Phytoextraction is the act of using plants to remove toxins from soil. Instead of using chemicals or removing the dirt you plant certain kinds of plants or mushrooms that either absorb the toxins or neutralize them. The process can take longer since you may have to wait out several growing seasons. But if you have […]
Phytoextraction in Brooklyn Read More »
Because of the high lead levels found in the garden of the Brooklyn Show House, we have become by default a Soil Remediation Contractor. The research and remediation of soil with such extreme levels of lead is quite an experience. Here is one article that puts soil remediation in perspective and gives great insight into
Tips on Removing Lead from Brooklyn Gardens Read More »
We just tested the garden soil of the Brooklyn Green Show house and the results were a staggering 2000ppm of lead. Considering anything above 400ppm is rated as unhealthy we have a bad situation. High levels of lead in Brooklyn is a pretty common problem. The back walls and fire escapes were commonly painted in
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The term Passive House comes from Germany. It is not to be confused with passive solar heating or cooling, although that plays a part. From the German Passiv Haus site: A passive house is a building in which a comfortable interior climate can be maintained without active heating and cooling systems (Adamson 1987 and Feist
Passive House Defined Read More »
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
Spray Foam Insulation is Bad Read More »
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!
Strawberries on Green Roof Read More »
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
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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
Green Counter Top Options Read More »
