A Green Eyed View - green ideas and advice

AFM Safecoat - Reclaiming Our Leadership Role

~Today's guest post comes from Jay Watts of AFM Safecoat, VP Technical Service and New Projects~

Mr. Watts has 17 years of specification experience counseling customers on using safer coating alternatives for home or office buildouts/remodels. Having worked with hundreds of chemically sensitive clients and being sensitive to construction chemicals himself, Jay is well versed on product applications as they relate to improved indoor air quality and human health. He also heads up the company's New Projects Development team which focuses on new product design and marketing.

San Diego, CA. April 3rd, 2012 -  Back in the 70's no one was really interested in indoor air pollution or chemical sensitivities. But the original founder of AFM was. He asked his chemists to explore alternatives to the toxic ingredients being used industry wide. Out of that  research came Safecoat Safe Seal. Safe Seal got its  first major trial at an armed forces hospital in Nevada which had closed  because it actually made allergy patients sicker. 

Doctors suspected indoor air pollution from the paints, carpeting and everything else. After coating the facility with Safe Seal, it reopened successfully. This was the epiphanous moment for AFM. Now we could chart a safer chemical formulation course for a host of better coating products.

As people with the misdiagnosed condition called chemical sensitivity found out about these new products they sought us out, as we were the only hope they had that there might be a safer way to remodel or build.

That was 30 years ago. In the last ten years, with greater awareness of the health challenges posed by the use of toxic products, more manufacturers have attempted to tap into this health oriented market. The paint category, as an example, is cluttered with many brands claiming safe chemical superiority. The truth is, this misleading messaging has confused consumers and eroded the perception that we are the first and safest coatings manufacturer in the country.

It is easy to make marketing claims, create questionable certifications and spend great sums of money to entice customers to try the supposedly non toxic brand du jour. It is high time we re-claimed our position as the leader in our industry.

~ No other brand can point to a 30 year history of safe use by thousands of customers.
~ No other brand can boast a complete line of safe products for almost every construction project.
~ No other brand can say doctor recommended.
~ No other brand has safer formulations.

Now is when we should together bang the drum of health and safety and recommit our businesses to the higher standard we set 30 years ago. There are many imposters but only one true leader - AFM  Safecoat. 

Why Does HealthyHome.com Matter?

I think this happens to everyone once in a while. You know what you are doing. You’re confident that you are doing a good job. You’re responsible and reliable. Your job or career feels right and you know you are on the right track. But… the day to day mechanics of getting it all taken care of is stressful and that can build to a point where you might question your mission. If you have a few days that don’t go smoothly or challenges continue to pop up and take your focus away from what you feel you should be doing you may start to doubt whether it matters. As they say, “It happens”.

Not too long ago, I felt overwhelmed by challenges brought on by a series of very crazy occurrences that weren’t my fault but nonetheless my job to rectify with my customers. It was almost as if my vendors all got together and decided to screw up all my orders and then took turns. Orders got misplaced and consequently didn’t get filled. Orders got shipped to the wrong address. Orders got mixed up and the wrong items got shipped. Orders that were to be shipped on specific dates got shipped on the wrong dates. Orders that were shipped to the right address encountered a new delivery driver who couldn’t find the address so the order was returned to the warehouse and nobody followed up with it until my customer checked the tracking and called me.  It really was so frustrating that I cringed when the phone rang for fear I would hear yet another customer with a new problem. It was weeks of unnecessary screw ups that had me shaking my head and wondering what’s next.

But then I received an e-mail from a long time customer who was very grateful for the products and advice she has gotten from HealthyHome and it all came back into focus. She wrote a “review” that I could share with others who might be considering buying from HealthyHome.com.  I measure our success by the fact that what we do and the products we sell make a difference to the individuals who buy them and to the planet because they buy them.

I want to share Paige’s email because it’s a wonderful reminder of why we’re here. This makes it all worthwhile.

““As a person with multiple chemical sensitivities, sometimes even the most well-known "non-toxic" products cause me to have allergic reactions. It is often quite worrisome to try new products. For that reason I have come to rely on Tom Chasm and HealthyHome products for help that has been crucial to my health and wellbeing. HealthyHome's AFM Safecoat paint is the only paint I have been able to use, among all the "special” non-VOC paints (I tried 10 of them!).

Also, I react very badly to polyurethane and looked to Tom for help. The AFM Safecoat Polyureseal BP was the only product I could use to coat my 2600 square feet of new hardwood floors without any adverse reaction whatsoever. This was amazing to me!

Additionally, The Airfree Onix 3000 air purifiers really did make rooms free of musty, mold and mildew smells. These and other products, along with Tom's guidance and advice have taken the worry out of home buying, home maintenance and home building for me!”

---Paige O.

Get Perks. Do Good.

Happy Holidays Everyone! Thanks for your support through 2011. We look forward to working with you in 2012 because we both know Home Health Matters.

HealthyHome.com is happy to announce our partnership with The Mutual. Check out our “perk”when you do good.

The Mutual is a social enterprise designed to help individuals and businesses live and operate more sustainably by connecting them to non-profits in an incentive based model.

You can donate money and get rewarded or spend money on a deal and have it go to charity. Either way It’s a win for you and the planet.

They call it Profitable Activism.

Join us at http://www.themutual.com/.

You donate as little as $10 / month to join the community.

Select the environmental charity you want your donation to go toward.

Get unlimited access to Perks provided by Partner Businesses.

Their Mission is to align the interests of businesses and people as a means of change to create a better world.

Perks and Positive Environmental Impact. Win Win!!

National Museum of the American Indian Awarded LEED Green Building Certification

October 11^th, 2011 - I’m pleased to pass on this press release I just received.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian announced that it has been awarded a LEED Silver rating established by the U.S. Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

“This achievement not only signifies the Smithsonian Institution’s commitment to sustainability, it also advances our museum’s mission to share traditional indigenous values such as stewardship and conservation,” said Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the museum.

The National Museum of the American Indian achieved LEED certification for energy savings, water efficiency, indoor environmental air quality and sustainable sites. Unique on the National Mall, the museum has nearly 150 species of plants representing four landscapes indigenous to the region: an upland hardwood forest, lowland freshwater wetlands, eastern meadowlands and traditional croplands. In addition, the museum’s contributions to, and support for, environmental research—as well as public programs like the annual Living Earth Festival, the Indigenous Farmer’s Program and the newly launched environmental website for educators, American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges—reflect traditional knowledge that has been developed over millennia by Native Americans with the living earth.

By using less energy and water, LEED-certified buildings save money, reduce greenhouse emissions and contribute to a healthier environment for area residents. “The National Museum of the American Indian’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green-building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and the museum serves as a prime example of just how much we can accomplish.”

LEED certification of the National Museum of the American Indian was based on the number of green design and construction features that positively impact the building and its immediate environs and the broader community. These features include:

• High standards achieved for exterior and interior building management
• Extensive use of native vegetation within the museum’s landscape
• Indoor environmental air quality
• Water-efficient and sustainable landscape
• Onsite and offsite use of renewable energy
• Recycling and waste management

The museum is the first Smithsonian museum building to achieve LEED certification.

 

For more information, visit www.usgbc.org.

 

EcoTimber Announces Another Award for Environmental Performance

EcoTimber Woven Recycled Poplar Selected As a

Sustainable Industries 2010 Top 10 Green Building Product Award Winner

Denver, CO– Award‐winning independent news source Sustainable Industries announced EcoTimber Woven Recycled Poplar as one of its 2010 Top 10 Green Building Products award winners. Sustainable Industries’ Top 10 Green Building Products guide is an annual publication profiling industry‐leading green building products selected by a panel of expert judges and Sustainable Industries’ editorial team.

 

EcoTimber Woven Recycled Poplar was selected from more than 100 entries based  on environmental performance, scalability/market impact, innovation, design aesthetic, value and compatibility with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

 

The winners were announced in a Sustainable Industries Webinar featuring Associate Editor Charles Redell and members of the judges’ panel who addressed attendees' questions about the pros and cons of the latest green building innovations. The 2010 Top 10 Green Building Products winners are highlighted in the July issue of Sustainable Industries, as well as in a digital supplement with 3D images designed by Portland’s Fat Pencil Studio. The guide is available for free at www.sustainableindustries.com/resources.

 

“In the five years Sustainable Industries has produced this trusted and popular independent guide, the industry has seen unprecedented growth,” says Brian Back, Founding Editor & Publisher of Sustainable Industries. “We’re confident the Top 10 Green Building Products guide provides a unique overview of some of the most innovative building materials representing the biggest trends on the market today.”

 

“The Woven Recycled Poplar flooring represents a revolution in the flooring industry”, says Doug Foucault, Vice President of Product Development for EcoTimber, “it’s comprised of 100% post industrial scraps of poplar from the furniture industry that is combined with a proprietary process of resin infusion and high compression. This makes it not only the most environmentally friendly floor on the market but also extremely durable and extraordinarily beautiful. We believe that this new category of flooring represents a huge future potential for EcoTimber and our dealer partners and keeps us on the forefront of offering environmentally sound and yet uniquely stylish flooring choices.”

 

About EcoTimber

 

Since 1992, EcoTimber has promoted forest conservation worldwide by selling sustainably harvested wood and Bamboo products. We back our products with a commitment to excellent quality, friendly service and competitive pricing. We founded EcoTimber on the premise that the best way to preserve the world's forests is to build markets for wood and bamboo products sourced from superior models of forest management. Our suppliers' forestry practices guarantee a perpetual yield of high quality timber while maintaining or restoring healthy, self-regenerating forest ecosystems.

 

EcoTimber specializes in wood products from forests that are certified well‐managed according to the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). We also offer wood that is reclaimed from old buildings, and wood alternatives such as bamboo. EcoTimber thoroughly researches its sources, maintaining the highest standards in choosing genuinely eco‐friendly products. For more information please visit www.ecotimber.com.

 

About Sustainable Industries and Sustainable Media Inc.

 

Sustainable Media Inc. is an independent media company providing news and analysis for West Coast business leaders paving the way for the New Economy. It publishes Sustainable Industries, an independent, award‐winning business magazine, as well as industry‐specific newsletters, a daily blog, an in‐depth Webinar series, a podcast series featuring nationally renowned sustainable business leaders, Economic Forums with local business leaders and policy makers, and annual business guides aimed at helping companies conserve resources. With offices in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, Sustainable Industries connects the dots between the environmental and social components of the region’s economy, just as it connects the dots between leading sectors, to raise the stakes in a working definition of sustainable industries. For more information, visit www.sustainableindustries.com.

How to Create a Healthy Bedroom – Part 2

Install non-toxic flooring

 

Last month I started a series about making your bedroom healthy. As you probably know, a third of your entire life is spent in the bedroom. Do the math and you’ll realize how important it is to have a safe place to rest and re-charge. For this post let’s look at what type of flooring is best for a healthy bedroom.

 

I don’t normally recommend carpeting because no matter how careful you are to keep it clean, it still can be home to lots of things that are potential allergens. If you must have carpet, choose a natural wool carpet from Earthweave or Nature’s Carpet Dark Green series. They make chemical free wool carpeting that is strong, beautiful and will outlast most synthetic carpets. Synthetic carpets are a sea of chemicals that can and do cause health problems for people. Especially be careful if you have children because they spend so much time playing or crawling on the floor and they are more vulnerable to the toxins.

 

One of the reasons people choose carpeting for the bedroom is so they can roll out of bed and not put their bare toes on a cold floor. Well you don’t have to have carpeting to accomplish that. Cork floors work that way too.

 

A cork floor is perfect for the healthy bedroom. Cork has insulating properties that keep it at room temperature so you can go barefoot without getting cold feet. It also has acoustical insulating properties so your bedroom will be quieter which is more conducive to sound sleep. It is easier to keep clean than carpet thus eliminating allergens that might be hiding in your carpet. It is naturally anti-static and anti-bacterial. Most cork companies have a good range of colors and styles to choose from so cork can work with any décor. Cork is comfortable underfoot because it is comprised of thousands of air cells which act as a cushion. I highly recommend cork for the bedroom but I think cork has all the right properties for any room in the house.

 

Other healthy alternatives for bedroom flooring are ceramic tile, terrazzo, bamboo or any FSC certified hardwood like EcoTimber. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification is, in my opinion, the only flooring certification process that truly safeguards the forests and forest workers. There are other forest certification systems in use but none of them meets the strict standards of the FSC. Some of them actually clear cut their forests and how that qualifies a company to be certified as a green company is inconceivable to me.

 

So you now have a healthy bed and healthy flooring. In future posts we will look at paint, furniture and windows.

 

Thanks for reading - To get updates when there is new information posted please add your email to my list. I promise not to sell or share your email with anyone. And feel free to comment and share my posts. I need your feedback to make this of value to you.

 

Thanks,

Tom

Colleges: Less Green in the Bank, More Green on Campus

New portal allows universal access to sustainability data from 332 schools

Despite budget-breaking investment losses and widely fluctuating energy costs, many schools became greener during the last year, earning higher grades on the College Sustainability Report Card 2010. Released today on the new GreenReportCard.org website by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, the annual publication provides school profiles and grades along with exclusive insights about sustainability in higher education.

The profiled schools have combined holdings of more than $325 billion—approximately 95 percent of all higher education endowment assets. Widespread investment declines have impacted almost all schools, with the Report Card finding average endowment value dropping by 23 percent in the past year. With red ink dominating school budgets, did green expenditures get axed?

“Surprising the skeptics, most schools we surveyed did not let financial reversals undermine their green commitments,” said Mark Orlowski, executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute. “New financial realities encouraged saving money by adopting environmentally friendly innovations.”

To promote shared learning in the down economy, the Sustainable Endowments Institute’s in-depth research on 332 colleges is now available at a new online portal. For the first time, the Institute is offering universal access to 1,100 sustainability survey responses about campus, dining and student initiatives, as well as endowment investment. Access to endowment information is intended to foster constructive dialogue about investment in clean energy and in community development, as well as about sustainability considerations in shareholder voting.

More than 95 percent of participating institutions agreed to share the inner workings of their green practices, resulting in over 10,000 pages of detailed data and descriptions. Overall, the College Sustainability Report Card has the highest response rate of any college sustainability ranking or rating.

“Colleges are now taking pride in greener campuses and sustainability-savvy investments—increasingly important concerns for parents and students in choosing a school,” Orlowski said. “They can find the first comprehensive college sustainability selection tool at GreenReportCard.org.”

Sixty-eight percent of 12,715 high school students applying to college, who were recently polled by the Princeton Review, said that they would value having information about a college’s commitment to the environment. To help students search, the Report Card website offers comparison of up to 10 schools at a time.

Students can also explore schools by geographic region on the interactive map. This feature enables users to click on a college in a particular area to see all grades listed by category and to link directly to that school’s full profile. Other popular searches include listings of schools by athletic league, environmental studies majors, sustainability jobs on campus, renewable energy use and dozens of other options.

Grading the schools entailed researching publicly available information, conducting surveys of appropriate school officials, and assessing performance with 120 questions across 48 indicators in the following 9 categories: Administration, Climate Change & Energy, Food & Recycling, Green Building, Transportation, Student Involvement, Endowment Transparency, Shareholder Engagement and Investment Priorities.

The total of nine equally weighted category grades determined the overall grade point average on a 4.0 scale leading to the overall sustainability letter grade. The highest cumulative grade level earned in the College Sustainability Report Card 2010 was A-, qualifying the following 26 schools as Overall College Sustainability Leaders:

OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS*	SURVEY LINKS
Amherst College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Arizona State University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Brown University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of California - San Diego	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Carleton College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
College of the Atlantic	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of Colorado	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Dickinson College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Harvard University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Luther College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Macalester College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Middlebury College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of Minnesota	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of New Hampshire	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Oberlin College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Pacific Lutheran University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of Pennsylvania	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Pomona College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Smith College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Stanford University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of Vermont	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
University of Washington	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Wesleyan University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Williams College	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
Yale University	campus	-	dining	-	endowment	-	student
*In alphabetical order—not rankings

About the Sustainable Endowments Institute:

The Sustainable Endowments Institute is a Cambridge-based nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices. Founded in 2005, the Institute is a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and receives funding from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, United Nations Foundation, V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, Kendall Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation, among others.

EcoTimber named Consumer Reports “Overall Top Pick” for 2nd year in a row

Denver, CO - EcoTimber, Inc. is excited to announce that it has received the unprecedented honor of being named an Overall Top Pick by Consumer Reports for a second consecutive year.

The August 2010 issue of Consumer Reports has named EcoTimber Honey Solid Woven Bamboo as a Top Overall Pick and “Recommended Best Buy” in the solid hardwood category. In addition, EcoTimber Vertical Grain Solid Strip Bamboo was named #2 Overall Pick for the same issue, moving up several spots from last year’s issue. For more information please visit www.consumerreports.org.

“We are extremely honored by this review from Consumer Reports for the 2nd year in a row”, says newly-appointed COO Chanel Clifford, “it really drives home our philosophy of being able to provide the highest quality products in the market while never losing focus on our deep rooted commitment to the environment. In the past year we have made significant changes to our product offering and this rating demonstrates our continuing commitment to high quality above all. We also recently added an amazing engineered version of this top rated product that we hope will garner similar ratings next year in the engineered category.”

About EcoTimber
Since 1992, EcoTimber has promoted forest conservation and healthy environments by selling sustainably harvested wood and bamboo products that are completely free from added ureaformaldehydes and other harmful VOC’s. We back our products with a commitment to high quality, friendly service and competitive pricing. Our suppliers' forestry practices guarantee us a perpetual yield of high quality timber and bamboo while maintaining or restoring healthy, self-regenerating forest ecosystems. EcoTimber specializes in offering wood products from forests that are certified according to the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) as well as reclaimed and salvaged hardwood. EcoTimber also prides itself in only sourcing bamboo products that are harvested from natural plantations without the need to replace a bamboo forest. EcoTimber thoroughly researches its sources to ensure that we maintain the highest standards in choosing genuinely eco-friendly products that consistently exceed the expectations of our customers.

New Energy to Unveil World’s First-Of-Its-Kind See-Thru Glass SolarWindow™ Capable of Generating Electricity

University of South Florida Research Foundation grants New Energy exclusive, worldwide license for technologies to enable commercial development of SolarWindow™.

 

Burtonsville, MD – July 20, 2010 – New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: NENE) is pleased to announce that researchers developing its proprietary SolarWindow™ technology have achieved major scientific and technical breakthroughs, allowing the Company to unveil a working prototype of the world’s first-ever glass window capable of generating electricity in the upcoming weeks.

 

Until now, solar panels have remained opaque, with the prospect of creating a see-thru glass window capable of generating electricity limited by the use of metals and various expensive processes which block visibility and prevent light from passing through glass surfaces.

 

New Energy’s ability to generate electricity on see-thru glass is made possible by making use of the world’s smallest working organic solar cells, developed by Dr. Xiaomei Jiang at the University of South Florida.  Unlike conventional solar systems, New Energy’s solar cells generate electricity from both natural and artificial light sources, outperforming today’s commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as 10-fold.

 

Click here to view press release, announcing test results which show New Energy’s see-thru SolarWindow™ cells surpass thin-film and solar in artificial light:
http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20090624.html

 

New Energy’s SolarWindow™ technology is under development for potential application in the estimated 5 million commercial buildings in America (Energy Information Administration) and more than 80 million single detached homes.

“We’re always keen to see innovations in our laboratories turn into meaningful commercial products,” stated Valerie McDevitt, Assistant Vice President for Research, Division of Patents and Licensing, University of South Florida.  “We very much look forward to the commercial development of New Energy’s SolarWindow™ technology, which, if successful, could literally transform the way in which we view the use of solar energy for our homes, offices, and commercial buildings.” 

 

The University of South Florida Research Foundation has licensed Dr. Xiaomei Jiang’s groundbreaking discovery and important commercial processes and applications to New Energy Solar Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New Energy Technologies, Inc.

 

“It’s very exciting to see that our ongoing research has led to several significant breakthroughs with transparency and the production of electricity on see-thru glass,” explained Mr. Meetesh V. Patel, President and CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc.  “For the first time ever, these advances have allowed us to develop an early-scale working prototype of the technology, which I very much look forward to unveiling in the upcoming weeks.”

In recent months, numerous technical milestones have been surpassed by researchers developing New Energy’s see-thru SolarWindow™ coatings, including:

1. The use of the world’s smallest functional solar cells, measuring less than ¼ the size of a grain of rice, and shown to successfully produce electricity in a published peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.  Importantly, these cells generate electricity from both natural and artificial light sources, outperforming today’s commercial solar and thin-film technologies by as much as 10-fold;

2. Development of a novel, patent-pending process to spray SolarWindow™ coatings onto see-thru glass using commercially available technologies (presented in AZoNano’s Journal of Nanotechnology Online; Dec. 20, 2009, “Nanotechnology Thought Leaders” series); and
   
   Click here to view press release, announcing development of patent-pending technology to spray SolarWindow™ coatings onto see-thru glass:
   http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/NENE20100111.html

3. The ability to spray SolarWindow™ coatings onto glass at room temperature, eliminating expensive high-temperature or high-vacuum production methods commonly used by current solar manufacturers.

About University of South Florida
The University of South Florida is one of the nation's top 63 public research universities and one of only 25 public research universities nationwide with very high research activity that is designated as community engaged by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  USF was awarded $380.4 million in research contracts and grants in FY 2008/2009. The university offers 232 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral levels, including the doctor of medicine. The USF System has a $1.8 billion annual budget, an annual economic impact of $3.2 billion, and serves more than 47,000 students on institutions/campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota-Manatee and Lakeland. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

 

About New Energy Technologies, Inc.
New Energy Technologies, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a developer of next generation alternative and renewable energy technologies. Among the Company’s technologies under development are:

• MotionPower™ roadway systems for generating electricity by capturing the kinetic energy produced by moving vehicles – a patent-pending technology, the subject of nine patent applications in the United States and two international patent filings. An estimated 250 million registered vehicles drive more than six billion miles on America’s roadways, every day; and

• SolarWindow™ technologies which enable see-thru windows to generate electricity by ‘spraying’ their glass surfaces with the world’s smallest known solar cells. These solar coatings are less than 1/10th the thickness of ‘thin’ films and make use of the world’s smallest functional solar cells, shown to successfully produce electricity in a published peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.

Through established relationships with universities, research institutions, and commercial partners, we strive to identify technologies and business opportunities on the leading edge of renewable energy innovation.  Unique to our business model is the use of established research infrastructure owned by the various institutions we deal with, saving us significant capital which would otherwise be required for such costs as land and building acquisition, equipment and capital equipment purchases, and other start up expenses. As a result, we are able to benefit from leading edge research while employing significantly less capital than conventional organizations.

 

For additional information, please call Ms. Briana L. Erickson toll-free at 1-800-213-0689 or visit: www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com.

 

Source: New Energy Technologies, Inc.

Tags: Solar+Energy, Technology, Alternative+Energy

The bedroom is the most important room to go green

The bedroom takes priority for me as the first room to become a healthy room. If you have to choose a room rather than do your whole home, choose your bedroom first. I spend at least 8 hours a day, one third of my entire life, in the bedroom. To put that into perspective, at my age I have spent 20 years in my bedroom. No other room has garnered that much of my time so the bedroom gets top billing.

Here is a list of things to do to make your bedroom a healthy room:

· Get the most comfortable, least toxic mattress and pillows you can

· Install non-toxic flooring

· Paint with zero VOC paint

· Move electrical/electronic items away from the bed

· Install energy efficient windows

· When buying furniture, only buy non-toxic furniture

· Get an air filter that remains on even when you are not in the room

Get the most comfortable, least toxic mattress and pillows you can

Most of the time spent in the bedroom is spent in your bed. If you don’t have a healthy mattress you may be having respiratory issues as well as physical and emotional challenges. If you’re not sleeping well, it will impact your mood, energy and general well being. Your pillow and mattress may be harboring mold, mildew and dust mites which can seriously affect your health. And recent regulations require mattress makers to add a fire retardant to all new mattresses. The cheapest and easiest way to comply with that regulation is for the manufacturer to add chemicals to their mattresses. To read some consumers’ testimonials about how they have been affected by chemical laden mattresses go to Chem-tox.com, a website created by a professor at the University of Florida.

What you need to look for when selecting a mattress is one that is made from the most natural chemical free materials available. My vote goes to Savvy Rest for using natural rubber for latex layers, organic cotton covers with organic wool batting. The wool acts as the required flame retardant so they don’t have to use chemicals. Their beds come in layers of different firmnesses so you can configure your mattress to your comfort. They use Talalay and Dupont latex with offer different firmness characteristics. I can guarantee you’ll feel the difference immediately. There are other companies who make healthy mattresses as well – Natura, Keetsa, FloBeds, and Ikea are a few. These companies have a range of products and not everything is as healthy as they could be.

Since your face is in your pillow for 7 to 8 hours at a time, a natural latex pillow is my recommendation. Natural latex in your pillows and mattress are inherently healthy because they don’t hold moisture and can’t harbor mold, mildew and dust mites. There are other natural pillows to try but be sure they are not treated with chemicals.

This a quick look at how to get your bedroom on its way to being eco-friendly and a safe haven of green. I'll cover the other points in detail in future posts so stay tuned.