Monday, November 30, 2009

Phase II- Framing

We are trying to use FSC certified woods for framing:

What is FSC?

In the days leading up to and following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, world attention was focused on the challenges faced by cultures around the globe as demands on their natural resources increased. Poverty, disease, land use change, climate change, and pollution all continue to threaten our resources and the stability of cultures worldwide. The challenges at Rio remain largely unmet. However, the conversations that occurred there contributed to one solution — the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Driven in part by the failure of an intergovernmental process to agree on a global forest compact, and the compelling question — what is sustainable forestry? — loggers, foresters, environmentalists, and sociologists came together in the first General Assembly to form the FSC in 1993.

The Forest Stewardship Council was created to change the dialogue about and the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide. This impressive goal has in many ways been achieved, yet there is more work to be done. FSC sets forth principles, criteria, and standards that span economic, social, and environmental concerns. The FSC standards represent the world's strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes. Like the forestry profession itself, the FSC system includes stakeholders with a diverse array of perspectives on what represents a well-managed and sustainable forest. While the discussion continues, the FSC standards for forest management have now been applied in over 57 countries around the world.

In 1995, FSC-US, located in Minneapolis, MN, was established as the national “chapter” of FSC.

It's purpose is to coordinate the development of forest management standards throughout the different biogeographic regions of the U.S., to provide public information about certification and FSC, and to work with certification organizations to promote FSC certification in the U.S.FSC-US has a national presence through the work of its Board of Directors, members, staff, and regional standards coordinators.

The FSC's international headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. FSC has contact person and national offices in more than 40 countries, creating a global FSC network. For more information on FSC at the international level, please visit www.fsc.org.

Monday, November 16, 2009

VETRAZZO SALE

DO NOT MISS THE VETRAZZO SALE

50%-70%

FRIDAY & SATURDAY NOV 20-21

2434 Lincoln Blvd , Venice CA 90291

http://www.vetrazzo.com/index.html

310-578-2123

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Going Green On the Cheap! by Nicole Falco from Biomonde

GOING GREEN ON THE CHEAP AND WITH NO TIME
Can’t afford a Prius right now? Solar panels too expensive? Does going green seem like something to put off for when our good old economy bounces back? Does it feel like going green costs too much green?
Well it shouldn’t. We can go green on the cheap. Let’s shift our focus and wallets over to low-cost, low-tech, but hi-efficiency and resource saving products and practices. Green efficiency saves you money. Green products and practices save your health. And as a bonus – it saves the planet too!
For example: replacing ordinary incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents or LED bulbs results in huge cost savings and reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. But what’s the problem? We are not making the switch. According to Glenn Croston’s book, 75 Green Businesses, “ only about 6% of US homes are using them.” The point is that going green is easier and less expensive than we think. What other cheap things can we do right now?
-Install a programmable thermostat (costs only $100 bucks, if you are anything like me -you can do a lot worse shoe shopping online)
-Get low-flow, low-cost showerheads and faucet aerators installed (retrofitting is always cheaper than replacing fixtures, your water bill will shrink)
-Seal up air leaks (why install solar panels when your home may not even be energy efficient? And watch your electric bill go down…)
-Change air filters (get someone to do it for you three times a year – it saves energy and $$$)
-Insulate your water heater with a special inexpensive blanket created for this (big energy reducer for now, in the future you can invest in a new energy star approved heater)
-Install water filters – makes that tap water nice and tasty (won’t need to buy bottled water)
-Swap out your current cleaning service for a green cleaning service – or swap out the products under the sink for green ones (your indoor air quality will improve)
Sounds good for the wallet and planet? So what’s the other problem? We have no time. I have a confession to make – I am one of the 6% of people who have energy efficient bulbs installed. How? I have no time: I work in fashion and write for a living. The answer: my husband is a certified green consultant and green property manager. I have a unique and very convenient situation for going green: my husband identifies what we can do within our budget, and then he does it himself for us!
Since all of my friends and neighbors are in the same “no time, no money boat” – I encouraged him to create a new green service for them – supplying and installing low-tech, low-cost products. This makes energy and resource efficiency an easy and affordable thing to achieve.
The timing could not be better – the U.S. government just unveiled the “Recovery through Retrofit Report”. Why should we care about that? Because our homes produce twice the greenhouse gas emissions than our cars! The report adds, "Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce energy use by up to 40% per home and lower total associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually. Retrofitting existing homes also has the potential to cut home energy bills by $21 billion annually.” That sounds like money in our pockets.

The reality is that all of us can go green on the cheap and with no time. All you have to do: find local services that can provide and implement low-cost, low-tech, high efficiency and resource saving products in your home or business. Let them do the rest.




AUTHOR
Nicole Falco writes for Biomonde, a green services company. Biomonde is headed up by the only federally trademarked green consultant in San Diego and Brooklyn, NY. Biomonde both supplies and installs affordable green products and technologies that save money by maximizing efficiency. Going green is now in everyone’s reach! As a bonus - our business and residential clients receive a cool sign to display their conservation efforts to the community! Check out our website at www.biomondegreen.com.