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Greenhouse grass: Do lawns make global warming worse?

January 19th, 2010, 11:56 am by

Keeping our lawns green in Southern California increases greenhouse gas emissions, rather than absorbing them, a new UC Irvine study shows. townsend-smallgoc

The finding contradicts the hopeful notion that all those expanses of grass might help curb climate change by acting as a “sink” for greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide.

“Even though an area might be the color green, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for the environment,” said Amy Townsend-Small, a UC Irvine Earth System Science researcher and lead author of the turf grass study. “The color and the concept are not the same.”

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Posted in: Climate change • Green at home • pollution • • | 4 Comments »

Green event: Rethink that house

January 14th, 2010, 3:28 pm by

Members of the public will have a chance to re-imagine their homes Monday through the eyes of “green building” experts, who will offer insights on sustainable building materials, interior designs and energy efficiency. sterlingeventgoc

The two-hour panel presentation called “Rethink Building” starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at the Annaliese School, Willowbrook Location, 20062 Laguna Canyon Dr., Laguna Beach. The panelists include Chris Prelitz of New Leaf America, Ron May of May Construction, Inc., Mike Embury of ModHabitat, and Pamela Sterling of Laguna Green.

If that doesn’t satisfy your green curiosity, a tour is planned the following Saturday, Jan. 23, of Kris Spitaleri’s straw bale house at 140 Canyon Acres, Laguna Beach.

Call Pamela Sterling at 714-654-9860, or e-mail her at Pam@laguna-green.com, for more information.

(Photo of, left to right, Max Isles  of Transition Laguna, Chris Prelitz of New Leaf America, and Ron May of May Construction, Inc., courtesy Pamela Sterling.)

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Posted in: Green at home • green building • Green events • | 1 Comment »

Green your kid’s room: Start with the floor

December 15th, 2009, 7:00 pm by

Today’s tip comes from Rachel Hulan of Path Design, an interior design firm specializing in sustainable design for residential and light commercial projects.

As parents, we face many decisions when it comes time to decorate our kid’s rooms.  Would a boy like a sports theme or a dinosaur theme better?  Is it too “girlie” to paint a daughter’s room bubblegum pink, even though it’s her FAVORITE color?  Is your new baby going to sleep better if you have the Beatrix Potter wallpaper or the Classic Pooh?

But the most important design decisions you make for you child involve things you probably didn’t even know were an issue, such as formaldehyde and petrochemical off-gassing.

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Posted in: Green at home • green building • Green products and services • Green tip of the day | Comments Off

Exchange your energy-hogging Christmas lights — free

November 12th, 2009, 5:11 pm by

Customers of San Diego Gas and Electric in south Orange County can bring their old Christmas lights to San Juan Capistrano and trade them in for new, energy-saving LED lights — free. christmaslightsgoc

The power company also will provide a free “Home Energy & Water Savings Kit,” with a low-flow showerhead and three faucet aerators, at the exchange event on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Customers can get up to three strands of the multi-colored lights, which consume as much as 90 percent less energy than ordinary Christmas lights and are cool to the touch — reducing fire hazard as well.

The company has held such events in San Diego in past years, but this is the first for San Juan.

The exchange will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 32701 Alipaz St. Customers must show a valid ID or a current SDG&E bill.

(Photo courtesy SDG&E.)

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Posted in: Green at home • Green events • • | 2 Comments »

Green tip: organic farm tour, brunch and food preservation

November 11th, 2009, 11:51 am by

The Road Less Traveled Store and Morning Song Farm are jointly hosting a brunch and tour at the organic farm in Temecula on Nov. 21.

Morning Star Farm, a certified organic farm in Temecula.

Morning Star Farm, a certified organic farm in Temecula.

The $90 event will feature a look at growing processes and farming activities, and provide visitors with ”farm to table” dining via the three-course brunch. A food preservation workshop will also be held.

The presenters:

  • Orange County’s Delilah Snell, one of our Green Tip regular contributors and owner of The Road Less Traveled Store. Snell is a certified Master Food Preserver and is licensed to teach the public basic food preservation and canning techniques.  She teaches canning, freezing and food dehydration and lectures at farmers’ markets throughout Southern California.
  • Morning Song Farm’s Donna Buono, who specializes in a number of specialty goods such as fresh macadamia nuts, passion fruit, avocados and a number of citrus fruits.

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Prefab “green” house hoisted into place in Newport

November 5th, 2009, 2:01 pm by

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Photo by Michael Goulding

Photo by Michael Goulding

When the day began, the lot sandwiched between two homes in Newport Beach contained nothing but a foundation.

By midafternoon, the space was filled with a two-story, three-bedroom home — and an ultra-green home at that.

The prefabricated house, its four modules hoisted into place with a giant crane, is only the third of its kind ever  built; builders and promoters hope it’s a sign of things to come.

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Posted in: Green at home • green building • Green business • • | 4 Comments »

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