Here are two pages that explain so much about New York City building. One page outlines the Department of Buildings Codes and the other explains the steps to file for a work permit. These two links are possibly the most important links on the whole NYC web site if you are a green contractor in […]
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You can calculate the embodied energy of your home. Check out the embodied energy calculator at this cool web site DeconstructionInstiture.com This is why Eco Brooklyn is so passionate about salvaging materials for our Brooklyn and NY brownstone renovations. It is hugely successful at reducing our consumption of global energy. From their site: Every building
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If you live in NY then odds are your hot water and heating is done by a boiler. Odds are it is a natural gas boiler. After that oil and electric are the most common. Oil boilers are on the decline and electric ones are getting more popular with the super high efficiency electric heat
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The concept that us humans screwed up the world is pretty well accepted and most ecologists are hell bent on undoing the damage and restoring nature. However I came across an interesting idea today that throws this on its head: there is no such thing as a pure nature and we need to redefine nature so that it INCLUDES the state
Embrace the Trash? Read More »
Happiness is a mental state of well-being characterized by positive emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.[1] A variety of biological,psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. The science of happiness endeavors to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what “happiness” is, and how we might attain it. Philosophers and
Hemp is actually one of societies oldest cultivated plants and has only in the past century gotten a bad name mostly due to political and financial interests wanting to dissuade its use. But recently it is becoming more popular again as a building material. Check out these videos on the topic. They show how hemp is a
I just read the book “A Natural System of House Design, An Architect’s Way” by Charles Woods. I was interested in it from Wood’s involvement with Malcolm Wells, a great natural architect and the pioneer of earth covered building. Before I start my review I need to make clear that I see Woods as a
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Geopolymers (coined by joseph davidovits) and the broader alkali-activated cements are possible alternatives to cement. Check out this video where they reproduce the pyramid blocks. In New York and Brooklyn a lot of cement gets used to make concrete cellar floors. As a green contractor we are always looking for an alternative. We have made
Fracking, the toxic method of squeezing gas out of the ground is yet another coffin nail in the long line of destructive activities that the oil and gas industries have wreaked on our planet. Check out this cool video below. Get active against Fracking. New York and New Jersey have more Fracking going on than
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