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Going green

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I think one of the biggest problems that inventors of “green” or environmentally more responsible products face is getting builders to use their products. I might be wrong, but it seems that this is often the case. Usually such products are not as easily obtained and often cost more than what is nationally available for construction.

According to this recent article from the NAHB though, half of new homes are expected to be built using green products by 2010. This is good news and i hope the trends continue in that direction. Green products are not as available as I wish they were in our area, I rarely see people using these types of products.

Check out the article about green building here.

Why so Big?

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So my little girls love to watch this show on ABC called “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Some of you may have heard about it. The idea behind the show is great, and it’s really neat to see people’s lives changed for the better. But i wonder sometimes if they go a little overboard with the homes. I know there is probably a lot network politics, influences to keep ratings, and advertisers probably determine some things as well.

Some of these families have had terrible tragedies, others are destitute, and some are both. I wonder if building them a smaller, nice home that was equipped with solar panels and/or other systems to make the home and family self sufficient might be better than just building them a huge home. A huge home comes with huge heating bills, power bills, higher taxes, more maintenance etc. Would it be better to help the family out by providing a nice home that is low on maintenance, taxes and energy costs be better for the family in the long term?

Just some thoughts for anyone at ABC that may read this [doubtful]. Either way, it’s a neat program and wonderful that they are able to help so many families in need. And I guess many of them now have fund raisers to help pay off the mortgage, or help give the family a nest egg to help them out in the future. And, if the homes weren’t as big and spacious, the ratings might not be as good. Still, i’d like to see them build a modest, modern and self sufficient home for someone, sometime.

The Plug and Play Modular Home

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I’m an engineer so I’m always on the lookout for some new and interesting way to build a home. Wired has an article on the Plug and Play modular home:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.01/home1.html?pg=1&topic=home&topic_set=

I have often wondered if the mass production methods used by the auto industry could apply to home design and production. These guys are attempting to do that.

Harvesting Logs – Underwater

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Reservoir - logging under water

Recovering lumber has become a big business in recent years. You can buy floors and posts made from old mines. There are social consequences to this recovery however. In Southeast Asia recovery of teak has resulted in a kind of identity crisis. A few summers ago I found myself looking at an old mine above Mackey, Idaho. The town was trying to restore its mining heritage and encourage tourism. However, a timber recover company had already started ripping into the old buildings tearing out enormous beams that would fetch a large sum for new homes in Jackson Hole or Aspen. I never found out if the company had permission to do it or not, but the people in the town were not happy about it at all. It was their heritage and it was being stolen.

Enter a new source of timber. There are many reservoir around the world and many of them were built in areas where there are a lot of trees. Wired is running an article on Chris Godsall founder and CEO of Triton Logging. They recover wood from the under the water. There is no shortage of it either. Here’s a quote from the article:

Most salvage loggers believe that reservoirs conceal 200 million to 300 million trees worldwide. “That’s a low estimate,” Godsall says. “We’re continually discovering reservoirs with trees in them. There’s one in Brazil called Tucurui with $1 billion worth of timber.”

Interesting.

How About Green Power for Your New Home

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Southwest Windpower has been around for about 20 years, but I hadn’t heard of them until recently. They worked with the Department of Energy to produce a really cool wind powered generator for residential use. I don’t know that your neighbors in suburbia will love this going up in your backyard, but if you find yourself building your dream home outside of the suburban world go green and save some bucks.

The SkyStream 3.7 wind powered generator

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