Insulation helps control how much heat is absorbed in summer in your home, and how much is lost during winter. Many homes built before the 1970s have little or no insulation. Insulation is made from various materials and is rated in terms of a R-Value which measures the insulation’s resistance to heat transfer. A higher value is better. R-30 is about 7 inches thick, R-19 is about 6 inches thick.
The attic should be insulated to R-30, R-19 on exterior walls and lower floors, ducts and connectors to R-6. A priority is the attic, just adding insulation there will save you money on your energy bills and make your home more comfortable. Check your attic for presence of insulation and thickness level. You can remove an outlet box in the wall to see if there is any insulation.
Most insulation was made with carcinogenic formaldehyde in the past. Here is some green insulation for your home improvement projects. The primary raw material use in Bonded Logic’sUltraTouch denim insulation is…
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I have been gardening now for five years and I hardly consider myself an expert on the subject. My gardening experience lies in my mistakes. And boy have I made them. So, I decided to do an article of invasive plants that you shouldn’t plant in the garden since they will run wild. They are just wolves in sheep clothing. They would make Tony Soprano cry like baby with diaper rash.
Here are my top five garden plant thugs. (And on Tony Soprano’s hit list.) Add yours as well in the comments.
Why do I hate fennel? It bullies the other plants especially dill. Don’t plant them close to each other. They will cross pollinate each other and you will get “FennelDill.” This means it looks like dill but smells like…
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Simply Green is a popular cleaning product that is marketed as nontoxic and environmentally friendly. Analysis has shown that it is not that simple and nontoxic as it contains EGBE, also known as 2-butoxyethanol: “the company said it didn’t detail all the chemicals in its products to protect its formula from piracy…. ”
“William Nazaroff, a professor of environmental engineering and chairman of the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, said the EPA erred when it removed the chemical from the hazardous air pollutants list.
Nazaroff conducted a study for the California Air Resources Board in 2006 on the indoor air chemistry of cleaning agents and toxic air contaminants.
He found that people using some common products containing EGBE could be exposed to levels 12 times greater than California’s one-hour exposure guideline.”
I have a confession to make. The part I dislike the most about cooking is cleaning up. Am I right, girlfriend? And no one can make a bigger mess than me. But when stainless steel cookware like 360 Cookware comes along and nothing sticks to it, cooking has become fun again. And get this. No oil needs to be added to the pan!
To add to the fun 360 Cookware offered to give away a 1 quart sauce pan to my Green Talk readers. Aren’t you all lucky dogs? They figured why should I be the only one having so much fun?
“In two to five minutes on a conventional stovetop, cookware coated with Teflon and other non-stick surfaces can exceed temperatures at which the coating breaks apart and emits toxic particles and gases linked to hundreds, perhaps…
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It may have been out for a while and it may have been Logitech’s first attempt at a solar-powered keyboard, but the Logitech K750 is definitely still kicking considering the rave reviews it’s received. As it generates power from light sources, just about any office-like accommodation will ensure that your keyboard is always powered. Opening [...]
Not trying to be a scrooge, but with lots of candles being lit for the holidays, our thoughts turned towards how eco friendly are their emissions are? Do candles worsen indoor air quality?
I found an interesting article on BNET (CNet’s business site). The author was threatened to attempt to squash the article. Some interesting excerpts:
“David Krause, an air quality engineer and former employee of the Florida Department of Health, says that the soot given off from the burning of paraffin candles is the same as that given off by burning diesel fuel. Some of the air contaminants in paraffin fumes include toluene, benzene, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and naphthalene–substances found in paint, lacquer and varnish removers.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that benzene and toluene are probable human carcinogens.
The state of California, under its Proposition 65 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, has identified at…
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Local 360 is a relatively new restaurant in Seattle’s Belltown area serving locally sourced breakfast, lunch and dinner. The premise behind their name and their philosophy is every raw ingredient is sources within 360 miles of Seattle, and they really do mean it. Browse even their drink menu, and you won’t find a spirit, liquor [...]
With four kids, I have spent plenty of time in doctor offices, tutors, and other assorted appointments. I don’t mind waiting when the waiting room is full of magazines that I ordinarily don’t get to read. My favorite articles are those “Dear Heloise” types. You know. The home remedy ones. Kind of like the 10 green living hacks from Jean Nick of Rodale?
I sit and leaf through the magazines with that “wow, I -would-never-think-of-that -myself” look. So, I thought I would share some of my new finds fromthe month’s Good Housekeeping magazine:
Polishing Jewelry:
To shine gold or gemstones, simply fill a dish with unsalted seltzer and a drop of dishwashing soap. Drop in your babble, and the bubbling action of the seltzer and foaming of the soap will clean your jewels. The editors caution not to use this home remedy with costume jewelry, silver (darn), pearls, and turquoise.
We have mentioned choosing special cabinets, cleaners, paints, adhesives, etc to avoid toxic VOCs. (Volatile Organic Compounds) What exactly are VOCs?
What are VOC’s?
The US EPA defines VOCs as “Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher indoors (up to ten times higher) than outdoors. VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.”
As you can see, VOCs are present in many products and are not healty. Health effects according to the EPA…
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Honestly, this was my questions. It seems no matter what I do, my food somehow sticks to the pan. Cleaning burnt food is one annoying choir. But can 360 Cookware’s live up to its claim of cooking without oil? Greg Wynan, Vice President of Sales demonstrated how the pots work as I interviewed him at a green expo. Read the ensuing interview or listen to the below podcast. The podcast is only 7 minutes long.
The Interview
Anna Hackman: Hi. I’m here at the Green Expo and this Anna Hackman from Green Talk. I’m here with Greg Wynan. He’s the Vice President of sales and we’re going to…
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