Bad is maybe a loaded word. But don’t use TigerFoam, HandiFoam, and all other 2-part builder-applied foams. Also, don’t use contractors who use Dow FrothPak, which is the same type of foam but in addition to small builder packages is sometimes blown from trucks in large volumes. All these use refrigerants as blowing agents. They …
Here is a great animation of the “trash islands” floating in the Pacific Ocean. Billions of pieces of plastic are collected by the currents and corralled into unfathomably large floating garbage heaps. People like to compare them to the size of Texas. I saw one person saying it was as much as three times the …
Mother Plants is an upstate NY garden company that specializes in green roof plants. As a green roof installer in Brooklyn we find it quite convenient to buy from them. Whatever you order basically gets to Brooklyn in a day or two. They have just put out their 2010 catalog and is full of lovely …
It is that time of year to plant your native flowers and edibles. Here we are planting strawberries onto a Brooklyn brownstone green roof! Yum!
There is an increasing opinion amoungst New York solar installers that solar thermal pays for itself quicker than solar PV. Looking at the numbers I thought so too and would recommend solar thermal as a better investment if the client had to choose between solar PV and thermal. Of course it is great when the …
I realize concrete has huge embodied energy and creates tonnes of CO2 during it’s manufacture but I still can’t resist reading up on the uses of concrete for residential interior applications. Eco Brooklyn is guilty of making some concrete counters too. I just read Concrete at Home by the concrete fanatic Fu-Tung Chen. He has …
Here is a cool article I came along while researching alternatives to PVC. It explains in detail why PVC is really bad for everyone’s health and should not be used, especially in residential applications. Why PVC is bad news from Green Peace Globally, over 50% of PVC manufactured is used in construction, in products such …
The book Earth in Mind, on Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect by David Orr is dense. It took me a couple months to get through it. I could only read a couple pages at a time. It didn’t even have any pictures! I’m a picture book kind of guy. It was both deeply rewarding …
This is just a heads up that Prince Lumber in Manhattan is a good place to pick up certain green building materials. I have spoken to the sales reps at Prince Lumber and they are eager to increase their green products. Recently they have started carrying Vermont Natural Coatings’ PolyWhey, which is a green wood …
Eco Brooklyn prides itself in green roof installations on New York brownstones, condos and coops. We offer the full line of services: Structural analysis of existing roof by an engineer Removal of old roof if needed Structural reinforcing of roof if needed Installation of green roof Pergolas for solar thermal and PV panels above the …
