With the ever increasing prices of heating oil and natural gas some people are starting to look into the feasibility of geothermal heating to heat their homes. In the US this technology isn’t as advanced and popular as in Iceland or parts of Europe but as energy prices go through the roof maybe its time we start thinking about what’s under the basement.

Once you start to get below 6 feet in the ground the temperature —stays between 50˚F and 60˚F year round so it is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter in most areas. The basics of Geothermal heating and cooling is very simple; just circulate fluids through the ground to cool the fluids and then that cool fluid will then cool the air that circulates through your house via some type of ducts. The same principal is used for heating in the winter, the fluids and then the air is warmed in a similar manner. However, the heat generated is often not as warm as what most people prefer so a compressor is used that increases the temperature somewhat. Here is an excellent link, The Case for Geothermal, that goes into this explanation in far greater detail.

Here is a European based site, Geothermie.net which has some good information on how you might or might not be able to use it for your home.

However, in many parts of the US, like New England, the cost is steep upfront, like up to 15-30 Grand. However, overtime it may be cost effective and certainly will add to your home value.

Here is a link to the Geocomfort site that can get you hooked up with even more info as well as a local dealer.

Kitchen Compost Crock $42.00 (white ceramic model) $75.00 (stainless steel model) at RealGoods.com

Maybe you compost in your yard, but what about your kitchen? An utterly depressing and amazing amount of useful nutrients are thrown out by most people everyday. Your banana peels, veggie peelings, etc could be put to far better uses than simply making more methane gas somewhere in some humongous landfill.

Consider the compost crock as one solution, the Kitchen Compost Crock looks great on your counter and is ideal for holding scraps of food that can eventually make compost for your garden plants. As food prices continue to grow through the roof, a home veggie garden is making more and more sense.

The crock’s interior is glazed so it won’t stain and the filtered lid leaves odors trapped inside. You will need to change the filters every few months, replacement filters are $10.00 for a set of 6. Some users complain of a loose handle on this ceramic model. For a bit more money you can spring for the stainless steel model. Speaking of money, The composting stainless steel crock we reviewed last year seems perhaps a better deal at only 39.00. Check out our previous Great Green Gadgets article here on kitchen composting.

A blender to take camping or use next to the outdoor grill isn’t on my top ten list of things I wish for, however, some people might be thrilled that you can now mix up smoothies with an energy efficient and portable blender. This battery operated blender be recharged anywhere there is an outlet, blenders aren’t real energy hogs so you probably won’t save too much juice but being able to mix up your drinks off-grid is cause to celebrate. The Rechargeable Blender is lightweight but has a large pitcher for your outdoor gatherings (or during your next power outage)

$59.99 at Eco Geek Living

Our move from New England to Southern California brings the issue of water usage to the forefront. Water conservation in Boston isn’t nearly the issue it is here in San Diego. It is amazing that so many here take for granted the diminishing source of water that is brought from the Colorado river 250 miles away. The politics of water is huge and too complex to discuss here but an excellent and fascinating read on the subject is Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner. This book, while written awhile ago, is still very timely and is one of the best books written on the subject.

Southern California is in a near-drought state after 1 year of record low rains so we are looking into ways to save on water use. It amazes me how much water is used and then “discarded” by simply washing your hands, showering, clothes or dishwashing. Naturally you want to think about ways to reuse this “greywater”, if more people were able to reuse this “greywater” for flushing toilets and/or watering lawns and gardens it would result in a significant savings of water.

For home owners with the money available to install new rewater systems in their home there exists some terrific but pricy solutions, the ReWater system captures, filters and reuses shower, tub, bathroom sink, and laundry water, 50% of all water used inside a residence. This can then be ReWater’s under or above ground drip irrigation systems which are claimed to be at least 30% and up to 60% more efficient than sprinklers. The pricing will vary significantly on several factors but you could expect to pay several thousand for both the filter and irrigation systems.

Sadly, we don’t have that kind of cash and only rent our place. But there are still some options that range from free to affordable. One approach, offered by GreyWater Guerrillas shows how to simply remove the piping under your sink and let it drain into a bucket that you can then pour into your toilet tank to flush with (or water plants, etc) They also put out a book “Dam Nation Dispatches from the Water Underground” that they discuss on their website and have many other resources on water issues.

The bucket under the sink definitely won’t fly with my wife although my dog is cool with it. A more elegant solution that does somewhat the same thing is the Aqus, that helps you capture and reuse sink water to flush toilets. They claim their technology can save 10 - 20 gallons of water a day. The Ecogeek blog has a good article about this system here.

Another possibility to save on bathroom water use is offered from Caroma, an Australian toilet maker’s Profile toilet suite that directly convert your toilet tank into a sink. A more basic and affordable possibility is the Toilet Lid Sink from Peddler’s Wagon for only $89.00.

Treehugger’s excellent article, “How to Green Your Water” is another great place for more info on saving water at home.

A note to any regular readers: We have finally settled into our new place in San Diego, Our move from Boston to San Diego interrupted the frequency of posts here for the past few weeks but should return to normal now.

Sick of singing your body electric? How about using that bod to pedal wash your clothes? Healthy for the planet and healthy for you, and especially for those (like me) who a prolonged use of this method might help them go down a couple of waist sizes. Sadly, the various offerings all seem to be in prototype - with the exception of some hand powered ones covered in this previous post.
The Cyclean seems to be the furtherest along in its development (shown in the video above) Here is a site, homelessdave.com that has some extensive plans and photos of his efforts is making a pedal-powered washing machine.

Here is another model, invented by Bart Orlando, that also shows promise.

As global warming matures with serious heat waves become increasingly commonplace, many of us will crank up the AC for relief, perhaps even survival, but this will worsen climate change when fossil fueled power plants spew out even more greenhouse gases. In the United States, Air-conditioning for buildings uses something like 18 percent of all electrical consumption. Most new construction all comes with central air-conditioning, most modern offices, stores and many workplaces all have the AC cranking during the hot summer months, many workers even have to bring extra sweaters to keep warm the temperatures can be so frigid. Occasionally, during really hot days the city or other agency will plea with us to be more reasonable with the temperature settings on the AC but most times any environmental concerns related to air-conditioning use are ignored. We have come to see air-conditioning as a basic need and right. We expect there to be a comfortable, air-conditioned setting in virtually all of our public spaces. It is hard to imagine that only 30 or 40 years ago air conditioning was the exception and not the rule. What will happen when we no longer have cheap energy so readily available?

Alternet has arguably the best online article discussing air-conditioning and the environment available. Written last summer in two parts, the article discusses how in little more than 50 years cheap energy has allowed air-conditioning to rapidly grow from a rare luxury to an unquestioned basic necessary utility present in virtually every aspect of our lives, especially in the southern regions. It seems unthinkable today to imagine shopping in any big store during the summer without air-conditioning. Can you imagine people in the southern states ever giving up their air-conditioning, even though I grow up in the south myself and remember what it was like to live down there without air-conditioning. What price will people be willing to pay to keep up this lifestyle?
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RSVP Stainless Steel Compost Pail $39.99
from the Grist Store at Amazon

Food and paper make up the largest percentage of items in most landfills, food waste is considered the #1 least recycled material. The nature of today’s landfills are such that food waste often doesn’t break down properly and contributes to landfills producing methane - a harmful greenhouse gas.

Large urban areas often have to ship the garbage to distant, rural landfills, using fleets of trucks spewing tons of greenhouse gases into the air on a daily basis. At the same time farms use chemical fertilizers to grow their crops that contributes to pollution and soil degradation. Finding ways to reduce landfill waste and generate sources of rich, organic fertilizer is clearly the way to go.

I read Elizabeth Royte awesome book, Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash recently, who gives an excellent account of her investigations into all things pertaining to garbage and has much useful information on composting. The wonderful and ever fascinating everydaytrash blog has a terrific interview with Ms. Royte well worth the read.
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Switching to energy efficient light-bulbs is great but tubular skylights go even further in that not only do you save electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions but you get free natural lighting. This natural light is not only brighter but also shows true color, unlike incandescent bulbs. It can also help reduce seasonal affective disorders. Green builders are often incorporating this type of lighting in their projects and works particularly well in commercial workplaces where most activity takes place during the day.
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Excel AC Composting Toilet $1549 from The Natural Home.com

Greater attention is increasingly being given to drought and water shortages around the world. As global warming worsens this is predicted to become a much more serious problem for millions of people around the world. Here in the US the Southwest already has serious problems with a lack of water.

As water shortages worsen, people’s attitudes on water use will hopefully change. One attitude needing change is the reluctance to consider green alternatives to the typical flush toilet in specific and about our relation to human waste in general. The low-flow toilets were initially met with skepticism by many but now has become commonplace. In time people may grow to accept the composting toilets as well.

Composting toilets use little or no water and processes toilet waste for reuse as valuable compost. They work with the same natural composting principles as when bears poop in the woods…
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What’s your TV doing when you aren’t watching?

We can easily save energy and reduce pollution. We can reduce greenhouse gases by millions of tons. All we have to do is turn off our stuff when we aren’t using them. If it’s so easy, why don’t more do it? Are people just selfish and lazy? Is it because no one ever calls them on it? That people just aren’t thinking and talking enough about it?
My feeling is that when the effects of global warming worsen, and becomes impossible to ignore, combined with dramatically increased energy prices from peak oil then people will conserve energy in earnest. However, if enough buzz gets generated, the mainstream media and politicians grab onto this issue then maybe people can start to be more conscience of this issue before its too late.

Turning off the TV or stereo and shutting down your computer at night may not seem like your are doing that much to save the planet, but once you multiple that by millions of people it adds up to some serious energy consumption. Clearly this alone won’t be enough to solve our problems but it is a start and it is something that we can all do right now, at no great expense or effort.

An article in the Independent talks about how a national survey done in Great Britain showed that one in five white-collar workers leave their computers on at night at least three times a week. The power usage from this winds up emitting 200,000 tons of carbon a year, equivalent to the exhaust fumes of 120,000 SUV’s. The article also goes on to state that a million tons of carbon is pumped into the air each year by tv’s, stereo’s, DVD’d etc being left on standby power in British homes. They also state that some products use almost as much power when in “sleep” modes as they do when working.
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