All Blog Posts (273)

Think of aluminum foil on the underside of your roof. Yes, aluminum radiant barriers are the unsung hero of energy savings. In new homes or remodels you put it on the roof sheathing (underlayment) before the roofing material goes on. There are also ways to retrofit your existing roof. Here are some interesting facts first.

• Install as sheet or laminate to OSB decking (OSB is Oriented Strand Board-now used instead of plywood in many cases)
• Blocks 90%+ of roof deck radiant…

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You can think of insulation is a warm and cozy jacket for your home. Why insulate your home? Of course it saves on your energy bill but how?

• It slows conductive heat
• It stops convective heat and currents in the air of your home
• It reduces radiant heat
• It reduces noise
• It must be perfectly installed. If not you have massive losses in its value.
  
  

So what kind of insulation is best and how "green" is it?

Here are a few things to… Continue

Why choose ORGANIC mattresses and bedding?…

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Formaldehyde and your lack of well being,…

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New Carpeting and dangerous chemical fumes.

Adhesives 4-PC (4-phenylcyclohexene) and many chemicals such as Styrene come from SB latex backing and create the fumes associated with regular new carpets. These…

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Sun -screen and other toxic chemicals

What's in sun tan lotions, sun-screen ,hair spray and other cosmetics used before coming to the swimming pool. There should be a debate if these chemicals should be allowed at all in our swimming water or in

the air we breathe. It would be a great consideration if we could have a

chemical free zone at the pool

PERFUMED PRODUCTS ARE AFFECTING…

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GREENING OUR COMMUNITY WOULD IMPROVE OUR ASHMA MIGRAINES FATIGUE AND ADDVerdana"">. REMINDERS OF HEALTH RISKS FROM FRAGRANCES

Consider checking your health symptoms and consider how you would be without these…

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Please share this information in schools and in kindergardents and at work as kids and parents are both less effectve while using toxic fragranced products in clothing and as personal cosmetics . Continue

San Ramon Valley High School has brought back to life an atrium in the administration building and has a plan to build a green house and gardens on the campus. We are in need of some hand tools. If you have some hand tools laying around that you are not using and are willing to donate them to the high school, please contact me at abgardner@srvhs.org. Specific tools we…

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Everyone wants to "Go Solar". Before you go solar you need to seal up the leaks in your home and have healthy, controlled air coming into your home not leaking from a dusty attic or moist crawl space. Going solar without fixing the leaks is like having a hole in your gas tank and saying, "Oh I guess I will fill the gas tank with bio-fuel". You are still leaking gas.



Where is air leaking?

31% - Floors, walls and ceiling

15% - Ducts

14% - Fireplace

13% -… Continue

The aphids and (their many relatives) are busy at this time of year, as our roses and other blossoms begin to emerge. This Thursday, I will release 5,000 lacewing larva – the babies are insect eating machines – and the lacewing is one of those amazing ‘good guys’ for our gardens (along with the Soldier bug, Lady bug, Predatory wasps...). We also must understand that aphids are food for these beneficial insects - so we DO NOT want to use…

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I nudged through a debris pile in my garden. It contained begonia rootballs that I had pulled from a site after the last hard frost. Observing the new leaves on what had appeared completely dead plant matter was another opportunity for learning - begonias are toughies. As I unearthed the begonias…

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Hi everyone,



As I am in charge of all things environmental for the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, I found that one of the best ways to communicate was with a blog. Since I already host and maintain that system, I feel that a link from here will be better for me as I try to update that system with interesting news and information every day. I also maintain a forum within that blog specifically for programs and mechanisms to aid the school district with environmentally beneficial… Continue