Green Europe

I’ve been in the business of private contracting, and although I’ve worked on several dozen Long Island Homes, I still have no idea what it means to be LEED certified. So, I did a little research on my own.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) developed LEED in the year 2000 and since then, 9 billion square feet of building space has been certified, a number that continues to increase every day. Certified buildings aren’t just environmentally responsible, they also retain a higher value than buildings that do not have the certification. LEED rating systems and guidelines are updated periodically as technological advances make greener living possible.

Learning about green building is possible with the help of the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). The GBCI provides all the information you need about LEED Professional Credentials and administers all the examinations necessary to become certified.

The first step in getting your LEED professional credentials is to download the candidate handbook. This handbook will help you determine which credentials you would like to get and help you determine whether you meet the requirements necessary to be eligible for certification. The completion of the USGBC’s LEED 201 workshop or previous experience in LEED building can satisfy the requirements necessary to take the professional credential exam.

There are fees associated with getting your credentials. The workshop, study guides and examinations all have a cost associated with them. Once you have earned your credentials you are required to take advantage of continued education to maintain your credentials as a LEED professional. The costs associated with receiving your credentials are an investment in your career in LEED building projects. Having these credentials can give you an advantage over other professionals in your field, as more and more people are interested in building and renovating buildings in accordance with the LEED guidelines.

There are many different ratings for LEED buildings. The important first step in any environmentally friendly building project is determining which rating you would like to achieve and understanding what requirements need to be met in order to earn that certification. Classifications include LEED certification for New Construction, Schools, Commercial Interiors, Existing Buildings, Neighborhood Development Core and Shell and Italia New Construction.

Many members of the project’s team are responsible for the outcome of the finished product. The process of getting a building certified includes bringing the contractor, architect, engineer, landscape architect and property manager together at the beginning and throughout the process to ensure that the building is as sustainable as possible. These important team members work together to come up with strategies for sustainable building.

Getting a building project LEED certified is a multi-step process that begins with the registration of the building. Once the building is registered an application must be prepared. Once the application is submitted a review will take place. The results of the review will determine whether the building gets LEED certification or not.

The cost of becoming LEED certified varies based on what type of building it is and how many total square feet are being certified. There are separate fees for registration, pre-certification reviews, standard reviews, split reviews and appeals. These fees are reduced if the person applying is a member of the USGBC.

The USGBC provides all LEED certification guidelines and tips available for download online. In order to access these guidelines the project must first be registered. This program also helps all members of a building team to stay connected throughout the build and to make sure the project is on track for achieving certification.

Whether you choose to become a LEED professional or certify a building project, becoming knowledgeable about the LEED guidelines will help you reduce your carbon footprint and invest in the future of our planet.

Much of the world’s population is trying to go green these days, and recycling is a large part of that process. There are ways to make it easy so that you can do it effectively without spending a lot of time on it. All it takes are a few simple things and possibly checking on a green blog for even more tips.

First of all, to keep yourself sane on trash pickup day, have your items for recycling in containers that are marked clearly. Call your recycling company and ask which items must be separated. Most companies use machines to do lots of the sorting there so you’ll only have to separate glass and/or paper items. Some items, like cardboard, have special requirements. Asking ahead of time is always best.

Get containers that are roomy enough to handle recycling for the whole week. To make it even easier, choose containers matching the recycled items. For instance, leftover paper grocery bags can hold paper recycling and extra plastic bags can hold plastic bottles. You may want to find out if your recycling company accepts plastic bags. As for things like appliances or electronics, you’ll need to call your local city hall to see how they can be recycled.

Containers need to be easily accessible. You can put them next to the trash cans in high traffic rooms such as your bathroom and kitchen. It’s not necessary to place them all over the house. Just make it easy to find them because that makes them more likely to be used.

Make recycling a game. For instance, see how long you can avoid emptying the trash by separating your recyclable items into the other containers. Get someone else in the house to compete in different types of recycling with you. Maybe you can collect more cardboard than someone else’s collected bottles. Competing just keeps things more fun and exciting.

Home recycling puts you on the path to living a greener lifestyle. Your negative impact on the earth and environment will be lessened and you’ll be reminded daily that you’re doing your part to make these things healthier. It’s not that hard to just throw things in different containers instead of putting it all in one trash bin. When you recycle, you’re helping to reduce energy every day, and that’s definitely a step to be very proud of.

There are two main issues that confront everyone today. First is the issue of global warming and the other is the soaring gas prices. With the rising global temperature, catastrophes such as drought and extreme weather conditions may occur.

Meanwhile, with the soaring gas prices, consumers are brought down to their knees, especially the vehicle owners. Not a pretty sight, right? But there is still time to change everything. A first step would be to take environmentally-friendly alternatives to the things that we have and do.

If you’re a vehicle owner, you might consider trading your current one for a hybrid car. But why choose a hybrid car? Here are a few reasons why:

• It is fuel efficient. Because you do not only depend on gasoline or diesel to fuel your vehicle, you save a lot of money in the long run.
• It has better mileage. Unlike typical vehicles, hybrid cars can give you better mileage because again, you have an alternative source of fuel apart from gasoline or diesel.
• It can save you a lot of money. If you think saving money from gas is enough, you can get more savings if you are from the United States. Currently, the US government is giving tax breaks to consumers who buy hybrid cars. Take note though that your hybrid car should at least have an average of 45mpg in order to avail of this tax break.
• It reduces emissions. Some hybrid cars are powered by electricity aside from its internal combustion engine. Because of this, gas emissions are greatly reduced in the process. Remember that these gas emissions are one of the major sources of air pollution.
• More efficient engines. Stuck in traffic? When you’re using a hybrid car, your engine automatically shuts down during traffic and starts up again when you put it in gear. Now how efficient is that?

As you can see, the benefits of owing a hybrid are many. They are a little more expensive to purchase but the pricing gap between hybrid and traditional cars has narrowed to a negligible amount in the past year which makes them even more attractive to todays car shopper that is concerned about their environment.

There’s a need for alternative energy sources in this world that seems to inhale power these days. For many years, coal has been used to create energy. Now, there is solar power, hydroelectric power, wind power, and biomass energy. There is also geothermal energy and it’s becoming noticed more all the time.

Geothermal is made from the Greek words, “geo” meaning “earth” and “therme” meaning heat, and this is a good description of geothermal energy. This is energy that originates from deep underground in the Earth. Chemical reactions create phenomenal heat in the Earth’s Core, which is located 4,000 miles under the surface of the Earth. Temperatures of this heat can go as high as 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit and can be used in the production of energy.

That’s the basic premise of geothermal energy but there are many other steps in the process of making viable heating systems from it. For various reasons, it’s not possible to get this heat directly from the Earth’s core. So systems must be created that can hold the residual heat found in molten rock located under the crust of the Earth. The water reservoirs located in the molten rock is tapped into and the heat can be channeled. Some of that water is as high as 700 degrees Fahrenheit. You can compare it to Old Faithful located in Yellowstone National Park.

The geothermal reservoirs can be utilized by drilling wells into the Earth. This heated water and steam are allowed to surface and are used in running geothermal power plants and more. The heated steam is most often used to run power to turbines. Then energy is generated and harnessed as electricity. That’s great news because geothermal energy will be much more affordable in terms of those high electricity bills that just keep climbing all the time.

When the heat and water from the Earth is used to create energy, it can be utilized on any size project, large or small. It’s also a renewable energy source because you can’t use up all of the Earth’s heat. There will always be more of it. This energy is safer and cleaner than a lot of other energy types, which makes it an amazing source of ecologically sound energy.

If you’re an individual or an owner of a company who can’t find other ways to reduce your carbon emissions (e.g. doing so would directly affect your business) but want to help in saving the environment, there’s a solution for you. Called carbon offsetting, it is the method by which you pay for emission reductions elsewhere (e.g. windmills in UK when you’re in the US) when you can’t reduce your own emission.

While it can’t be considered as a direct and active move in reducing worldwide carbon emissions, it can help a great deal in minimizing the emissions throughout the world. For example, if you are able to help build windmills in UK, their dependency on fossil fuel-powered power plants will be less and carbon emissions are reduced.Interested in doing your part?

The first step you have to take is calculate your so-called “carbon footprint” or the amount of carbon that you produce, from your vehicle to your air travel. There are websites all over the internet which can help you calculate your carbon footprint.

Once you have done this, you can go to different offset providers and choose among them who can give you your expected outcome (e.g. if you like the idea of wind farms, go to a provider who builds them) at the right price. A lot of these offset providers can be found on the internet so you can buy your offset more conveniently.

While carbon offsets can be in the form of futuristic methods (at least at this point) such as wind farms, they can be as simple as planting a tree. Tree-planting is by far the most common form of offsetting which covers reforestation and avoiding deforestation. However, its benefits have been several criticized as being ineffective in reducing emissions.But whatever offsetting option you choose, feel well that you are doing the best you can in helping the environment.

If you live in a home with a fairly large lot, chances are that you have a patch of land lying in your backyard. While you may choose to just keep it idle or make better use of it by putting up a structure on that area, it would be better if you grow organic plants there instead.

Why should you start your own organic plant garden? First of all, because it can save you more money than by buying your organic food from groceries. Another thing is that when you grow your food in your own backyard, you can be sure that you’re eating fresh food. Finally, nothing beats the satisfaction of accomplishing something as creating your own organic garden.

But before reaping the fruits of your garden, you should first prepare it so you can start planting organic food there right away. Below are some basic tips in creating your organic garden.

• A good organic garden, or any type of garden for that matter, begins with a good type of soil. While you can buy good loam soil from gardening shops, you can also choose to make yours conducive to gardening by composting it. Using the proper techniques, you can have an ideal soil in a month’s time. It takes time, but it’s surely worth the wait.
• You should choose well the seeds that you wish to plant. It is important in determining if it will grow in your area and if you have the conditions needed in growing them.
• When dealing with pests, you should choose repellants that are biodegradable and those which will not harm the soil and your plants. There are natural alternatives to chemical-based repellants which you can make or buy.
• You can take courses in gardening if you feel that your current skills won’t cut it in making your own organic garden.

A lot of people may not be aware of it, but polluted air can also be found indoors. Thought you were safe inside your home or your office? Think again. There are several factors that contribute to indoor air pollution and there are several ways of curbing the problem. They will be discussed in this article.Below are some of the usual sources of indoor air pollution. You may be surprised by what you’ll find out.

• One of the most common sources of indoor air pollution is second hand smoke. This is especially the case if there is a smoker in the household. This can produce serious health risks such as lung cancer and heart disease.
• Even household cleaning agents can be indoor air pollutants. They can be more harmful if the place is poorly ventilated. The fumes tend to get trapped in the room and could affect the people inside it. The fumes could cause dizziness, allergic reactions and the likes.
• Then there are biological pollutants such as molds and dust mites. This poses a threat to people with lung problems. Presence of these biological pollutants can cause health problems.

The list only shows the most common sources of indoor pollution. There are others more which pose a threat to people’s health.Now that you know what the common threats are, here are some ways you can prevent them.

• Keep your room well-ventilated. This is especially the case with basements which have little ventilation. Good ventilation prevents toxic fumes from settling in a room and getting inhaled by the people there.
• In basements, it is best to use a dehumidifier to keep pollutants off the room. Care should be taken, however, when cleaning the device.
• And if there are smokers in a household, it would be good to talk to them and ask them to either stop smoking entirely or just smoke outside the house.