wise clean home for 2010, and a Happy New Year. 

 For further reading: 

 

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/show-whats-inside/cleaning-products-ingredients-guide

 

http://www.womenandenvironment.org/campaignsandprograms/SafeCleaning/recipes

 

HouseLogic green cleaning articles: http://tinyurl.com/yl4u7ha

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Dec

17th

On Buildings and Climate Change…


The importance of energy-efficient buildings in mitigating effects of climate change was highlighted Friday at the climate conference currently taking place in Copenhagen. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report Dec. 11 urging that buildings be considered as a major component of any strategy concerning emissions reduction.

UNEP’s report, “Buildings and Climate Change – Summary for Decision Makers,” emphasizes that buildings are an area of great potential to impact climate change. The report is a result of three years of study by the UNEP Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI), a think tank and partnership between the United Nations and leading companies and organizations in the building sector.

Buildings account for more than 30 percent of worldwide energy use. Fortunately, buildings present vast opportunities to reduce energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, buildings generate the equivalent of 8.6 billion tons of CO2 a year, according to the report, and this amount is expected to nearly double over the next two decades. Population growth and urbanization are cited as the impetus for new construction growth.

For example, new construction in China over the next ten years will be so prolific that it will equal the size of all existing buildings in the United States, the report says. Investment in new buildings is also expected in South Africa. UNEP warns booms like these will likely double the amount of pollution associated with energy use in buildings.

Along with the report, the climate summit served as the debut of SBCI’s global Common Carbon Metric for Buildings to measure energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of buildings. The new metrics were created in conjunction with the International Energy Agency, International Standardization organization, World Green Building Council, International Initiative for the Sustainable Built Environment and Sustainable Buildings Alliance as well as private sector companies and associations.

This information adapted from greenandsave.com News

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Oct

16th

New Building Component: Green Walls


The practice of incorporating green walls into commercial building design continues to gain in popularity.

According to an AP story, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh recently installed a green wall the size of two tennis courts on one side of its headquarters. Green walls, similar to green roofs, are covered in vegetation and provide benefits of natural insulation and removal of air pollutants. PNC estimates that it will be 25% cooler behind the wall than the ambient summer temperatures.

The PNC w all features more than 15,000 ferns, sedums, brass buttons, and other plants that create a pattern of varying hues of green above the company’s logo. The assortment of vegetation is divided among hundreds of 2 x 2 ft aluminum panels that are anchored into the building’s frame. The wall itself covers nearly 2,400 sq ft with an average building cost of roughly $100 to $125 per sq ft.

Green Living Technologies LLC, Rochester, N.Y., designed the green wall at PNC, which appears to be a trend that is catching on, with green wall installations showing up in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle. The green roof will help cool the building, but it will also capture rainwater and release it slower into the atmosphere and stormwater systems.

Source: Dan Nephin, Associated Press — Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 10/15/2009 8:01:48 AM

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Aug

7th

China’s Aggressive Renewables Policy


url-2China’s energy administration is drawing up plans to increase power generation from renewable sources to 15 percent of the nation’s total by 2020. To do so, the country will rely more on solar, wind and biomass energy with the goal of deriving more than 200 million emissions-free kilowatts.

While 15 percent might not seem like a lot in California where the mandate is 33 percent of the state’s total by 2020, the figure is pretty ambitious for a country with such a massive population and higher technological hurdles. In fact, 15 percent would be 13 times China’s current amount of energy generated by renewables (about 15 million kilowatts, according to VentureWire). The proposal would significantly revise a current target of 60 million kilowatts by 2020.

China surpassed the United States as the largest producer of greenhouse gases several years ago. Together the countries account for 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, according to the New York Times.

China’s goal — similar to many countries, including the U.S. — is to come up with a comprehensive and ambitious plan to present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cophenhagen in December, where the global community will attempt to reach a consensus similar to the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. Heavily criticized for its pollution problems and unsustainable development policies, China is hoping to improve its profile at the meeting, where it says it will pitch a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for the whole world by 2020.

Read the rest here- Green Beat

http://tinyurl.com/kqbbx9

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Jul

24th

Plants Aid Indoor Air Quality!


Houseplants are not only beautiful in the home, they also help cleanse the air. Bamboo palm, Spider plant; flowering Mums; Peace lily plant and Mother-in-laws-tongue, are just a few of the best houseplants for purifying air in the home, according to an ongoing two-year study by NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA). sunflower

The NASA/ALCA tests ‘Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement’ concentrated on solving the very important question: ‘Indoor air pollution is a realistic threat to human health, so how can the problem be solved?’ A promising, economical solution to indoor air pollution was to take a look at nature’s life support system, plants. The initial testing has been for the indoor purification of the air from the chemicals, Benzene, Trichloroethylene and Formaldehyde.

Benzene is a commonly used solvent in such items as gasoline, inks, oils, paint, plastic and rubber. Furthermore, it is used in the manufacture of detergents, explosives, pharmaceuticals and dyes.

Formaldehyde is found in virtually all indoor environments. Its major sources include urea-formaldehyde foam insulation, particle board or pressed-wood products. Consumer paper products, including grocery bags, waxed paper, facial tissue and paper towels, are treated with urea formaldehyde resins. Many household cleaning agents contain formaldehyde.

Trichloroethylene is a commercial product that has a wide variety of industrial uses. It is used in some printing inks, paints, lacquers, varnishes and adhesives.

In the NASA/ALCA research it was determined that some plants are better than others for purifying the air indoors. The twelve plants tested were:

  • Bamboo palm, Chamaedorea seifritzii
  • Chinese evergreen, Aglaonema modestum
  • English ivy
  • Fiscus, Benjamina
  • Gerbera daisy, Transvaal daisy
  • Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’
  • Dracaena ‘Marginata’
  • Corn cane, Dracaena massangeana
  • Mother-in-law’s tongue, Sansevieria laurentii
  • Peace lily, Spathiphyllum ‘Mauna Loa’
  • Pot mum, Chrysanthemum
  • Dracaena ‘Warneckei’

All plants were tested in a sealed experimental chamber during a 24 hour exposure period. Here are the results of the studies:

Gerbera daisy, Dracaena Marginata, Peace lily (Spathiphyllum), Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’ and Bamboo palm in order were the five most effective plants in removing Trichloroethylene concentrations from the air.

Gerbera Daisy, pot Mum, Peace lily, Bamboo palm, Dracaena Warneckei, English ivy and Mother-in-law’s tongue are the seven top houseplants for removing Benzene concentrations in the air.

Bamboo palm, Dracaena ‘Janet Craig’, Mother-in-law’s tongue, Dracaena Marginata, Peace lily, green Spider plant, and golden pathos are seven of the top plants for removing concentrations of Formaldehyde in the air.

It is estimated, as a result of this research, that 15 to 20 of these test houseplants can purify the interior of a typical house of 1,800 square feet.

In our homes and in space, it looks like we can count on these houseplants to help remove harmful pollutants from the air we breathe. At the same time, these are some of the easiest plants to grow and most attractive to use for interior decorating.EdHume

Thank you, Ed Hume for this info.  Visit Ed’s site for gardening wisdom and organic seeds!

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