Work in a Commercial building and want to help save energy? Ask the landlords if they have done Building Commissioning.  Building Commissioning is the art and science of maximizing the energy efficiency of commercial buildings.  The Lawrence Berkeley Lab has a paper describing this.

The author Evan Mills states: “Roughly 40 percent of all humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy come from the building sector,” Mills said. “I would rank it one of the very first, if not the first thing to do.”  Billions can be saved, new jobs created, and all using existing technologies.

San Francisco is pushing dry cleaners to go green.  We have covered Green Dry Cleaning in the past. Wet cleaning or non toxic CO2 cleaning is the way to go and we salute San Francisco for emphasizing this.

Many ”green’ dry cleaners switched to a hydrocarbon solvent because it can be used in the same machines they currently own.  The problem is that the solvent contains suspected carcinogenic and known neurotoxin chemicals. San Francisco is pushing for truth is advertising.

In San Francisco, Pacific Heights Cleaners and SF Green Clean are two recommended cleaners.

The ultimate goal is not to buy clothes that require dry cleaning.

On August 4, 2009, California changed its graywater standards, following Arizona, Texas, and other states.  The new code lets you install basic, inexpensive systems yourself, with no permits needed for most. No expensive filters or pumps are needed.

Greywater cannot stagnate, touch fruits or vegetables, nor can it run into other people’s yard.  The pipes need to be several inches underground or under mulch.

This site has more information on Laundry to Mulch Basins systems.

Microsoft’s director of environmental sustainability has stated that “Probably 70 percent of business users leave PCs on at night for various reasons. That’s a lot of wasted energy”.  Consumers need follow the same wasteful route.

I saw an interesting product at a computer store, the $30 Eco Button. Any time your computer is running and you are going to be away, you simply press the USB connected ecobutton™ and your computer is put into the most efficient energy saving mode available – they call this ‘ecomode’.

They claim it instantly sleeps and wakes computers.  Eco Button also has software that displays how much energy you save.  It will take a while to save the $30 it costs to buy it!

Here are some free tips for saving energy with your computer. Also consider installing a Digital Timer to control the smart power strip.

photo credit: cathyse97

What is wrong with this picture?

I heard a radio commercial talking about drinking water from only certain types of water hoses.  Have not heard that one, so I decided to look into it. Clearly there is more to it than picking up a ‘plastic’ taste, possibly leaching chemicals like lead.

Many hoses are not designed for use with potable water. The ones that are must be made of FDA approved compounds and display “drink-safe”, “potable water”, or NSF potable water ratings. They should be lead and brass free. Most are made without PVC.

Always let the water run a little to clear out standing water in the hose, before drinking.