So I walk into a bar here in Durham called Jo Jo's last night to check out a band that my friend Gene used to be in and I'm wearing my blogger shirt that Eric gave me . . . and this girl says to me, "blogger, hey, my blog has been having technical difficulties." We get started talking about blogs and I'm telling her about Envirotech and she tells me that she and her husband built a cob house together. At this point I'm imagining a house built out of corn, but she explains that it's a house built out of mud. I asked her what happens when it rains and she said that there's a two foot overhang on the roof so it never gets wet.

Of course the first thing I knew I had to do was find some internet sites on cob and do a post about them!

The other funny thing was that for some reason I mentioned teaching at TIP over the summer and a while back she was a TIP student.
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 2:20 PM

 
I found a fantastic site that covers many areas of creating an environmentally friendly home.

They have many sections but here's a quote from their section on general purpose cleaners . . . some of the most dangerous chemicals in the house and what to look for:

All of the 11 recommended general purpose cleaners recommended in this Choose Green Report are labeled as biodegradable; are non-toxic to both humans and aquatic life; do not contain EDTA or NTA, do not contain chlorine bleach or sodium hypochlorite; do not contain phosphates or derivatives of phosphates; have acceptable packaging; do not contain phenolic compounds; do not contain glycol ethers; do not contain petroleum or petrochemical compounds; are concentrated and work optimally in cold water; have an acceptable pH when diluted; have an acceptable VOC level when diluted.

- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 11:10 AM

 
This site has more information on environmental cleaning products.

Ecover also has a number of products which I've bought and been using recently.

My housemates made fun of me at first when I brought home environmentally safe dish detergent and asked, "how much extra did that cost!" I'm continually amazed at people's reluctance to pay a few more cents to not pollute the Earth.

Ecover stands for careful enterprise. This means that we produce our detergents and cleaning products in an ecological, economic and socially responsible way in a unique ecological factory. Honest and open, we respect people and the environment. In our view, this is the only way to guarantee a sustainable future.

- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 12:52 PM

 
Switching gears for the moment to environmentally-friendly cleaning products for around the house, since that is what I've been in the market for recently as I've been moving into a new apartment.

More Than Just Commerce:

Household cleaning products labeled "eco-friendly", "environmentally safe", "non-toxic", etc. have become increasingly visible on supermarket shelves over the last few years. While they have a very small presence in mainstream supermarkets, their sales grew by 24% in 2001 in health and natural food stores. (From The January/February 2003 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer www.newhope.com) The problem with these types of cleaners that market themselves as being better for the environment is that there are little or no legal requirements for making these claims. Labels such as "eco-safe", "environmentally friendly", "environmentally preferable", "environmentally safe" and "non-toxic" are not certified or held accountable to any sort of standards. In addition, manufacturers are not required to disclose all ingredients in their products. Therefore a product which makes any claims of being "green" or "natural" may mean nothing. (www.eco-labels.org) But those who are concerned about both environmental and human health should look into cleaning alternatives. Cleaning products that are considered "environmentally sound" are not just better for the environment, but better for humans. Many household cleaners contribute to the pollution of our water and are extremely toxic.

To determine the impact of these cleaners, consumers must look at the ingredients listed on the label. According to Green Seal (This is an independent organization which certifies environmentally sound products. Eco-Labels.com has investigated Green Seal and deemed it a highly meaningful label.) there are 9 criteria used to determine a superior environmentally sound cleaning product.

* The product should be biodegradable and non-toxic to both humans and aquatic life. To be labeled as non-toxic to humans, the product must meet Federal requirements.

* Avoid EDTA and NTA. Instead look for sodium citrate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, or sodium silicate.

* Avoid phosphates. Aim for a phosphate concentration of 0.5% or less.

* Look for concentrated products that are able to work in cold water.

* Avoid chlorine bleach or sodium hypochlorite.

* VOC (volatile organic compound) concentrations should be no more than 10% of the weight of the product.

* Avoid products with petroleum products. Choose surfactants derived from vegetable oil when possible. Avoid nonylphenol ethoxylate and look for d-limonene and pine oil solvents instead.

* Look for products with a neutral pH.

* Choose products in recycled containers with recyclable HDPE or PET. Choose those shipped in recycled and recyclable cardboard boxes and other recyclable and refillable containers.

(Green Seal's Choose Green Report: General Purpose Cleaners March 1998)

To find specific brands that fulfill these 9 criteria, go to www.greenseal.org to view Green Seal's product recommendations for all-purpose cleaners. There you will find specific products they have screened and determined "environmentally sound" based on the above criteria. You can also find numerous other recommendations for products ranging from carpets to air conditioners. To find out more regarding what phosphates, VOCs, surfactants, EDTA, NTA etc. are and what their impact on environmental and human health are, visit the following links:

- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 4:55 PM

 
An update on the tax refund, it appears it's only available in California.

I found this site which gives some comparison of the different hybrids available on the market.

How Hybrids Save Energy and Gasoline:
Hybrid engines are much smaller than those on conventional cars. A hybrid car engine is built small to accommodate the 99% of driving time when a car is not going up hills or accelerating quickly. When extra acceleration power is needed, it relies on the battery to provide additional force.
Hybrid gasoline motors can shut off when the car is stopped and run off their electric motor and battery.
Hybrid cars are lighter, which their tires create half the drag of conventional cars because they are stiffer and inflated to a higher pressure.
Hybrid cars often recover braking energy. Electric hybrid motors take the kinetic energy lost in braking and use it to charge the battery.
Hybrid cars are often more aerodynamic, reducing wind resistance.

Why Do Hybrid Cars Help the Environment?
A well designed hybrid can reduce smog pollution by 90% or more compared with the cleanest conventional vehicles on the road today. Hybrids burn less gasoline per mile, so they release much less pollution and fewer greenhouse gases. A typical hybrid might travel 50-60 miles per gallon of gasoline in the city, while a typical SUV might travel 15-20 miles per gallon, or use three times as much gas for the same distance!

Why Hybrid and Not All-Electric?
Most electric cars cannot go faster than 50-60 mph, and need to be recharged every 50-100 miles. Hybrids bridge the gap between electric and gasoline-powered cars by traveling further and driving faster.

Hybrids on the Market
The Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid (2003), and the Toyota Prius are some of the main hybrid cars on the market. Both the Insight, Civic, and Prius have gasoline engines, batteries, and an electric motor, but read below for differences:

The New Honda Civic Hybrid
Never needs to be plugged in - the engine charges the batteries.
Its 1.3-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and 10-Kilowatt electric motor achieve an EPA estimated fuel economy of 46/51 city/highway, squeezing 650 miles from a single tank of gas.
The Civic Hybrid seats five passengers and has a starting MSRP of $19,550.
The Civic won't be as "clean" as the Insight; it gives off higher carbon dioxide emissions and worse HC/CO/NOx emissions.

The Honda Insight

The Insight has a starting MSRP of $19,080.
Two seater hatchback with a 1.0-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine and a 10-Kilowatt electric motor drivetrain. The model equipped with manual transmission achieves an EPA estimated fuel economy of 61/68 city/highway.
Electric motor starts the car (no starter needed), and recaptures braking energy, but the gasoline motor must also run for the electric motor to work.
You never have to plug the Insight into an outlet; the gas engine and breaking charges the batteries.

The Toyota Prius

Designed to reduce emissions in urban areas.
Costs about $20,000
Four seater
Can accelerate up to 15 mph on electric power alone -- gasoline engine only kicks in after a certain speed has been reached.
The Prius power split device enables the engine to run on its own and/or charge the batteries, the electric generator to run the car alone, or the two to run the car together. Then, the Prius can consistently stay in its most efficient speed and range. Because the engine can charge the batteries while the car runs, you don't need to plug it into an outlet to charge it.

- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 12:42 PM

 
Apparently there is a federal tax deduction for hybrid electric vehicles. The amount you can deduct goes down by year from $2000 in 2003 to $500 if you buy the car in 2006. So it's quite an incentive to buy early.

I've been apartment hunting in Durham, NC and I found a very energy efficient apartment. It has a solar water heater, water saving toilet, shower-head, and an energy efficient refrigerator (I didn't even know they made those). It also has a whole apartment fan linked to the outside so that in the summer you can open the windows and the fan will blow fresh, cool, night-time air through the apartment. The windows are shaded to avoid the midday sun, but face south to let in more light in winter to warm the place. Great deal, only drawback was no washer and no dryer hookup.
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 11:27 PM

 
I just found out today that there is also an SUV hybrid! The Ford Escape Hybrid will be available starting in late summer of 2004 according to the website. It gets about 35-40 mpg in city driving which is barely better than my little purely gasoline powered Toyota Corolla. I've never driven an SUV so I guess that's good mileage in comparison.

I guess a common question about hybrids is whether they have to be plugged in. Hybrids do not have to be plugged in to charge up. The electric batteries are charged through the energy which is generated from the car slowing down. When you slow down quickly then the brakes are used more and less energy gets converted to electric energy for the batteries, so that's why it's better to slow down slowly.
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 3:43 PM

 
I've spent some time recently riding around with a couple of Toyota Prius owners and one of the neat things about that hybrid is that it has a display which shows you the mileage you are getting along with a real-time display of which power source is powering the car. So the car actually teaches you how to drive it more efficiently.

Here are some other tips of how to get more mileage from both a hybrid or a regular gasoline powered car. They include things like driving slower to decrease drag which I didn't realize increases so much as you speed up. The drag is twice as much at 70 mph as it is at 50 mph!
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 3:39 PM

 
First I'll cover hybrid gasoline-electric cars which Honda and Toyota have come out with recently and which many other manufacturers have plans to come out with soon.

You can read on How Stuff Works about how hybrid cars work. There's a lot of stuff on there that I didn't know about different structures of the engine such as series or parallel.
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 7:49 PM

 
This site will include posts on different types of environmental technologies for use around the house. It's part of my effort to keep myself informed on new technologies from electric or hybrid cars to solar panels for electricity to water-saving dishwashers. I'll include product reviews and anything else of interest that I can find.
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 7:31 PM