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Check out this song about fracking. As a New York green contractor we do a lot of eco kitchens because people want cabinets without formaldehyde, a cancer causing chemical. Fracking releases formaldehyde into the water, as well as Benzene, both very toxic and cancerous chemicals. We understand these chemicals and have made a conscious effort to remove [...] I was bidding on a green roof in lower Manhattan the other day and the architect threw out a price of $25-$35 per square foot as a typical price to install a green roof. He is correct that a green roof can cost $25-35/sq.ft. I have even seen really large jobs cost less. There [...] Here is a great graphic showing how green roof construction mimics in a few inches what normal soil does in a couple feet. Plants want water, but not too much. They want something to dig their roots into that also provides nourishment. Showing how the design of successful green-roof systems mimics earth’s natural [...] I read the book Design Revolution, 100 Products That Empower People by Emily Pilloton to see if any of the designs could apply to a New York green contractor. The book is organized into eight sections: Education Enterprise Water Energy Mobility Food Well-being Play There were plenty of great ideas that could be applied to [...] The book Japan Style – architecture + interiors + design, by Geeta Mehta and Kimie Tada contains lush photographs by Noboru Murata and is an inspiring insight into how traditional Japanese buildings are deeply green. Green building is a symbiosis of many levels that forms a harmonious whole, and architecture in older societies like [...] Chrongram Magazine mentioned Eco Brooklyn in a recent article on green roofs. It is below: A close-up of the green roof installed at the Mohonk Preserve Visitor’s Center in Gardiner by Aurora Landscape Design. by Gregory Schoenfeld, April 27, 2012 When Shawn McCloskey returned home to his native Kingston in 2000, things were [...] Here are some spring photos from the Eco Brooklyn Green Show House roof. It is two years old now. We don’t water it. We just let it do its own thing. The soil has thinned out and is only about 2.5″ thick. But we have bushes and plants along with a thick canopy of [...] Most New York green roof installers look towards Europe for green roof plant varieties. Europe has the largest green roof industry and has spent many years testing different plants. Typically a New York green roof installer will specify a selection of sedum native to the high mountains and wild places across Europe, including the Balkan [...] We have a guest staying in the lower apartment of the Brooklyn Green Show House. She said I should check out her friend Jerome Osentowski, which I did, who turns out to be one of North Americas foremost Permaculture experts. Here is a great video of his garden. It is worth looking at from [...] As a New York green roof installer we get asked the same questions by clients considering installing a green roof on their condo building or brownstone. So we decided to answer them here. 1. What does a green roof entail? Pricing? Plant types? Go here for a great overview of general green roof installation [...] Dan Phillips uses mostly salvaged materials to build homes. The reasons he does this are very profound and inspiring. Eco Brooklyn takes guidance from his lead. Check Dan out here in this video: He mentions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollonian_and_Dionysian [...] Eco Brooklyn is primarily a green contractor because we feel that route makes the largest impact on greening New York buildings, but a large part of our mission is outreach and education. A rigorous intern program is key to that goal. Our intern program is very intimate and only a handful of interns take part at [...] Eco Brooklyn does not want Wal-Mart in New York because we feel Walmart’s business model is not conducive to the small neighborhood shopping experience that makes New York and Brooklyn so special. We posted our opinion in this blog post on our site. Recently somebody called Keith Blackwell tried to leave a comment to that post and [...] A Little Book of Coincidence of the Solar System by John Martineau is one of those beauties of the universe that in one hour can make you realize how perfectly placed everything is, that everything is in perfect harmony with everything else and that there are wondrous mysteries to life that maybe we will never [...] As an New York Ecological Landscaper and Contractor, we understand there are ways to plant a garden “smarter” and “greener.” While looking for new evergreen species for the green show house garden at Home Depot, we came across a long list of possibilities, only some of which met our criteria of being native North [...] The book Handmade Houses, A Century of Earth-Friendly Home Design, by Richard Olsen is inspiration for any green builder. With a clear focus on Big Sur homes Olsen highlights homes that were built along the same style as the Slow Food Movement, where meaning, lifestyle and experience are just as important as the finished “product”, [...] Check out this dude. A real druid. A magical builder. Sunray Kelly [Building] is all about the human consciousness to me. Its about our evolution more than the buildings themselves. Sitting in NY city watching this fellow green builder in the woods of Washington, I can’t help but long for those sounds of birds [...] As NY Green Contractors, we work hard to turn NYC green and we love any opportunity to share our labors with the public because it spreads awareness of green building. The Earth Day New York organization has created a great way for New Yorkers to celebrate Earth Day as well as learn more about [...] Ed from NJ Renewable Energy made a great video about the construction of his passive house that you can view below. It discusses the many benefits of building a Passive House, the amazing energy savings that are possible and the details behind how they built this specific one in New Jersey. As a NY [...] The book Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts: And Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here is a cross between Malcolm Wells and redneck literature. The author, Derek “Deek” Diedricksen, is a scrappy young guy who took his love for kid forts and turned it into a deep study of [...] Check out this filming of flowers. Life is beautiful. The Life of flowers (Жизнь цветов) from VOROBYOFF PRODUCTION on Vimeo. Finally, a way to pursue the “triple bottom line” (people, planet and profits) with legal backing! It is called the Benefit Corporation (as opposed to a normal C or S Corporation for example). Signed into NY legislation by Governor Cuomo the new law allows businesses to be recognized and filed a for more than their [...] The folks from GardenUp just stopped by the EcoBrooklyn Green Show House to tell us more about their great new products for gardening. They’ve created a simple vertical system based on hydroponic technology that is great for small spaces, easy-to-use and highly efficient – perfect for city living. An example of one of GardenUp’s [...] Here is a poignant 17 minute film about an old man on an isolated farm in Iceland. His wife dies and he buries himself with her instead of going to an old people’s home in the city. He cannot bear to live without his two loves: his wife and the nature around him. It is [...] Being a New York green contractor we consider urban farming to be an important consideration for every project. Given every building has walls and a roof it is always worth asking wither they are well suited for vertical or roof farming. Sub-Irrigation Planting Systems (SIPs) are a perfectly sustainable answer to urban farming, according [...] As a NY Green Contractor we think this event from the Pratt Center for Community Development (http://prattcenter.net/) is great, it really helps increase public awareness around green building issues in NYC and educates people about ways they can get themselves or tenants involved in sustainability. They even plan to work on issues like changing [...] Check out this great event hosted by the New York Horticultural Society, a perfect opportunity to learn new ways to incorporate green walls into your space! Also, you’ll learn about the design, benefits, major components and systems, as well as market drivers behind this modern green building technique. We think they’re a sustainable, beautiful [...] Eco Brooklyn was recently invited to join an international group focused on creating global environmental standards. Aptly called Global Environmental Standards, the group is a wide spread collection of organizations interested in creating fair and transparent standards to help the environment. We were invited to participate in the making of global green construction standards. [...] Here is a great local green builder from the Bronx. His name is Steve Ritz and he is a classic example of how green building is much more than the daily activity. He may grow vegetables but like he says, he is not a farmer. Like so many green builders he is driven by [...] Here is a short video we threw together of the Passive House renovation in Harlem. The video mostly discusses the budgeting of the project. Now that the construction is for the most part done I think that our initial budget of $175/sq.ft is not sustainable. Of course it is great for the client in [...] |
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