Save money and make yourself more self-sufficient by using alternative energy, choosing sustainable materials, and cutting down on waste. This practical guide has all the answers for converting your building to be eco-friendly. Creating an Eco-Friendly Home & Workplace offers accessible information on everything from using better lighting and improving air quality to creating better insulation and installing solar panels. With chapters covering light, power, heat, shelter, air, waste, and water, it covers alterations that anyone can make. Useful information is provided on everything from small and easy adjustments to major projects that make homes healthier. With an emphasis on the three R’s of reduce, reuse and recycle, this book is an indispensable guide for those who want to realize their goals for a greener and more sustainable home and workplace.
Sustainable Home is a stylish, inspirational and practical guidebook to maintaining a more environmentally friendly household. Sustainable lifestyle blogger and professional Christine Liu takes you on a tour through the rooms of your home – the living area, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom – offering tips, tricks and 18 step-by-step projects designed to help you lead a more low-impact lifestyle. Whether its by making your own toothpaste, converting to renewable energy sources, reducing your consumption of plastic, growing your own herb garden or upcycling old pieces of furniture, there are numerous ways – both big and small – to make a difference. With environmental issues at the forefront of global politics, the desire to make small changes on an individual level is on the rise; this book will guide anyone hoping to make a difference, but who perhaps don’t know where to begin.
The green building movement has produced hundreds of “how-to” books and websites that are filled with tips about green building and what homeowners should do to go green. While helpful and informative, when it comes to making actual purchasing and installation decisions, these books do not make it any easier for a homeowner to prioritize against a budget. Here, Schifman shares her knowledge and experience for others to use in their journey toward a greener way of living. Whether the reader is building a new home or doing a minor remodel, a homeowner needs a framework by which to guide their decisions. These decisions are based on values, and the author posits that there are really only three reasons to go green: For Our Health: By building more sustainably, we reduce our exposure to harmful chemicals and toxins. For Our Wealth: By building a more durable home and being more efficient with resources like water and electricity, we reduce our monthly utility bills and ongoing maintenance expenses. For Our Soul: Collectively doing the right thing for our planet does make a difference—and that is soul-nourishing. Learn the logistics of choosing windows, insulation, appliances, and lighting. Find out about FSC certified wood and about using reclaimed materials. Here is everything you need to make your home sustainable.
**The Green Home Blueprint** Unlock the secrets to transforming your home into an eco-friendly sanctuary with "The Green Home Blueprint!" This comprehensive guide is your ultimate resource for making sustainable living accessible and practical. Whether you're starting your green journey or looking to enhance your current efforts, this book delivers clear, actionable advice to help you create a healthier, more energy-efficient home. Dive into Chapter 1 and gain an essential understanding of your home's energy footprint. Learn to identify and eradicate common energy-wasting habits and discover the myriad benefits of an energy-efficient household. In Chapter 2, explore effective insulation and air sealing techniques, from DIY projects to professional services, ensuring your home remains cozy and cost-effective year-round. Chapter 3 delves into optimizing your heating and cooling systems with smart thermostats and regular maintenance tips. Uncover renewable energy options in Chapter 4, including solar, wind, and geothermal solutions, to significantly reduce your carbon footprint. Sustainable water usage is made simple in Chapter 5 with water-saving fixtures, rainwater harvesting, and greywater recycling. Illuminate your home with eco-friendly lighting solutions from Chapter 6, and select sustainable building materials in Chapter 7 to ensure every aspect of your living space is green. Chapter 8 guides you through choosing energy-efficient home appliances to maximize efficiency across your kitchen, laundry, and electronics. Reduce waste effectively with strategies from Chapter 9, and improve your indoor air quality with non-toxic paints, air-purifying plants, and better ventilation in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 offers eco-friendly home cleaning tips, while Chapter 12 focuses on sustainable furniture and decor. Enhance your landscape sustainably with Chapter 13âs native plants, organic gardening, and green lawn alternatives. Chapter 14 provides water and energy-efficient landscaping strategies, including drip irrigation and mulching. Get inspired to build an eco-friendly home office, manage energy usage efficiently, and understand the financial aspects of going green with Chapters 15 to 18. Involve the whole family in sustainability efforts with Chapter 19, and stay informed on the latest green technologies and innovations in Chapter 20. "The Green Home Blueprint" is your essential guide to creating an environmentally friendly, cost-saving, and forward-thinking household. Start making impactful changes today and embrace a greener lifestyle for a sustainable tomorrow.
More and more people are becoming interested not just in living green, but particularly in living in a home that’s ecologically sound. With thousands of new eco-minded houses being built, and the real estate market becoming more attuned to home-buyers’ interests, demand for ecologically efficient living spaces is still exceeding the supply. Yet few resources exist for those wanting to build, buy, or remodel their own home to use less energy and be environmentally sensitive. Your Eco-Friendly Home shows readers how they can: find, finance, and buy eco-friendly real estate • work with eco-conscious agents and brokers • use environmentally friendly materials and techniques for interiors and exteriors • make their homes and landscaping more efficient • take advantage of tax incentives for going green This practical, reader-friendly guide gives readers all the guidance they need to easily become ecologically responsible homeowners.
This book offers ideas and practices on contemporary design concepts and illustrates them with plans and photographs of outstanding examples. Current planning and design modes of dwellings and neighborhoods are facing challenges of philosophy and form. Past approaches no longer sustain new demands and require innovative thinking. The need for a new outlook is propelled by fundamental changes that touch upon environmental, economic and social aspects. The depletion of non-renewable natural resources and climate change are a few of the environmental challenges. Increasing costs of material, labor, land and infrastructure have posed economic challenges with affordability being paramount among them. Social challenges are also drawing the attention of designers, builders and homeowners. Walkable communities, aging in place and multigenerational living are some of the concepts considered. In addition, live-work environments have become part of the economic reality for those who wish to work from home—which has become possible through digital advances. The text would be of interest to scholars working in: architecture, urban planning, and construction.
Making IT Sustainable: Techniques and Applications delves into how energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy use in Information Technology (IT) or broader – in Information Communications Technology (ICT) – can contribute to the goal of remediating the impact of climate change. New technologies to reduce the IT carbon footprint are investigated and new methods of server high-density liquid cooling and intelligent power management in data centers are discussed. The book asks several insightful questions: How can environmentally sustainable data centers be built? How do we compare the carbon footprint of data centers versus public cloud, and cloud-focused IT sustainability standards? As growth in data traffic such as video streaming requires additional internet infrastructure, leading to higher emissions, how is this challenge being addressed and how can we improve energy efficiency in IT such as Adiabatic Reversible Computing, use of direct current, and dematerialization are discussed? For many companies and organizations, IT sustainability is becoming important in the environmental category of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This book provides actionable, practical information for IT companies to develop their IT sustainability programs. IT directors and managers responsible for these programs will find the book useful. As pros and cons of various technology solutions for achieving IT sustainability are critically reviewed in detail, the book can serve as a practical guide for IT professionals working on implementing IT sustainability solutions. - Presents various initiatives to address IT sustainability, looking at approaches for improving energy efficiency in IT such as Adiabatic Reversible Computing, use of direct current, and dematerialization - Focuses on the design of sustainable IT systems and aims to be solution oriented - Reviews innovations in software development that contribute to GHG emission reductions such as Rust programming language - Investigates innovations in data center technologies, green software, adiabatic reversible computing, and cloud computing
A stunning, full-color showcase of the latest innovations in sustainable architecture and eco-friendly design, featuring thirty-five diverse homes. Today’s architects, designers, building craftsman, and homeowners are becoming more environmentally conscious, choosing eco-friendly living spaces with small carbon footprints that are built with sustainable materials. New Eco Homes explores various aspects of modern eco design, from its environmental and economical benefits, to factors considered when choosing materials: how much energy went into manufacturing the product, whether it is long lasting, and whether it can be recycled or safely disposed of as it eventually breaks down. It also examines important details involved in building, such as climate regulation, drainage systems, and regional planning. Each of the thirty-five projects contain photographs, floor plans, and detailed drawings that illustrate certain sustainable features, revealing how much the parameters of ecological design have expanded in just a few short years. New Eco Homes includes an introductory interview with an international specialist in green building, site plans, architectural drawings, and a complete directory of resources. Combining concern for the environmental with aesthetic sensibility, it is an essential resource for architects, designers, and homeowners interested in creating warm and inviting homes that are not only beautiful to inhabit, but help protect and conserve our natural environment as well.
As 21st-century companies realize they'll need to be green to compete, sustainable ideas are spreading like wildfire throughout all fields of modern business. In The Green Workplace, Leigh Stringer, an expert on sustainable workplace design and strategy, shows companies on the cusp of radically transforming their practices how to bring together diverse teams and establish new organizational governance for creative problem-solving in greening their workplace. Her hands-on green strategies are based on concrete and cost-effective changes such as: - working from home - ways to cut commuting costs - video conferencing to cut down on travel - increasing access to natural light to save energy - and more. Stringer explains how managers can implement these changes smoothly and efficiently. In solving key problems, she shows companies how a green business reduces costs, increases productivity, improves recruiting and retention, and increases shareholder value, in addition to benefiting the environment.
In a world where waste is becoming an increasingly urgent problem, How to Create Zero-Waste Habits in Daily Life offers a practical guide to reducing your ecological footprint one habit at a time. This comprehensive book covers the essential strategies for living a zero-waste lifestyle, from rethinking your consumption habits to transforming your home, workplace, and community. Packed with actionable steps, tips, and creative solutions, this book empowers you to make sustainable choices every day—whether you're a beginner or an experienced eco-warrior. Learn how to minimize waste, reuse and repurpose items, and build a cleaner, more sustainable future for yourself and the planet.
