Commitment to Clean Water The Obama Administration released a national Clean Water Framework on April 27, 2011, that affirms its comprehensive commitment to protecting the health of America’s waters. The framework recognizes the importance of clean water and healthy watersheds to our economy, environment and communities, and emphasizes the importance of partnerships and coordination with states, local communities, stakeholders, and the public to protect public health and water quality, and promote the nation’s energy and economic security. The Obama Administration is designing and deploying innovative policies, programs and initiatives to directly address today’s clean water challenges. These approaches include: * Promoting Innovative Partnerships Federal agencies are partnering with states, tribes, local governments and diverse stakeholders on innovative approaches to restore urban waters, promote sustainable water supplies, and develop new incentives for farmers to protect clean water. * Enhancing Communities and Economies by Restoring Important Water Bodies The Obama Administration is dedicating unprecedented attention to restoring iconic places like the Chesapeake Bay, California Bay-Delta, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico and Everglades, investing in action and helping states, local governments and stakeholders find pollution control solutions that are tailored to their specific needs. * Innovating for More Water-Efficient Communities The Administration is working with policymakers, consumers, farmers and businesses to save water – and save money – through 21st century water management policies and technology. * Ensuring Clean Water to Protect Public Health The Obama Administration is aggressively pursuing new ways to protect public health by reducing contaminants in Americans’ drinking water. This includes action to update drinking water standards, protect drinking water sources, modernize the tools available to communities to meet their clean water requirements, and provide affordable clean water services in rural communities. * Enhancing Use and Enjoyment of our Waters The Administration is promoting stewardship of America’s waters through innovative programs and partnerships. These efforts include expanding access to waterways for recreation, protecting rural landscapes, and promoting public access to private lands for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities. * Updating the Nation’s Water Policies The Administration is strengthening protection of America’s waters and American communities. This includes action to modernize water resources guidelines, and update Federal guidance on where the Clean Water Act applies nationwide. The draft guidance from U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is open for 60 days of public comment, will protect waters that many communities depend upon for drinking, swimming, and fishing, and provide clearer, more predictable guidelines for determining which water bodies are protected from pollution under the Clean Water Act. * Supporting Science to Solve Water Problems The Administration is using the latest science and research to improve water policies and programs and identify and address emerging pollution challenges. Read the Obama Administration’s Clean Water Framework here. Read the draft Clean Water Act guidance from U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Enginee

* Micronesia and Guam included with Wild West; Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands included with East Coast.

As of March 2, 2011

AIA Chapters are grouped in regional teams: East Coast, Big Easy Central, and Wild West.

Bar graph shows the number of projects to date, by region that received Designed to Earn ENERGY STAR for the 2011 Challenge. Project due date for the Race: April 7, 2011.

We’re off and running the Race to New Orleans for the 2011 ENERGY STAR Challenge

This year’s Challenge — EPA is asking the AIA regions to team up, lace up their sneakers, and see which region submits the most design projects to earn ENERGY STAR before the AIA Convention in New Orleans, May 12 -14, 2011.

Get in the Race and see y’all in N’Orleans!

The ENERGY STAR Challenge

The ENERGY STAR Challenge is an ongoing initiative from EPA encouraging architects to design buildings that reduce the demand for fossil fuel energy and prevent greenhouse gas emissions. EPA features the architects and their projects on the ENERGY STAR website, in national trade publications, and at AIA National Conventions.

I am on week 2 of having unplugged my refrigerator.  I am happy to report that I have not suffered from any bacterial illness or modern inconvenience.  Furthermore, I haven’t lost any food.  The only complaint  was from my daughter who came home from college and said that the refrigerator smelled like pickles. ( I do store some food items in the refrigerator).  I told her that that is how people used to preserved food for the winter, with salt and vinegar.  She hates the smell of pickles ever since we made rain barrels out of pickle barrels.  Oh well, shes back at school.

The outside temperatures are rising today, thank God, but it will be a challenge to keep somethings cool.. I believe that I am up for it.

There’s plenty to love about small homes–they’re easier to maintain, and the price tag is generally lower. Image: Ross Chapin Architects/www.rosschapin.com

A small home packs plenty of perks, and generally means a lower asking price. But entry price is only one factor—they’re easier on the pocketbook in a host of ways.

1. Lower property taxes. Your small home will be charged at a lower tax rate than its larger neighbors because the assessed value generally is lower.

2. Lower property insurance. The smaller the house, generally the lower the insurance cost, although it also matters where you live and how your small house is constructed. A brick house in wildfire-prone southern California is likely to cost less to insure than a similar-size house with wood siding.

3. You’ll save on heating and cooling. That’s regardless of how energy efficient the house is. In fact, one study indicates that a poorly insulated, 1,500 sq. ft. house is at least $200 cheaper per year to heat and cool than a well-insulated house twice that size. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says homes of 2,000 sq. ft. to 2,500 sq. ft. use an average 102.3 million BTUs of fuel yearly—13% less than homes that are 1,000 square feet larger.

4. Save on major replacements. When you need to replace a major house component or system, you’ll be glad you’re living in a smaller home. For example: According to the Cost vs. Value Report from Remodeling Magazine, the national average for vinyl replacement siding is about $9 per sq. ft.

For a modest-size house (1,500 sq. ft. of living space) with 1,740 sq. ft. of exterior wall space, that’s $15,660. For a 2,500-sq.-ft. house, you’ll pay up to $10,000 more!

5. Easier maintenance. You’ll spend less time cutting those smaller lawns, cleaning gutters, washing windows, and the umpteen other chores that home ownership involves. Figure 16 windows and sliding glass doors on a home of 2,000 square feet or less would take about 10 hours to clean, inside and out, twice a year. Double the house size, and that’s roughly 20 hours spent with a squeegee and rag.

Terry Sheridan is an award-winning writer who has covered real estate and home ownership issues for more than 20 years. She’s owned homes ranging from 1,500 square feet to 3,000 square feet.

Read more: http://www.houselogic.com/articles/your-small-home-5-big-reasons-love-it/#ixzz1CFp6RwmY

What No Refrigerator?

So, in the spirit of conservation, I have decided to unplug my refrigerator.  I am always trying to push the envelope, so to speak, in saving electricity.  I usually opt out for energy efficiency, but I do my part when it comes to conserving.

There are times, in the winter, when we don’t have enough room in the frig, so we put our large pot of soup or beer or whatever, on the table on the back porch.  The porch is 3 sided and faces northeast, so it stays pretty cool.

As you might know, heating and cooling takes a lot of energy and the refrigerator is one of the biggest energy guzzlers in the house.  So why not take advantage of the very cold weather and put my perishables outside?  It is not that inconvenient or unreasonable.

The management of what will freeze and what won’t t will be a lesson.  But since, I am a vegetarian, meat won’t be a concern and I don’t eat a lot of dairy in the winter, so that is pretty much out of the picture.

The first thing that I did was unplug the refrigerator and moved all the freezer items to the bottom, because they kept the bottom cool as they thawed.  Then, when everything was still cool I moved it into a box outside.  The hardest part was cleaning whole thing.  Stay tuned! This is only day 3.

My new refrigerator!

Cool porch

If you haven’t read my blog before you may not know that I am a Eco Broker certified real estate agent and that I promote energy efficient, healthy and comfortable houses and buildings.

This article will discuss healthy homes because it is the time of the year that people lock themselves up in their homes and turn on the heat and subsequently many of them will become ill .

Now, as a real estate broker, I have never had anyone say to me, “I want a home that is dark and full of radon, mold, asbestos and  carbon monoxide.”  However, you would be surprised how many live with this indoor pollution, get sick and never attribute it to their environment.

According to the EPA indoor air pollution can be 20 times higher than outdoor air pollution.  It comes from particulate matter generated from combustible objects like woodstoves, fireplaces, cigarettes, and oil and gas stoves and candles. Also, biological pollution from pet dander, dust mites, molds, and off gassing from paints, adhesives, carpet and furniture, just to name a few.

At this moment, I am focused on mold, as I just returned from Florida where it was prevalent in every home that I visited.

Briefly, mold is a microbe that grows anywhere that has constant moisture. Many houses grow mold from leaky pipes, HVAC condensation, unventilated bathrooms and basements with high levels of humidity.  Many contain toxic compounds (mycotoxins) that cause upper respiratory and fugal infections.

Simple mold remediation can include spraying the infected area with a mixture of bleach and water in a pressurized spray can, having your air ducts cleaned and checked for leaks, using a dehumidifier and tightening up your building envelope.  So, take heed, homeowners, even if you have to hire a professional to clean up your mold problem, do it, as mold can make you very sick as well as destroy parts of your house.

Toilets are by far the main source of water use in the home, accounting for nearly 30 percent of an average home’s indoor water consumption. Older, inefficient toilets also happen to be a major source of wasted water in many homes. Replacing these toilets with WaterSense labeled toilets could save nearly 2 billion gallons per day across the country—that’s nearly 11 gallons per toilet in your home every day! By retrofitting your entire bathroom with WaterSense labeled fixtures, you can save even more.

What Are WaterSense Labeled Toilets?

Recent advancements have allowed toilets to use 20 percent less water than the current federal standard, while still providing equal or superior performance. The WaterSense label is used on toilets that are certified by independent laboratory testing to meet rigorous criteria for both performance and efficiency. Only toilets that complete the third-party certification process can earn the WaterSense label.

How Much Can WaterSense Labeled Toilets Save?

Over the course of your lifetime, you will likely flush the toilet nearly 140,000 times. If you replace older, existing toilets with WaterSense labeled models, you can save 4,000 gallons per year with this simpler, greener choice.

And Price?

WaterSense labeled toilets are available at a wide variety of price points and a broad range of styles. EPA estimates that a family of four that replaces its home’s older toilets with WaterSense labeled models will, on average, save more than $90 per year in reduced water utility bills, and $2,000 over the lifetime of the toilets. Additionally, in many areas, utilities offer rebates and vouchers that can lower the price of a WaterSense labeled toilet.

Look for the WaterSense Label!

Whether remodeling a bathroom, starting construction of a new home, or simply replacing an old, leaky toilet that is wasting money and water, installing a WaterSense labeled toilet is a high-performance, water-efficient option worth considering. If every American home with older, inefficient toilets replaced them with new WaterSense labeled toilets, we would save nearly 640 billion gallons of water per year, equal to more than two weeks of flow over Niagara Falls!

A WaterSense Labeled Toilet Factsheet is also available in PDF (1 pp, 187K, About PDF).

Technical Information

Are you a manufacturer interested in labeling your high-efficiency toilet, or a retailer or distributor interested in selling WaterSense labeled toilets? Please visit the Final Specification for Toilets page for more detailed information.

Water efficiency is the long-term ethic of saving water resources through the employment of water-saving technologies and activities. Using water efficiently will help ensure supplies for future generations. Use the following links to learn how simple and smart it can be to save water.

Why Is Saving Water Important?

Across the country, our growing population is putting stress on available water supplies. Between 1950 and 2000, the U.S. population nearly doubled while the public demand for water more than tripled! Americans now use an average of 100 gallons of water each day—enough to fill 1,600 drinking glasses! This increased demand has put additional stress on water supplies and distribution systems, threatening both human health and the environment.

There’s a reason that water has become a national priority. A recent government survey showed at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. But by using water more efficiently, we can help preserve water supplies for future generations, save money, and protect the environment. WaterSense is making it easier to identify water-efficient products and practices.