Green Home Authority

Water is perhaps mankind's most precious commodity. Not only do we drink it to stay alive, we use it in the washing of dishes, in bathing, and in watering our plants and gardens. We even use it to feed the animals that rely on us. Since water appears to be all around us, it is easy to overuse and under appreciate. During summer months, depending on where you live, you may experience water restrictions placed by local utility companies. For dry areas such as the southwestern United States, conserving water is vital and these periods of limitation really make that...

While gathering groceries the other day at Safeway I stumbled upon a new line of Ziploc Sandwich Bags designed to be a little greener. These bags tout several environmental benefits but cost more than traditional Ziplocs. While I like the idea of recreating and improving one of the most wasteful and environmentally harmful products out there (plastic sacks) the "improved" Ziplocs felt a little like greenwashing to me.Ziploc Evolve bags advertise 25% less plastic which means they aren't as wasteful as traditional bags. That said, I've noticed that most competing white label sandwich bags are also thinner. It's simply a...

These days nearly everyone's got a mobile phone and keeping it charged isn't half as hard as it used to be. Long life Lithium Ion batteries in combination with cigarette lighter adapters, traditional 120V wall chargers and even solar chargers make taking and placing calls easier, and greener, than ever! Still, nobody wants to be stuck with a dead phone, especially if you're camping or traveling.To address those emergency-charge moments a company called Fame LLC is offering an innovative, and clean, way to charge your mobile devices using Kinetic energy. That is, you pull on a string and the device converts...

Two months have passed since the BP oil leak began. With more than 100,000 barrels of oil now released into the Gulf of Mexico, watching and listening to news about the spill can leave one with a sense of helplessness and despair. You may find yourself wondering "will it ever end" or even "hasn't this been solved yet". The footage of suffering animals and failed attempts at capping the pipe are hard to endure on such an ongoing basis. Even the comedy routines by Jay Leno, Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart about plugging the pipe can get depressing... Are...

Last week Erin Reilly wrote a piece on gray water reclaimation and conservation that touched on a few new technologies that are helping to make it easier for homeowners to save water and money. Since then we've learned even more about these systems and have an overview on the Water Legacy residential graywater reclamation system below. We've also spotted a nice video on the subject called "Why Flush Good Water Down the Toilet" that features Water Legacy technology. The Water Legacy Residential Graywater Reclamation System conserves potable water by recycling spent water typically released to the dwelling's sewer discharge. Wastewater...

The alternative energy movement has gotten a lot of attention and followers lately, especially with the growing concern about green house gases and global warming. While the alternative energy movement is important, there is another equally important movement afoot that deserves attention: the recycling of water, or more accurately, greywater reuse. Greywater is the waste water generated from laundry or bathing that can be recycled for uses in such things as landscape watering. The water used in toilets and the kitchen, however, cannot be recycled because it contains dangerous pathogens. This water is called black water. Why is it important...

Today at a Walmart in Northern California I noticed that the price of reusable grocery sacks has dropped to just fifteen cents a piece. Many customers were zoned out and understandably tired (fluorescent lights, huge lines, crying babies), thus not choosing the environmentally friendly option (the checkout guys and gals weren't exactly promoting it) but I think that will change soon. A whole sidewall of precocious Walmart real estate and half of each bag carousel was packed with the bright blue reusable bag option and a huge fifteen cent sign called out to everyone passing through. Fifteen cents is so...

With the growing trend in Eco friendly products, it is not all that surprising that there is a rise in sustainable fashion, or eco fashion. According to Wikipedia, sustainable fashion is part of a trend in sustainable design, "where a product is created and produced with consideration to the environmental and social impact it may have throughout its total life span, including its carbon footprint." Keeping the idea of sustainability in mind, fashion designers are now introducing environmentally conscious methods of designing and producing their clothing. According to the May 2007 edition of Vouge, this trend in sustainability may prove...

Coltan, a dull black mineral ore with the industrial name of columbite-tantalite, is used in the production of thousands of types of electrical devices. You may have never heard of this material but it's vital in the production of cell phones, jet engines, rockets, DVD players, video game devices, and computers with millions of units being sold annually. The coltan used in these products is mined in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Ethiopia, Mozambique and the Congo. Because it is so vital to the production of consumer digital devices, the price has risen drastically in recent years and created environmental and...

Part 3 of A Green Zoo Series by Erin Reilly: In the last 2 articles, I mentioned how the Denver Zoo is the only zoo in the United States with a Sustainable Management System. It is clear that the Denver Zoo has many ways in which they try to maintain a sustainable business. Another of the many ways they do this is through a program described as "answering the call of the wild". Rather than throw an old cell phone away, guests are encouraged to donate their old cell phones to Denver Zoo, who has partnered with Eco-Cell to...