Filed under: Food, Health, Home

While planning that coveted green kitchen redesign, you might want pay extra close attention to what kind of counter tops you choose. I know, all the design magazines out there show kitchens decked out with those easy-to-clean, indestructible granite counters — but there’s a catch. Aside from the extremely energy-intensive extraction and transportation process that this stone goes through on the way to your kitchen, it might also be radioactive. Seriously.

Experts maintain that its exceedingly rare to find a counter that poses any serious health risks. Still, with the ballooning popularity of the stone, and the many exotic locations that the stone is coming from, it’s hard for anyone to keep track of which stones contain which levels of radioactive materials like uranium, thorium or even potassium. According to the EPA, they’ve been getting swarmed with questions about the safety of granite. They recommend taking action if radon measurements exceed 4 picocuries, one woman’s counter top in New Jersey was emitting 100 picocuries — one of the more extreme cases.

[via Treehugger]

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Original post by Jaymi Heimbuch

Electric Smart Car on Guernsey
The limited range of an electric car might seem less limiting if you live on a 30 square miles island. That’s the case for Mark Parr, an engineer who founded The Electric Vehicle Company with his brother to convert Smart cars to electric propulsion. They live on the island of Guernsey in the channel between France and England, and below you can see a video test-drive of their latest model. Electric Smart Car Specifications
At first, they used lead acid batteries that gave the Smart EV a range of about 20 to 35 miles and a conversion cost of about £6,000 (though they say it would be cheaper with …

Original post by Jaymi Heimbuch

Beijing is cleaning up its act for the Olympics by cutting cars and cleaning up algae sludge – but that’s not all they’re doing. Such a popular event is the perfect place for businesses to showcase their green projects. That thought crossed the minds of SolarWall, Conserval Engineering, Natural Resources Canada and the Olympic Village developers, who all partnered up to create one of the world’s first SolarWall PV/thermal hybrid systems.

Mounted on the roof of one of the buildings used for athletes during the Olympics, the system produces both electricity and heat energy from the same surface area, beating out regular old PV systems by 200-300% more energy. The system thus reduces payback time, reduces CO2 emissions, and maximizes available surface space. The same building is also home to SolarWall’s conventional air heating system, getting the most eco-bang for its buck.

With worries about athletes breathing in so much scary air over there, having clean-running technology like this is one of those the-more-the-merrier installations.

Via Renewable Energy World; Photo via SolarWall press release

Original post by Jaymi Heimbuch

When vacationing or traveling, have you ever noticed how homes vary in their design from region to region? This is partially attributed to design preference, but a large factor influencing home styles is their geographic location.

One Coastal Community

Take, for example, the small coastal town of Bandon, Oregon. A popular northwest tourist destination with a world-famous golf course, several new homes have been constructed in recent years. Although new, you’d be hard-pressed to differentiate the older homes from the new. All are constructed in the same flat-roofed design, with large windows and natural shingle-shake siding graying from the elements. They look beautiful topping the ragged coastline, and the occasional painted home stands out like a sore thumb. However, move one of these homes to a new development in downtown Sacramento, and it would look strangely out-of-place. (more…)

Original post by nospam@example.com (Natalie Jost)

This week’s prefab breaks out of the hard-lined modern box with a beautiful soft-shelled structure that finds elegance in its simplicity. That’s right - it’s a Nomad Yurt! SoCal based Ecoshack has updated the ancient shelter with a modern construction that is light, flexible, and composed entirely of eco-friendly materials. The airy shelter is perfect for a summer’s eve spent stargazing, an impromptu backyard gathering, or anyplace that a peaceful private space is desired.

(more…)

Original post by Jaymi Heimbuch