Green roofs have been used for thousands of years in different parts of the world, from Scandinavia to the ’soddies’ of the treeless American plains. In their traditional form they are simply houses with sod roofs. Sometimes the entire house is made of blocks of thick sod, as they were in the American west, and sometimes it is only the roof that is of that material. In either case, a thick layer of living sod provided excellent insulation. So good, in fact, that it is still sometimes used today.

For the most part, however, green roofs today are not simply a layer of sod on the roof. They are made up of manufactured layers, which usually include waterproofing, drainage and growing mediums.

The intensive type of green roofing allows for traditional gardens, including vegetables and other large plants, but requires considerable maintenance. By contrast, what’s called extensive green roofing consists of relative thin layers of roofing materials and requires little to no maintenance.

Both types of green roofs offer considerable advantages, especially in cities, where they are valuable in combating water run-off problems and the problem of the concentrating heat that occurs when large areas of green are paved over. They also offer considerable savings on heating and cooling costs and the intensive type can become wonderful restful retreats for harried office workers and executives. Finally, green roofs help improve air quality, taking a number of pollutants out of the air and provide a good habitat for plants and wildlife.

What about green roofs for single family homes? Well, according to researchers at Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research, green roofs cost about twice as much as regular roofs, but last at least twice as long. If you are considering a green roof, you might want to start with a smaller project, such as putting a green roof on a garden shed. You can find plans for several sheds at LivingRoofs.org.

Author: Kimberley Ward

What is “grey water” and why should it be captured? Wouldn’t that be unsafe? What are the benefits? This article will try to answer these questions in our first of several “Focus on Green Homes” articles.

First, grey water is not actually grey-colored. After being filtered it looks just like regular water. However, it is not potable water and should never be used as such.
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Let’s face it, many of the recommendations to lower your carbon footprint or otherwise lessen your impact on the environment are hard or expensive or uncomfortable– and some are all three. But there are also many that are easy, pleasant — and save you bunches of money as well.

Of these, the top of the list is certainly to stop drinking bottled water. Plastic bottles take an enormous amount of energy and oil to produce, are rarely recycled, and may leave residues in drinking water– with unknown health effects. Transporting the water also adds tons of carbon to the atmosphere. To top it all off, much of the bottled water sold is nothing but tap water to begin with. The water on tap in the US is almost without exception completely safe to drink. For added certainty you can put a filter on your faucet or buy a filtering pitcher.

Other easy, pleasant, and cheap tips to make your life greener:

• Exchange incandescent bulbs for compact florescent bulbs. They cost a little more (ask for them for Christmas!) but save you up to 50% on your electric bill.

• Instead of buying sparkling water (in plastic bottles), buy a home seltzer water charger! You can also buy flavoring– or use your own recipe– and make your own flavored sodas this way. You’ll save lots of money this way, not to mention keeping all those bottles out of the landfills.

• Saving on heating can be hard if you want to stay comfortable. One easy way to do it, however, is to keep the thermostat down low at night when you go to bed and during the day when you are at work. If you have trouble remembering to do this, investing in a programmable thermostat which will do it for you automatically can pay for itself many times over. This has the advantage that it can be set to turn itself on before you get up in the morning or home at night, so that your house is always at a comfortable temperature when you want it to be.

• If you don’t already have a low-flow toilet that uses less water to flush you can make your regular toilet more water-efficient — and planet friendly — by adding a 1- gallon jug filled with sand or gravel to the tank. You won’t notice the difference in the bathroom– but you will on your water bill!

• Don’t buy dry-clean only clothes! Most methods of dry-cleaning use cancer-causing chemicals. Some may remain on your clothes, but more leach into the ground water when the chemicals are disposed of. If you already have dry-clean only clothes that you love, consider finding a dry-cleaner that uses non-toxic cleaning methods. Or simply hand wash the clothes yourself with a gentle cleaner. Most ‘dry-clean only’ respond well to gentle hand washing.

• Use a washable mug for your morning coffee. If that means forgoing Starbucks, all the better! Making your own coffee at home instead of buying it at a coffee house can save you hundreds of dollars a month!

• When you’re making that morning coffee, use a reusable coffee filter. You’ll save the cost of paper filters– and also more than a few trees.

• Use rechargeable batteries. You’ll save the cost of 30 or more regular batteries for each rechargeable battery you buy– and also keep a fair amount of toxic materials out of landfills.

• Buy a solar charger for your rechargeable batteries. You’ll save on both the cost of batteries and on your electric bill.

• Wrap gifts the old-fashioned way– in fabric, tied with real ribbon. Your pretty wrapping can then be made into something else — which may last far longer than the gift it was wrapping! If the person who received the gift doesn’t like to sew, collect the fabric and ribbon afterward and give it to someone who does.

• Clean the coils on the back of your refrigerator. Dusty coils can increase energy use by up to 30%.

• Donate, don’t dump! Instead of putting something out for trash pickup, give it to someone who needs it. If it’s not in good enough shape for Goodwill or another charity, check on-line with your local free-cycle group. People in these groups are often willing to take things that may need some refurbishing.

• Don’t leave the water running while you’re brushing your teeth. Turn it on briefly to wet the toothbrush and then again to clean it when you’re done.

• Read your newspaper on line. You’ll save both the subscription cost and the lives of several trees. If you can’t do without your morning paper in paper form, at least make sure you recycle it!

• Turn off and unplug your computer equipment when you’re not using it. Better yet, get a laptop to use as your regular computer. Laptops are designed to save money and run on batteries– which can be recharged with a solar charger for even more savings.

* Visit Green Christmas Gifts or The Green Home Store for products discussed on this page.

By Henry Allpas

Believe it or not, there are many alternatives to flush toilets. For anyone doing research on the topic there is a plethora of information on the internet detailing alternatives to flush toilets, septic systems, and sewer hookup. The main reasons people would do this sort of research is to either save a few dollars or help preserve our environment, or both. Here is a list of flush toilet alternatives that you can do some further research on.

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The nice thing about making your life a little greener is you can start just about anywhere, from huge changes to tiny ones:
For instance, if you want a greener career, here are a couple of books to give you a boost:

Or maybe you want to know where to invest your money for the best for both you and the planet. Then one of these books might be for you:

Maybe you have a house and want to make it greener. Here are some books to guide you:

Don’t have a house and want to build one? There are some great books to show you how:

Maybe you just want to clean your house for the holidays without adding anything toxic to the family circle. Here are some books to explain how to green clean your home:

Don’t want to read a book? Then just add one of these to your cleaning supplies:

Keep checking back here for tips on how to make 2009 a little greener for you and your family!

A generation ago, a small band of appropriate technology enthusiasts bought and retrofitted an old Victorian in the Berkeley Flats area of Berkeley, California. Featuring a bottle wall to take advantage of passive solar energy, a composting toilet, and carefully designed systems which used each ‘waste’ product as a nutrient for another food source, the house was capable of producing all the food and energy needs for a family of four. This book explains all the systems in full, and although the house has long since returned to the ranks of the ordinary, costly and pollution producing family home the book (now also long out of print) is still one of the best guides for those looking for a better, healthier and cheaper way of life.

The Integral Urban House: Self-Reliant Living in the City