sustainable building

SolFest 2008

jchait — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

If you're planning your summer vacation soon; you might want to consider scheduling in some time for SolFest 2008.

SolFest takes place each year at the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California. This year the event is August 16-17 - which gives you plenty of time to plan your trip. I've never been to the festival, but I've been to the institute and the area is beautiful. To see the institute transformed into a huge two-day celebration of renewable energy and sustainable living has got to be amazing.

Since 1996, over 100,000 people have attended SolFest. What happens at the festival is meant to be fun, but is also meant to be a way to create a knowledge base for long-term sustainable change.

What the festival offers:

First off, if you're into sustainable homes, this is your sort of festival. Each year about 50+ workshops take place. While workshops for 2008 aren't set in stone yet (keep an eye on the website), workshops tend to include the following topics:

Solar Electric Systems, Straw bale Construction, Socially Responsible Investing, Hydrogen Power, Building with Bamboo, Restorative Farming, Cob Construction, Industrial Hemp, Ecological Design, Permaculture, Green Power Options, Solar Cooking, Electric Vehicles, Sustainable Wastewater Design, Government Rebates for Renewables, Fuel Cells, and more.

Kid friendly!: Each year SolFest add new programs and workshops for children. There's a family stage with puppets, music, and more. There's also a fun zone where kids can jump in a bubbling stream while learning about solar energy and water. Lastly, the Solar Living Institute is home to the world’s only solar-powered carousel. So, this is a very family-oriented vacation.

Every SolFest Saturday night, there's a huge stage event with live bands and djs, plus acts like the Haute Trash Fashion Show and Veggie Oil Wrestling.

There's also always plenty of organic food and drink.

Usually the SolFest website kicks off full force by summer. I wanted to give you a heads up early, because it's hard to plan family vacations on short notice. While the event is two days, you'll already be in Mendocino County - an amazing place, so you and the family could stick around for a while if you'd like a longer vacation. Or even head South to San Francisco or North to Humboldt (both great spots to visit). In any case if you're interested in sustainable building or living this is a event you don't want to miss.

I really want to go this year - so I may see you there. It depends; because of course, just to make my life difficult, two other events I want to attend, Blog World Expo (September 20-21) and West Coast Green (September 25-27) are fairly close to each other and SolFest. All three will be excellent, but three events from the end of Aug to Sept? That's going to require some clever arranging on my part. Here's hoping.

SolFest Website

[photo via Solar Living Institute]

For more information on sustainable building, check out:

Off the Grid: Hawaii's the Place to Give Sustainable Living a Try

What is Sustainable Building?

35 Ideas for Building a Greener House

Best Green Educational Product and Information Website

jchait — Thu, 15 May 2008 04:46:58 -0400

Recently, the Green Log Home website was voted "'Best Green Educational Product and Information' website. It hit the winner's circle when consumers voted it into the top tier as one of seven finalists in the Environment News Service (ENS) competition for best education site. Soon, experts at ENS will choose a final, single winner.

I hadn't actually heard of Green Log Home before, and that's a little surprising considering all the green and home sites I frequent. So I checked them out, to see what they offer consumers.

Basically, Green Log Home is aiming to inform consumers about how to build an affordable green home, how to green a current home, and how to be sure your home is safe and healthy. In the words of the website:

"This website has been created to educate you, the consumer, by helping you differentiate fact from fiction. Most information on the Internet isn't regulated, nor is it checked for inaccuracies. Many companies spin clever marketing campaigns to sell their products and services. There are so many 'Green-Washing' campaigns, and catchy 'Green' advertisements to draw your attention. Who are we all supposed to believe? Our website will provide you with facts based on real-life occurrences, as opposed to 'mis-information' driven by shareholder dividends and sales people looking to make commissions."

Now, here's what I found that is cool:

In their "Why change" section, they offer easy to digest bites of green know-how. Why to go green, why build green, government incentives, and a little bit about LEED (They're LEED supporters it seems). This is a great site for green building newbies.

What it looks like is a real green home is being constructed and the website is the process in motion. I like their "Considerations When Buying Land" section. It's not in-depth, but like I said this is a great site if you're new to green building. the land consideration section offers some nice ideas that you can learn quickly.

The "Well-Being in the Home" section is also good, and goes into topics that promote human health as well as home health, which I also like to see. We're all intertwined. They also offer a good starter costs checklist, and the green choices section is very nice too. Most everything offered at the site is easy to navigate.

Cons:

I don't like their products, or materials page. They note that they're trying to avoid green washing and green catchy stuff yet seem to have many sponsors, which in of itself is not bad, but each product page reads like a commercial; with no other options offered. Also, the hardware section is Home Depot; which I have mixed emotions about (long story for another time). But I will say that I think local is better than a mass produced and shipped eco-label.

So far, I'd skip the blog. There's some decent info there, but it's not as interesting as the website, or the most eye friendly blog ever, and the links are all typed, that annoys me on blogs - if it's a pet peeve of your's stay clear.

Visit Green Log Home.

An Eco Living Pod Built for Two

ckane — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:44:57 -0400

Where to after the green wedding?

If you're looking for a sustainably-built living space, here's an option: the 850 square foot prefab residence from Canuhome. The name comes from "canoe," (as well as "can you?"--make a difference, that is) and the pod may look small, but it's not much different in living space from a condo. It has a kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom and bedroom, and was designed precisely for young couples (and older ones downscaling for retirement).

The customizable residence is meant to fit in city-size back yards or even on top of other buildings, and they're also designed for relocation. They're energy, water, and resource-efficient, and Canuhomes use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood products and "glocal" materials, and they also meet LEED standards.

So where do these forward-thinking, fanciful, sustainable living spaces of the future come from? Blame Canada.

via EcoGeek

photo: Canuhome

More Tips for Building A Green Home for Less Money

jchait — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 02:45:35 -0500

The other day we started looking at ways to build green for less money. Today - some more tips on this important topic.

1. Visit Green Home Building to read their excellent guide regarding Financing Alternative Homes. This resource offers tips on financing, appraising, and more to help your green building project come out strong and less expensive.

2. Weigh what you can afford to do now. If a sustainable design tactic is out of reach, can it easily be upgraded later? Although, consider if it will end up costing more to do it later. If there's going to be major reconstruction involved, it may be wise to just budget the project in at the start.

3. Focus on sustainable building techniques that offer the best return for your money. Some sustainable design ideas will start to pay you back sooner than others.

4. Build with your own hands. For some people this won't be a viable option. If it is, it can save you some money though. While building our passive solar home, my partner and I did most of the work, along with a handful of helpers. If you're going to be involved in the building process, you do need to know what you're doing, or you'll only drive costs up with mistakes. Also, know your limits. We laid the roof, did all the framing, and basic installations, but when it came to most of the plumbing, and all the electrical, we contracted out. We would have made a mess of things - and we knew it.

5. Locate recycled goods for building. This is often less expensive than buying new. In New Mexico, we visited the Habitat for Humanity ReStores to get some supplies. We also knew other builders with left over supplies, and put out some inexpensive ads, noting supplies we were looking for and willing to trade for, or pay less for. Using recycled, refurbished, and reclaimed materials can really help cut costs.

6. Lastly, keep in mind, that when it comes to green building, what you can accomplish is something. Small choices can make a big difference. Even if all you do is build smaller, collect rainwater, or install a solar system; these are tactics that can create change. Building green doesn't have to be about "all sustainable" - it's about accomplishing what you reasonably can, and when you have the means, accomplishing more.