Don’t waste energy and money to cool your house when you can keep the heat out with a simple device: such as an awning. Awnings reduce the amount of sunlight that gets through the glass doors and windows. This reduction in solar heat gain keeps your home’s interior much cooler on very hot days-by as much as 8 to 15 degrees-which means your air conditioner doesn’t have to run as long and as hard.
In 2007, a study funded by the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association found that window awnings can reduce home cooling energy by as much as 26 percent in hot climates and 33 percent in cold climates.
Awning prices vary. A stationary window awning may cost a few hundred bucks while an electrically powered, retractable awning with wind and sun sensors can set you back thousands of dollars.
Wrap up:Awnings can increase a home’s value by thousands of dollars. Their performance is affected by the style, the color of the fabric, and the exposure of the windows.
The typical American receives hundreds of pieces of junk mail each year, and millions of trees are cut down to bring these unwanted-and usually unopened-items to your mailbox.
There are many creative methods for eliminating weeds from your garden without resorting to noxious herbicides. A lot of Organic farmers, for example, have successfully used fire to kill those unwanted weeds.
“Flaming” is done with a gas torch that emits a narrow flame. Pass the clear cone of gas surrounding the flame across the foliage until it starts to wilt. Because the roots aren’t injured, you will need to repeat this treatment when the foliage regrows.
The local revolution is here. With farmers’ markets multiplying across the country, it is easier to eat local than ever before. So why should you? Here’s a selfish reason: taste. Local produce is much fresher than what’s at the supermarket, where the average fruit or vegetable has traveled 1,500 miles. Continue Reading »
A wedding might not seem like the time to skimp on extravagances, but a “green” wedding doesen’t have to be any less special or elegant. Alan Dunn and Diann Valentine, hosts of the new Wedding Day (premerieres june 16th), give us their advice on how to have your (environmentally friendly) wedding cake and eat it too:
Sustainable From the Start
Print save-the-date cards and invitations on recycled paper. Or, for an even more green notice, send them out electronically.
Wear White, But Think Green
Save money and the environment by wearing a vintage wedding dress from a consignment shop. Dunn and Valentine do not suggest holding onto it after the ceremony. “Any mother who thinks her daughter is going to want to wear her old wedding dress is sadly mistaken,” Valentine says.
Use the Locals
Contract with nearby vendors for food and flowers to cut down on transportation costs and carbon emissions and to support the community. On their show, for example, “we’re not flying in orchids,” Dunn says.
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