Ellen Honigstock, Architect PC, RA, LEED AP
Ellen Honigstock is an architect in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn who specializes in sustainable architecture and interior design. She is also the LEED for Homes Advocate for the NYC chapter of the USGBC (US Green Building Council)
Blog
Greenest house in America Nov 21, 2008
(so far)
As the LEED for Homes Advocate for the USGBC-New York Chapter, I receive a LOT of mail and press releases about LEED certified projects. This one is particularly exciting - The Gottfried Home, which received the highest score ever received since... moreWhat happens at a Home Energy Audit? Nov 7, 2008
and how you can increase the health and efficiency of your home.
Jimmy and John from ASK Construction came over to do a Home Performance Energy Audit (a comprehensive energy and safety inspection) of my home. First they did a fairly quick survey inside and out to determine the overall volume of the... more
Is zero waste possible in this consumer culture? Oct 29, 2008
A review of Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte
I'm reading Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte. It's an amazing book although it's now a bit outdated (it was written during the period of time in the early 2000's when the Bloomberg Administration stopped the recycling programs for a while.) I... more
Teen Green Oct 24, 2008
what are young folks thinking about when they think green?
We asked our 16-year-old Summer Intern Izzie to post about what she thought was important in the world of sustainability. Her posts were thoughtful, interesting and informative. They were so great that we asked her to continue posting throughout... more
We used wind power for 1 year Oct 14, 2008
Let's see how much it cost?
We received this certificate from Con Ed the other day certifying that we purchased wind power for the year January - December 2007 (I can't imagine why we are receiving this in October but I digress). The first thing I did... more
Remote Energy Monitors Oct 8, 2008
Now there are choices
I have posted about remote energy monitors before (click here and here). Several studies have shown that average energy users can reduce their consumption by at least 15% if they can be made aware of their usage in real time. In... more
How Green is Green? Sep 19, 2008
...and how can we tell?
Recently David Pogue of the New York Times wrote a great column called The Bottom Line of the Eco Balance Sheet, in which he talks about how difficult it is to accurately calculate the environmental impact of a product. As... more
Portland Gym Uses Human-Powered Electricity Sep 17, 2008
Gives a whole new meaning to "workin' it!"
Portland, OR, one of our nation's greenest cities has recently opened a new workout gym. This gym isn't your ordinary New York City Sports Clubs though - it partly uses human power generated from members' workouts (in addition to solar... more
Free Energy Audit Sep 10, 2008
Another installment of our Insulation Project
At our request, an experienced and knowledgeable auditor from National Grid (formerly Keyspan) came over to do a free energy audit. We walked through my entire house and reviewed all the potential for saving money through weatherization. I learned a... more
Generation-E Sep 5, 2008
A recent post by Andrew C. Revkin in the NY Times discusses how the current generation of young people should be called Generation-E because they will be the ones to suffer the ramifications of our current environmental excesses. His suggestions... more
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I was just catching up on my RSS feeds and read your NYSERDA audit. My building had one a while ago and we were approved for and are awaiting the loan. They have been relatively easy to deal with but not particularly expedient. We’ve held up replacing the boiler/heating system for at least 6 months. We had already received proposals for the work before we found out about NYSERDA and NYSERDA asked for them and basically rubberstamped it in addition to giving us suggestions about lighting changes, which we also planned on undertaking. I was sort of hoping for additional suggestions from them but at least they will help pay for the work we need to do.
Editor-in-Chief, RiverWired.com
This is the best idea ever -- I just ordered two. I have been trying to figure out how to politely ask guests to the house to take off their shoes. Now I can supply them with slippers -- and they can clean my floors as they walk to the kitchen for a drink. I'll have to start doing more entertaining.
Susan
we saw it and we love it! wish it was available!
Have you heard of Grow from Smit - http://www.riverwired.com/blog/awesome-solar-and-wind-system-greener-bui...
it's in prototype but if it comes around will be awesome, it fits right on the side of buildings, but is wind (and solar). As for sooner options I haven't heard of smaller systems often, although I did recently hear about one couple who put solar / wind on their condo top - that was a really small system, I'll see if I can find it and also ask around. If I see something feasible I'll post it.
Hi Jen,
the article is inspiring but we've been trying to find a wind solution for a brownstone and have been unable to. Have you heard of wind on that small a scale?
Ellen
Sam, your article is right on time. Recently, I had a debate with one of my husband's co-workers about making baby food vs. buying it. Her argument was "The Gerber people are pros and know what they're doing." She stopped arguing, finally, when I logged onto the Internet and showed her proof of a few Gerber recalls. "You won't find any shards of glass in the baby food I make for my baby," I told her.
Almost all my friends from other countries make their own baby foods. Why are so many Americans not in the loop?
We did it for almost a year or so. We also go great tips from Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. There's this whole thing about freezing cubes of vegetables in ice cube trays. It's kind of amazing how far one sweet potato will take you!
Ellen
I love milkpaint. The colors are fabulous. However, you really need to know what you are doing.
It seemed so easy... so my stepson and I tried to paint an old cabinet. It actually looked older when we were done, and not in a good way. You need to mix up enough of the color you need because you make it yourself by mixing pigment with the milk base.
it's really durable also.
I would definitely try it again but maybe i would practice first.
Ellen
[brooklyn green] www.ehapc.wordpress.com
Cool, Ellen, I thought comments were emailed to me, or I'd have checked this before now... Very nice that you're a LEED advocate though.