The house that I have lived in all my life was built in 1925, that’s 85 years old, and is still standing today. Back then, houses were just houses; however, today new houses being built are mondo-mega-masterpieces. What I found researching was that most websites stated how to build energy efficient houses. Well, what if you don’t want to tear down a perfectly good house to make it green? I did a little research and found the answers. And yes, if you want you can add solar panels to the roof of your house, and transition to LED Light bulbs, but we’ve heard all of this before.
First of all, most old houses have an attic in the pitch part of the roof. A simple solution for rising heating or cooling prices is to add more insulation to the roof (that’s the easiest to reach, rather than tearing out the walls of your house.)
Another problem we have in our house is the windows. On the main floor the windows are original to the house, meaning that when the wind blows, they rattle a little. So people’s solution would be to paint the windows shut, but if you want to be able to open the windows, a cheap and surprising solution is bubble wrap. I know it’s not the nicest looking solution, but hey, it works!
As the earth moves, so do buildings and houses. Cracks are naturally bond to appear in walls ceilings as the year’s role on. The best way to make them seamlessly disappear is to fill them. Not only does this make things look nicer, but it helps insulate your house!
I’ve been talking a lot about insulation, and keeping the heat/cold inside your house. Well, that’s not the only solution to a more energy efficient house. In my house, we still had the original toilets. These toilets used 3.4 gallons per flush which is a ridiculous amount of water used! Toilets today can use as little as 1 gallon (think in terms of buying a gallon of milk).
Considering new carpets? Bringing nature inside is a nice way to say, “Hey, my house is built, not on this earth, but with this earth.” An easy way to do this is to install straw, wool, or seagrass, carpet. All of these materials are natural and depending on the company providing the material, harvesting in an environmentally friendly way. http://www.surfacethreads.com/natural-fibers.php. Of course, buying a carpet made out of recycled carpets is a nice way to reuse.
Speaking of recycling, yes we can all do it. Is it really going to kill you to have to bins, one for trash and one for recycling? No. So just do it, I know you’ve been told 4 billion times to recycle, so just do it.
For the gardeners out there, keep a pitcher by the sink, and instead of pouring that almost empty glass of water down the drain, pour it in the pitcher, and use that to water your plants. Also, collecting rainwater in a bin outside is the same idea, just on a bigger scale.

I hope some of these ideas you hadn’t thought of, and will put into use. It’s easy to find other energy-saving ideas on Google, but here are a few websites that I found particularly useful!
http://www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green.
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mortgages/20030508a1.asp.
http://energyboomer.typepad.com/energyboomer/2008/09/how-to-make-a-drafty-old-house-into-an-efficient-comfortable-home-part-4.html.

Hope these help!

    Claire

Eco-Enlightened Universities

Universities and colleges all over the United States have begun taking the initiative to “go green.” Sierra magazine comes up with a list of the most eco-friendly schools every year, and I decided to check out what some of these top schools have been doing in order to become ranked. Hundreds of schools across the nation are judged based on a questionnaire that scored (1-10) the institution in eight categories: efficiency, energy, food, academics, purchasing, transportation, waste management, and administration.

-The University of Colorado at Boulder

Academics: 8

Administration: 9

Efficiency: 9

Energy: 3

Food: 7

Purchasing: 8

Transportation: 10

Waste Management: 10

Bonus: 5

            Score: 100

With the highest rank of all the colleges in the US The University of Colorado at Boulder has put its best foot forward in order to be green. CU-Boulder has always been one of the leading “green” institutions, with the first ever student-run environmental center and collegiate recycling program. Along with this CU provides a plethora of low impact transportation options to its students, and all need buildings being build on campus meet the LEED Gold standards.

-The University of Washington Seattle

Academics: 8

Administration: 10

Efficiency: 8

Energy: 9

Food: 7

Purchasing: 8

Transportation: 8

Waste Management: 8

Bonus: 2

            Score: 98

Tied for second place with Middlebury University, the University of Washington Seattle puts a large emphasis on local organic and natural food on campus, and all of its new buildings meet the LEED Silver standards. The UW also strongly supports the use of alternative transportation for its students and surrounding community members, and also has only alternative fuel, hybrid, electric and biodiesel-powered vehicles and trucks for on campus work.

As we develop as a green community I think that Elon can learn from the examples of both CU-Boulder and the UW Seattle about how we can obtain an even higher standard of sustainability on our campus. If you’d like to see Sierra’s full list of “Eco-Enlightened Universities” you can find it, along with some of the worst ranked schools here: http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200909/coolschools/

-Steffi

Alternate Sources of Energy-The Key To our Survival

Well hello there!

Today, I am taking a different attitude towards our world's environmental problems. As you all know, I love to criticize our existing situation as well as the measures we are taking. But instead of merely talking about the problem, I should be contributing, or at least making people aware of the alternatives that are ourt here today that can really make a difference to our future.
Renewable energy sources are definitely a viable solution to our globe's environmental porblems. While researching I stumbled about this website called "Alternate Enery Sources for A Flourishing Future" that presents cool ideas, as well as factual information and helpful links for different alternative energy sources.

http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com/

These were three alternative energy sources that are both realistic and viable, and are ones that the common individual can apply to their homes:

Solar Energy
Different Types of Solar energy:


1.Energy from the sun

2.Thermal energy
3.Electric energy

4.Stand-alone
5.Grid connected
 
Here is a link that will teach you how to create your own solar energy:
http://www.hatcreekpublishing.com/?hop=yellagonga
 
Wind Energy
 
Wind energy a renewable source that is created by the motion of wind. It is easy to get and very available (wind is a common thing).
 
Here is a link that will provide you with the starting points for your new wind powered home:
http://www.alternate-energy-sources.com/how-to-build-a-wind-generator.html
 
 
 

Let's Look Ahead

My group members and I have talked about what Elon is like right now and what some of our “green” efforts around campus are. Claire and Steffi were able to dig up photos and archives on what Elon looked like back before this consumerist construction boom and we’ve established that Elon has really built up from what it was. Now I want to look at the options for designing a green community and show some examples of what other communities are doing to become so.

Above is a picture of a house in the trails at Cranberry Springs in Boone, North Carolina these communities are


“dedicated to serving the next generation with integrity, trust and respect, and a pledge to preserve the environment we all share. Each homeowner is encouraged to implement sustainable and renewable energies. We have chosen Building Performance Engineering as our consultant to guide our customers through the process of building a perfect, environmentally friendly home. All homes are designed, engineered and built with the environment and your family's health in mind. During construction, the selected builders practice sustainable site measures and resource conservation strategies. Once the home is completed, a "green certified home" (EnergyStar, North Carolina Healthy Built Home Certification) is more efficient, uses less energy and water, and creates less pollution. Each home is built to meet strict performance guidelines and undergoes third party verification to ensure durability and efficiency.”

http://www.greenecocommunities.com/
 
But does environmental change stop at the construction of houses? While its implied that many of these houses will recycle it got me thinking into what other elements instead of building can they implement? So I found this website and it has thousands of tips for all types of going green, including fashion, food, home and garden, travel etc.
 

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/green-furniture/green-furniture-basics.html

How do we encourage green all around? Recognizing that one aspect is not enough is something that needs to be encouraged and lobbied for on a local, state, and national level. All of these websites have valuable information that can be presented in accordance with a growing plan for bringing Elon into the future. But who should make these plans, and once they are made where do we take them for their ideas to be initiated?

Janice

      In thinking about one of the areas students consume the most amount of electricity at Elon, I came to the conclusion that it would probably be in our dorms or living areas. In our living spaces, we are all constantly using our computers, TVs, iPods, and other technology that has become the norm. I thought it would be interesting to look at the amount of electricity we have consumed this year compared to the amount we consumed last year.
     To access this information I used Elon's sustainability dashboard (http://buildingdashboard.com/clients/elon/). Although Elon is trying to take drastic steps to improve our sustainability, our energy consumption has still not shown any improvement. In fact, so far this year, we have used more electricity every month than we did last year. For the month of January in 2009, Elon used approximately 1600 megawatt-hours of electricity. However, in 2010, Elon used 1810 mega-watt hours of electricity-a 9% increase! For the months of February through April (so far), our campus has increased our electricity consumption by 5% for February, 3% for March, and 4% for April.
      Additionally, I looked at the times of day of which people are using the most electricity. These charts show that we are using some sources of electricity all day, every day. Additionally, the energy usage during the hours of 2 am through 6 am are not significantly lower than those during the hour of 11 pm or 9 am. Why is so much electricity being used at these hours on a daily basis?
     Although the amount of energy consumption may not have drastically increased this year, it is still clear there is an increase. Even if these numbers are small, they are still there, meaning we are not decreasing our energy usage in any way, despite how many efforts to improve are publicized. To easily view comparisons of this, visit the sustainability dashboard. This dashboard is also a useful tool for viewing the energy usage in specific buildings on campus including all residential halls and main academic buildings. It is interesting to see the times of day of which we are constantly consuming energy, as well as which locations use the most of it. It may inspire you to simply unplug more of your technology before going to bed in order to use less of our energy at 5 am!

Water, water everywhere!

After hearing about and finally seeing the aftermath of the "Great Flood of 2010" in my home state of Rhode Island, I couldn't help but wonder about, well... (storm)water! It made me curious about what the town of Elon and Elon University does in regards to stormwater and how "green" they are when it comes to maintaining and conserving it.

Here is a little glimpse for you guys who didn't get to witness the Great Flood of 2010 (Warwick, RI):

This is our mall now.

A better view. Crazy, huh?

Since water was on my mind this whole weekend I was home, I researched the stormwater treatment in the town of Elon (on their town's website) and found some interesting facts.

Did you know? The Town of Elon is facing the problem of stormwater runoff as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Phase II Stormwater Program, commonly referred to as the Phase II Rule. The Stormwater Program is a comprehensive two-phased national program for addressing non-point sources of stormwater discharges which in turn affect the quality of our nation's waters. The program uses the NPDES permitting mechanism to require the implementation of controls designed to prevent harmful pollutants.


Did you also know? Polluted stormwater runoff is a leading cause of impairment to the nearly 40 percent of surveyed U.S. water bodies which do not meet water quality standards.

And... Over land or via storm sewer systems, polluted runoff is discharged, often untreated, directly into local water bodies. When left uncontrolled, this water pollution can result in the destruction of fish, wildlife, and aquatic life habitats; a loss in aesthetic value; and threats to public health due to contaminated food, drinking water supplies, and recreational waterways.

The Phase II Rule sets forth the following three primary requirements for the Town of Elon and adjacent urban areas: 
1. To develop, implement and enforce a stormwater management program designed to minimize the discharge of pollutants into receiving waters
2. To ensure that the program includes provisions to address six minimum measures to promote pollutant load reduction: Public education, Public participation and involvement, Illicit discharge detection and elimination, Construction site runoff control, Post-construction runoff control, Pollution prevention and good housekeeping.
3. To identify appropriate BMPs with measurable performance criteria


How has the Town of Elon implemented these rules?  The town of Elon done many things to control the stormwater and improve the quality of it to make it less harmful for us. Some of these solutions and improvements have been to perform outreach to the citizens of Elon on how to control stormwater runoff, enforce a sediment and erosion control program for construction activities, and implement a program with the goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff from municipal operation (as Claire has discussed).


VIDEO - here is a video link to give you a much more in-depth look on the Elon Water Quality

However, Elon can only do so much. We have to take it upon ourselves, not only as residents of Elon but as citizens of the world, to STOP polluting our waters with harmful bacteria that can easily spread through runoff stormwater and even to our bodies. As we discussed in class, water is an example of "tragedy of the commons" and has been abused and taken for granted exponentially.

Elon is making great attempts in conserving our water and making the act as green as possible. According to our Elon Sustainability website: "Numerous plumbing fixtures have been replaced with low flow models including toilets, showerheads and faucets... and campus dishwashers and washing machines were replaced with Energy Star rated units in 2005"

Now it is up to us to take advantage of these Green alternatives and maybe make up our owns!

I'll leave it on that note. Happy Tuesday!

Nia :)

In the previous post, I mentioned Alamance Crossing, the new shopping center in Burlington, NC finished in 2007.  I found a few statistics that are a little eye-opening.  The shopping center is 855,000 square feet(http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2007/07/30/story8.html?ana=from_rss) with 2,700 parking spots for 70 stores.  A plus side of Alamance Crossing is that instead of wasting gas driving to Greensboro, Chapel Hill, Durham, or Raleigh, people are now shopping near home.  However the down side is that the shopping center covers over 145 acres of land that use to be grasslands (http://cblproperties.com/pag.nsf/ByAlphaAllInfoforWebNew/Alamance+Crossing?opendocument).

Claire