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From the category archives:
Miscellaneous Schmidt
A few readers over the weekend asked about insulation. Megan from Omaha asks:
“Hi, I am researching some green ways to renovate our home that will be finished in September of this year. I’ve been trying to find a supplier for that blue jean insulation in my area. However, I know Omaha, Nebraska is not known for it’s innovation in the “green” way of life…at least not from what I’ve seen. Any suggestions?”
Omaha may not be know for green building, yet. But with people like you Megan, it will be. You can order recycled cotton insulation pictured below direct from the manufacturers, Bonded Logic or Insulcot. It is a fairly straight forward insulation, similar to fiberglass, in that you roll the bats into your walls – but without the itchy scratchy bits of glass flying all around.
Another option that I used on my project is blown cellulose. Marie asks, “Where did you buy the insulation made of…blown cellulose, shredded phone books?” Blown cellulose is becoming more readily available day by day. You can read an outstanding piece on it from UMass here as well as a detailed instruction and product information from the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association available here. Here is yours truly lounging…I prefer construction to the finished product =)
Blown cellulose insulation installation (say that 5 times fast) is not as easy as recycled cotton bats (Blue Jeans) as you need some equipment and training to get it into the walls like you see above. Basically you take a giant hair dryer thingy and blow it up, slightly damp, and then scree it flush with the studs. Let it dry out and you are gtg for drywall.
PS Here is a link to an earlier post about some of the federal tax credits President Obama enacted to help people pay for things like…INSULATING!
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Good piece in the Chronicle today about water and the current drought / shortage. I have to admit the water situation in the state, as well as global, is pretty bleak. Even if we were to get “normal” rainfall, what does normal really mean when we are surrounded by growth? Growing population, growing industrial needs, aging infrastructure. Normal or average water becomes totally irrelevant if your demands on the resource continue to increase. And it isn’t enough to just do more. Maybe you installed a low flush toilet. Maybe you have a front loading High Efficiency washing machine. Maybe you have a drought resistant landscape. I congratulate you, you made important changes.
Do more.
I am sorry, but it is not enough. I was struck by a post on the boards by a citizen who had listed all the conservation steps they had taken, and was complaining that they were being punished now because they could not reduce their use further. I understand that frustration, but if you have cut as much as you can from your own household, then your next step is to make your friends, your family and your neighbor cut back their use too. Sustainably can start as an individual effort, but it sure can’t stay that way. I hate to get all hippie dippy but if it is not a communal effort, forget it. San Francisco has one of the lowest per capita water use levels in the state. Great. Now we need to get Daly City, Oakland & Sausalito there as well. And we can do more. I know for a fact that I waste water. I can upgrade my house, my properties, and my lifestyle to live more sustainably. And if a nut job like me can do more, imagine how many gallons I could save if I got, for example, my lazy brother to do something? If increased conservation effort does not mirror increases in demand due to population and industrial growth, we will loose.
All of us.
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