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Here is a cool little site that highlights everyday trash, that stuff we throw away without thinking much about it. They gave Eco Brooklyn a mention the other day. We build all sorts of things from garbage, from garden patios out of salvaged bricks to entire brownstones. Nice to be recognized for our green contracting work, [...] We are building a native habitat at the Eco Brooklyn show house, inspired by the Mannahatta Project - what NY was like in the 1600′s before white settlers. The ecosystems on the property are full of native plants, animals and layouts. This week we went upstate and collected two Garter snakes. We hope the trauma of [...] Eco Brooklyn was recently commissioned to insulate a new development in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant. As a specialist in insulation and air sealing we have seen an increase in business from the many new multi unit apartment buildings that have shot up – not during construction, but AFTER construction. As housing demand has continued [...] Bangladesh Building Collapse Kills at Least 70 Texas Fertilizer Explosion Kills at Least 16 Boston Bombing Kills 3 All three of these events happened this week. Most people see the third as very different from the first two. I don’t. To me they are all part of the massive hidden cost of cheap stuff produced by the [...] We are earthship enthusiasts here at Eco Brooklyn, and are currently speaking with a client who wants to build an earthship in New York State. Here are some ideas being thrown around between Michael Reynolds, Eco Brooklyn, and the client, that we may be able to help turn into reality. The schematic of this global [...] Hey all you Eco Brooklynites, Gennaro is speaking at an Earth-ship event this coming Sunday. Come enjoy a free community seminar with multiple speakers and videos. Here is all the details: Perpetual Brooklyn Resiliency (PBR) Presents… Perma Sunday!!! At the dZong: 778 Bergen Street, 2nd flr. Prospect Heights, Brooklyn NY 11238 Here is the FB event page https://www.facebook.com/events/116401015214522/ [...] Natural swimming pools or living spas are much more common throughout Europe, but are increasingly becoming more popular in the United States. Now that the spring weather is beginning to surface, it’s time for Eco Brooklyn to open up our Natural Pool for the swimming season. We use it as a showcase pool for clients [...] If you are interested in green building, environmentalism, or architecture, chances are that you have seen some of the chic structures coming out of the shipping container building movement. These structures range from the Redondo Beach container home, which won an award for innovative design from The American Institute of Architects in 2007, to the [...] This New York Times article (posted below) on the disappearing coral reefs voices my opinion on the planet’s direction, not only for corral but for most other major ecosystems too. The Anthropocene era, a time where human activity has significantly changed the planet’s ecosystems, has entered it’s full and irreversible swing. All that I have seen and read of [...] When people buy a home the bank usually requires an independent appraisal. Unfortunately the current appraisers don’t take into consideration green building. A classic example in Brooklyn is a back yard with concrete is valued the same as a back yard with extensive landscaping. Obviously the one with extensive landscaping is more valuable to most people, but [...] In 2012 Eco Brooklyn Inc. made a conscious choice to NOT grow. As a for profit corporation this may seem a bad business choice. But ironically we see this as thinking BIG. Peoples’ obsession with growth is such a massive part of us and it is illogical and suicidal. Especially in speed crazed NY is [...] Here is a great film on planned obsolescence – the business model where a company deliberately makes products that don’t last, causing people to consume more. Clearly this is not sustainable. We’ve been doing it for just over 100 years and pretty much destroyed the planet in the process. Very worth watching. [...] 
If you are a fan of living sustainably you have most likely felt the urge to reduce your waste and begin composting. But living in New York City often leaves residents without much outdoor space. A large part of Green Building in Brooklyn involves meshing innovative techniques with salvaged materials, which is why do-it-yourself composting [...] Here is a great compilation of the many shipping container structures that have been built. As a green builder I am always looking for ways to reuse garbage. For example I have used Gaia Soil for green roof medium, which is crushed Styrofoam waste and compost. In this process of recycling I need to know how long the particular material will last. Here is an informational list of items and [...] As I continue to grow as a green builder I become more and more childish. Adults might make it sound fancy by calling it my “inner child” but for me it just feels childish. And I love it. Part of this awakening is that I have a four year old son through whose eyes I [...] Here are 12 design principles culled from the Permaculture philosophy. They are valuable guides no matter what you do. As New York green landscapers we incorporate them into our natural garden design. We seek to use as much water – natural pools, ponds and wetlands – as possible since this is an often overlooked element [...] A reporter just interviewed me on green building. I thought I’d share it here since the reporter has a pretty common viewpoint, one I believe is not correct. What aspects home remodeling/room design are the most popular “green” solutions? Most clients know they want to renovate green but usually don’t know exactly what the details [...] Eco Brooklyn will be hosting a Permaculture tour of at least 30 people this Sunday. It is open to all who are interested in touring the Eco Brooklyn Show House and learning about permaculture. Location: 22 2nd Street Brooklyn, NY 11231 Time: 03/10/2013 @ 11:30 No RSVP required, just show up. Permawhat? Permaculture is a [...] 
Brooklyn is full of beautiful and historic houses, and Eco Brooklyn is doing their part to preserve these wonders through sustainable lead-based paint removal. Historical Housing at Ditmas Park People have been fascinated with lead since the Roman Empire, when tonnes of lead were produced for plumbing, construction pins, makeup, spermicides, and even lead based tonics [...] As a New York green builder I get a lot of interns eager to learn about building a better world. They are young, eager and often impatient. After six months on a job site they think they should become manager. This is a big mistake. It is not that they are not capable of moving [...] Here is a short video discussing something called the “Overview Effect”, which is what happens when astronauts first see the planet earth from outer space – a deep sense of awe and connection with the planet. The Overview Effect is not only for astronauts, though. It is for anyone who travels beyond their immediate surroundings and realizes we [...] The Honey Bee makes the world go round – without them flora would die and all other life would quickly follow. And bees have done their job for a very long time. For perspective Homo sapiens (probably you) reached anatomical modernity about 200,000 years ago and began to exhibit full behavioral modernity around 50,000 years [...] The book “Energy Efficient Buildings: Architecture, Engineering, and Environment” by Hawkes and Forster is a little misleading in its title since it only covers large educational and commercial buildings for the most part. The residential buildings it covers are also large multifamily structures. It does not address smaller buildings at all and the title should make some [...] I just read Ecocities by Richard Register. His definition of an eco city is: •An ecologically healthy human settlement modeled on the self-sustaining resilient structure and function of natural ecosystems and living organisms. •An entity that includes its inhabitants and their ecological impacts. •A subsystem of the ecosystems of which it is part — of [...] BBox radio did a cool interview of Eco Brooklyn Director, Gennaro Brooks-Church. We discussed all sorts of things in the field of radical green building – Net Zero, Passive House, Guerrilla Green Building, Build It Forward and much more. Check it out here!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Last week we met the representative from Kawasaki Greenhouses to check out their new green roof product. It is a pregrown green roof mat that is light-weight and easy to handle. They grow the sedum on coconut jute, which is basically like a stringy organic fiber sponge. The end result is very similar to mats [...] I got an email from Jetson Green today with the title “Factory-Built Homes Are the Future”. This is quite the statement. With few exceptions throughout history homes have been built on site by hand. The idea that a home is built in a factory with high tech machines and then plopped down on the site [...] |
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