We have learned so much about our environment over the past twenty years that we now know we have to be careful about how we use our planet’s resources. Green solutions have been invented for many aspects of our daily lives in order to reduce our carbon footprint and keep our planet clean for generations to come. The options for green flooring have really multiplied in the past few years. The home construction industry in general has been reducing its waste and using less harmful materials and now that ability comes to each and every homeowner. Today’s latest green flooring options now include cork, bamboo, and reclaimed hardwoods.

Cork Flooring

The use of cork flooring has exploded recently, with it being installed in colleges, churches, mansions and even the Library of Congress. Cork is a natural renewable resource; cork flooring is made from the bark of a cork tree, but that bark can be removed without harming the tree. Each tree lives up to 150 years and its bark can be removed safely every 9 years. As an additional environmental benefit, fertilizers and pesticides are generally not used on cork.

Cork flooring will also improve your health as it is hypoallergenic and will not absorb dust, as well as being naturally water resistant and an anti-microbial. It also provides a barrier against pests, especially termites. Cork flooring is resilient and an excellent insulator against temperature and noise, making it ideal for a condo. Overall, cork flooring is an excellent choice for the green homeowner in either a new construction or a home remodeling project.

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo flooring is the newest trend to hit home decorating. Bamboo flooring is actually made from the grass of a bamboo plant, but it is still stronger than some hardwoods. Since it is harvested form bamboo’s grass, this type of flooring is a renewable resource; the bamboo plant does not have to be cut down for it to be harvested. Bamboo plants reach maturity in five years, so the plants will produce bamboo flooring materials quickly and over their entire life spans.

Bamboo flooring is extremely flexible and still highly durable. It is naturally resistant to water being a jungle plant and works great in wet areas of the house such as kitchens and bathrooms. Bamboo is cut into planks just like hardwoods and even has its own unique “grain” style. Decorating with bamboo flooring works just as easily as hardwood flooring.

Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring

Hardwood flooring is one of the most elegant and classic looks for home decorating and it really makes a bold statement. Unfortunately, hardwood flooring requires a tree to be cut down in order to make the floor planks. The trees can be re-grown, but the mighty hardwood trees take a very long time to reach maturity. A green option is to use reclaimed hardwood flooring. Reclaimed hardwoods are the same woods that are used in flooring now, only they have been recycled and re-milled instead of being thrown away. This option gives you the best of both worlds, you get hardwood flooring and its amazing beauty while helping to recycle and protect the environment.

Green flooring options have really come a long way. They are widely available and at a great price too. Keep these amazing options in mind the next time you are starting a home improvement project or having a new home built.

If you are tired of electric bills and you search the web for information about green electricity production be sure to read this article – i am sure you will be amazed. For starters, how about being able to tap into all the electricity your family could ever need, without outside assistance, and without spending a fortune – does this sound unbelievable? Take a look at the following paragraphs and you’ll realize what is possible.

Most of the general public have to buy all the electricity they use; they then have to deal with the high cost even as they are wondering where they will get the money for this essential need. But there’s another group of people who had had enough of that routine; they didn’t want to live that way, they realized they could use green technology to generate infinite free energy that would actually last them forever.

So, before you try to find out more about green electricity production it is important that you’ll know that you can join these people, you can be up and running and saving money with your new energy system right away – all you have to do is get started now. Perhaps this has intrigued you and now you want some facts as to how this is possible; it happens to be a simple matter of creating electricity out of ‘thin air’ or ‘out of the blue’ through the power of the wind and the sun. Do you know that it’s possible for anybody to construct a personal energy generator using sun and wind power in almost no time right in their own yard?

Although you might only care at the moment about green electricity production you must realize that it is very feasible to construct your own solar panels or windmill – a system that can actually decrease your electric bills by as much as 100%! You might be saying to yourself that this is too big an undertaking; well, it used to be that way, but not anymore – leading the way is an expert in harnessing the unlimited power of the sun and wind who has streamlined the process to let everyone reap the rewards.

GALWAY, IRELAND–(Marketwire – January 12, 2010) – Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)– The final hurdle delaying construction of the 1 billion euro ($1.45 billion) Krefeld coal-fired power plant north of Dusseldorf, Germany, has been overcome. Industrial Info Europe can confirm that full permission for the project will be granted January 13 by local authorities, supported by key German political parties. The controversial 750-megawatt power plant being planned by Trianel Energie GmbH (Aachen, Germany) has been on hold since March 2009 because of environmental concerns. The decision arrived as dozens of protesters marched at the proposed site.

For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info’s Premium Industry News at http://www.industrialinfo.eu/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=154387, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.eu.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project spending opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news. For more information send inquiries to europe@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe (http://www.industrialinfo.eu).

GALWAY, IRELAND–(Marketwire – January 12, 2010) – Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)– The final hurdle delaying construction of the 1 billion euro ($1.45 billion) Krefeld coal-fired power plant north of Dusseldorf, Germany, has been overcome. Industrial Info Europe can confirm that full permission for the project will be granted January 13 by local authorities, supported by key German political parties. The controversial 750-megawatt power plant being planned by Trianel Energie GmbH (Aachen, Germany) has been on hold since March 2009 because of environmental concerns. The decision arrived as dozens of protesters marched at the proposed site.

For details, view the entire article by subscribing to Industrial Info’s Premium Industry News at http://www.industrialinfo.eu/showNews.jsp?newsitemID=154387, or browse other breaking industrial news stories at www.industrialinfo.eu.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project spending opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news. For more information send inquiries to europe@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe (http://www.industrialinfo.eu).

Many people today are considering how the impact of their home or office remodeling idea will impact the environment. More often people want to create eco-friendly environments but lack the knowledge. Here are ten easily accomplished home remodeling ideas which will provide an energy efficient eco-friendly home for your enjoyment.

Reclaimed Building Products

If you are replacing parts of the home, one remodeling idea from the “green” list is to reuse reclaimed building materials. Flooring – wood from demolished buildings can often be reused for flooring, especially hardwoods. Insulation and Drywall – there are many companies today which concentrate on reclaiming insulation and usable drywall and panels from various resources. This can be a more affordable option if you are on a tight budget

Energy Star Products

Another home remodeling idea which is perfect for the bathroom are EnergyStar rated products. These products can save hundreds on energy costs and gallons of water. Some of these products include:

- Water saving faucets

- Low-water toilets

- Energy-efficient shower heads

- Water heater covers

Local Foliage

One of the many home remodeling ideas often overlooked is simple landscaping. Using local plants will often save on water and maintenance time. If you take time to look for local foliage you can often times find something which is already suited to the climate and soil around your home.

Non-Toxic Paints And Finishes

Another “green” home remodeling idea is to use paint and finishes which are free of VOC’s (volatile organic compounds). These will reduce any dangerous fumes or chemicals being released into the air you breath.

Buying Local

Of the many home remodeling ideas, many people do not consider the cost of buying locally as opposed to having it brought in. Local building supplies can not only save in fuel costs being passed on, but also support a local economy.

Energy Saving Windows

New energy saving windows will do many things for the homeowner:

- Reduce heating and cooling costs

- Pay for themselves in a short span of years

- Provide easier cleaning and upkeep for the homeowner

Using this home remodeling idea is one way of regaining the cost of remodeling without really trying.

Alternative Power

Alternative power sources can be a handy home remodeling idea, especially for people living in the country.

- Solar power – roof top solar panels are becoming more and more available and affordable

- Wind turbines – this option is easily a good idea if you live in an out of the way area

- Wood – using wood pellets or logs part-time to heat your home can really cut down on fuel costs

- Bio-fuels – corn, reused oils and other biofuels are beginning to prove effective in home heating.

Education About Eco-friendly Products

Many people who opt for eco-friendly products become disappointed when the products don’t provide the same standard as products they once used.  You should research the products before buying them to know about things such as shelf life and care. With these “green” ideas you can easily take your home remodeling idea into an eco-friendly reality.

What exactly is “going green” with regard to your home remodeling project?  It can be confusing, but remember that even the simplest things can make a big difference.

Repurposing or donating items such as cabinetry, plumbing fixtures and lighting puts the items to good use.  Kitchen cabinetry being reused for an art area or laundry room are great examples Energy efficient appliances and light bulbs save energy and run longer Use automated climate control for your HVAC system or review conversion to a geothermal option Tankless hot water heaters are both energy efficient and space saving Replace windows and doors with insulated versions Insure your contractor purchases from environmentally responsible companies.  An example of this is the cabinet companies, which are certified by the KCMA Environmental Stewardship Program

By using the design/build approach and making your contractor the first and last point of contact on a home remodeling project, you can insure that all of your concerns to “go green” can be addressed and incorporated into your project, along with the usual concerns of construction, budget, design, engineering and selection of materials.

In selecting a design/build contractor for your remodeling project, it is important to thoroughly research any company you are considering. Make sure they have done similar projects on homes like yours. Ask for references and be sure to ask about their satisfaction with the process, cost controls and of course the end result. Ask is you can visit them to view the completed projects for yourself. And be sure you meet the person who will manage your project. You may also want to also inquire about the real time design capabilities of the firm.

More and more homeowners, not only in New York but the whole country as well, have been talking and thinking green. Though no national standards yet states what a green home remodeling constitutes, it all boils down to social and environmental consciousness that promotes maximized energy efficiency.

One misconception that commonly arises when thinking green construction is having to build houses of mud bricks or straw bale and living solely on solar panels. Though solar panels are among the examples of eco-friendly home improvements, it is just one among the many things that you can do. So to clear any more wrong ideas, here are several factors that make any home remodeling project green:

make use of recycled or easily renewable resources,
apply non-toxic products,
utilize low maintenance and long lasting materials,
enhance the quality of air inside the house promoting healthier indoor living,
features economical use of water and energy, and
results to less waste along the completion of the home remodeling project.

To sum it all up, going green in home remodeling will not only save you money in the long run but also promotes optimal comfort and health inside your house. An essential element that makes these benefits possible is high quality craftsmanship, and excellent building practices making your choice of home remodeling contractor crucial. Make sure that the local contractor you pick to work on your job fully understands what he will be doing. There are also qualified craftsmen specializing in green projects that you could look up.

The information campaign on going green has spread among homeowners in New York and throughout the country like wildfire inflicting social and environmental awareness. It has even established some trends in home remodeling that more and more people are implementing into their homes. So if the concept of enhanced quality of living and increased savings without causing harm to the environment got you interested, here are several green ideas for your next project:

Home Additions are great solutions that add considerably to the living space of your home and superb opportunities to implement every green building ideas there is. For sunrooms, decks, and patios to be ideal for multi-seasonal use; build them facing the south for optimal use of natural light.

Insulation should be adequate to enjoy cooler summers, warmer winters and lesser energy consumption thus a cutback on monthly bills. Have your home evaluated for possible leaks and have these areas looked into and have the rest of your home’s insulation upgraded. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are green building insulators that considerably heighten energy efficiency, reduce noise pollution, while saving on materials and labor cost as it uses lesser wood and can be installed faster. Other home features to look into to enhance insulation include:

Windows and doors- opt for energy-efficient designs like those with wood or vinyl frames and multiple panels for windows;
Heating and cooling systems- upgrade old ones to high efficiency and Energy Star-rated air conditioners and heating systems;
Leaks- weatherstrip, seal and caulk wherever needed.

Flooring trends tend toward stone and ceramic tile flooring, bamboo, FSC-certified wood, and cork which all offer high quality and attractive flooring.

Improve water systems by having your faucets and showerheads changed with water-saving models and having filters installed with them. Another water-saving green idea to add into your home remodeling are hot-water recirculation pumps.

Global warming refers to “the warming of the earth’s surface around the world, based on documented information on the temperature that has been maintained by humans since 1880″ (Nodvin, S. 2008).

There has been an increase in the news referring to Global Warming, March 27, 2008 the world woke up with a shocking event: the detachment of an ice sheet measuring 41 km by 2.5 km in Antarctica. Scientists argue that climate change is responsible for the rapid collapse of the ice cap that was detaching since the month of February, but global warming affects not only the polar icecaps, but also the fauna of tropical ecosystems, as this type of species “live to the limit of their maximum temperature, a slight increase in temperature is lethal” (Tewksbury, quoted by J. Tristan, R. 2008). Facts like these remind us that global warming is no longer an unknown subject and has become a problem that is part of our everyday life.

Despite the constant bombardment of the media with news regarding this issue, we are not fully informed about the factors of global warming, in fact, it is believed that cars are the largest producers of the negative impact to the environment; however, there is an even more damaging one: Buildings. These static works of construction are part of our daily lives, most of our work is mainly done within them, we spend 90% of our life in confined spaces and the concentration of population is much greater in these spaces than out of them (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2003. Quoted by Kats, G. 2003). However, we are unaware that they “produce nearly half (48%) of all emission of greenhouse gases which is much higher than what emitted by vehicles (27%) and by the industrial sector (25%) “(The American Institute of Architects. 2006).

To explain how the greenhouse effect occurs inside the buildings, lets imagine them as giant glass cubes in which the sun’s rays penetrate throughout the day on the surface, which implies that the objects found within them will warm , an in so doing they “give back the heat in the form of radiation. As the temperature at which they heat up is relatively low, the radiation emitted has a long wavelength; this means they emit an infrared radiation, not visible. Over the years,  they will eventually give an equal amount of energy in the form of infrared absorbed in the form of sunlight, so their temperature  will tend to remain constant (although, of course, they will be warmer than if they were not exposed to direct action of the Sun) “. (Greenhouse effect, 2007). Thus the same thing happens in a greenhouse, where you can cultivate flowers and plants even though the outside temperature reaches lower degrees in temperature.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) the decade of 1998-2007 was the hottest of which has ever been documented. The global surface temperature for 2007 was estimated at 0.41 ° C/0.74 ° F over the annual average of 1961-1990: 14.00 ° C/57.20 ° F. (WMO. 2008. Quoted by Nodvin, S. 2008).

To counter this, a novel form of construction has been created, masterminded by a new generation of architects, designers and builders, who have expressed interest in creating a kind of architecture that is “friendly” with nature and sustainable over time, allowing the reduction of damage that conventional construction has done to the planet. This new form of construction is known as Green Building and is to “create healthier and more efficient, in terms of resource consumption, models of construction, renovation, operation, maintenance and demolition. The elements of green construction are: the sources of energetic efficiency and renewable energy, water management, waste reduction, specifications and construction materials preferably organic”. (Taken from http://espanol.orangecountyfl.net/orangecty/enes/24/_www_orangecountyfl_net/cms/DEPT/growth/building/greenbldg.htm)

There is a perception that the construction of Green Buildings is much more expensive than conventional construction, and indeed this is true, however the long-term cost is significantly lower. Studies show that the amount of the construction of Green Buildings is substantially lower (2%) of what is expected and price increases are related to the costs of architectural and engineering that this type of construction requires. The sooner this type of practice of Green Building is included in construction; the increase of its costs will be less.  (The United States Green Building Council, 2002. Cited by Kats, G. 2003).

However, despite short term cost increases, Green Buildings provide long-term benefits that conventional ones do not offer, for example: lower utility costs in electricity and water, environmentally effective use of building materials, enhancing the health and productivity, long term economic return, reducing environmental impact, among others. (Environmental Services, 2008)

Colombia has within its Green Building the Chamber of Commerce’s green building in Bogota, built in Salitre City. This magnificent building has 28 thousand square meters distributed in two basements, three floors of public attention, five levels for staff and 500 parking spaces. It has electronic accessories that allow the entry of people arriving in wheelchairs or who have some type of disability that prevents them from entering by stairs. On the second floor is the convention hall, which has a capacity for a thousand people, and has the possibility of being sub-divided into eight rooms, each for one hundred users.

Another example of Green Building in Colombia is the Family Compensation Fund Compensate, located in northern Bogota: Stands out the use of glass on the facade and inside there is a mixture of aluminum and wood. The building has 16,579 square meters and one of its most important features is an “evaporative cooling system that allows natural air collection, and after an interior process the air reaches the top and leaves the building, so that the installation maintains a pleasant temperature that can range between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius (Metrocuadrado.com, 2006), and within the building the services offered are: “multiple stadium, gymnasium, aerobics room, spinning, gourmet salon, spa area, pool, Turkish bath, sauna, Jacuzzi, game rooms, library, computer room (Internet) , VIP lounge, cafeteria and auditorium of 150 square meters, designed as a space for Film Society, with projection equipment, and a retractable tier; and – Medical care: 50 doctors, vaccination, laboratory, dental, radiology, psychology, rehabilitation, nutrition, gynecology, diagnosis, prevention, surgery and medicine in general “(Metrocuadrado.com, 2006).

In Latin America Argentina presents a very interesting Green Building: the building Malecon Buenos Aires. This is an office building of 125,000 feet ² which was built on an abandoned industrial area (his garage was built on the foundations of a warehouse dating from the nineteenth century) in Puerto Madero, an area of redevelopment in Buenos Aires. The construction was made as a long strait block in order to minimize solar gain in the structure and terminations of east and west sides of whom are united. The broad north facade, the first to be exposed to the sun, is shaped to follow the path of the sun and has many deep screens with umbrellas that virtually eliminate sunlight during peak cooling months. The south facade, which reflects the geometry of the northern facade, is equipped with the same system of high-performance curtain of the other facades, minimizing the solar gain; open floor plants and high floors provide flexibility for multiple office tenants or future uses. (From http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek02/tw0419/0419tw1cote.htm, May 2008)

In the U.S. this type of buildings have great technical and financial support from the public administrations; in Europe there are funding programs such as PAE (Fed-IDE), SAVE 3, Thermi &, among others, which in addition to providing aid, certify buildings that meet the exact standards so they are differentiated as Green Buildings, giving them green or eco-labels (LEEDS-Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, ISO 14001, EEA, among others).

Finally what is intended with this type of construction, grants and certifications is to reduce energy consumption and exploit natural resources, so as to achieve the prolongation of the service life of the planet and the reversal of the ecological phenomena as the greenhouse effect, among others.