Green Team Houston

Texas Aquifers Threatened

2012-02-29T12:40:00.002-05:00

Via CLEAN LIVING

Texas Aquifers Threatened by Population Growth, Development and Pollution

by Vicki Wolf, February 2012

READ MORE ...

Contained by Design

2011-05-20T08:35:00.004-05:00

via http://www.peelgallery.org/

View some of the work HERE

Home Repairs for Spring

2011-04-07T13:38:00.003-05:00

VIA DAILYWORTH

1) You know to clean out the gutters, but make sure the downspouts are clear and drain several feet from your house to prevent foundation damage. Estimated cost: up to $200. “If you can do it, fine, but don’t be a Tim Allen and hurt yourself,” says Kurt Solomon, president of the American Association of Home Inspectors.

2) Hire a pro to tune up your air conditioning system and furnace. “If you don’t,” says Bill Shaw, a contractor in Houston, TX, “you’re wasting electricity and putting more wear and tear on those units.” Estimated cost: $100-$150.

3)Hire a pro to seal your roof. “They’ll catch the insidious things, like the flashing on your vent stacks and the other protrusions on the roof,” says Shaw. Estimated cost: $150-$200 for minor repairs.

Last, consider doing a short, yearly review with a contractor or home inspector who can spot looming problems. In some cases the service is free, or the fee you pay will count toward any work they do.

300 Years of Fossil Fuels in 300 Seconds

2011-03-28T12:30:00.002-05:00

This weeks video presents a visual of our dependence on fossil fuels and poses the question, "where are we heading?"

P.S. Today was world water day

2011-03-22T21:17:00.003-05:00

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

Chris Perry who worked for Pixar just aired this short video just for today titled "The Incident at Tower 37"
ENJOY!

Sustainable Landscapes

2011-03-22T21:11:00.001-05:00

Via American Society of Landscape Architects

'According to a report from the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, one inch of rainwater hitting one acre of asphalt over an hour yields 27,000 gallons of water.

Green roofs, bioswales, bioretention ponds, and permeable pavements are a few key examples of local green infrastructure, and all work by turning hard asphalt surfaces into green, absorbent ones. For example, Green roofs can retain 40-60 percent of stormwater hitting rooftops."

Watch the video to learn more.

Solar Decathalon Coming soon!

2011-03-04T09:43:00.003-05:00

Every two years since U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition takes place in Washington DC, showcasing an array energy innovation.

By the way, this year the solar decathalon will not be held on the national mall but in West Potomac Park.
I'm starting to see a lot of projects previews and thought I would share a few that looked interesting to me. Click on the pictures and titles to learn more about each project.

First Light House - New Zealand

Water Shed - University of Maryland

Team Hawaii

List of Teams:

Pretty Cool- Oil-Cleaning Robot Army

2010-08-26T09:45:00.003-05:00

If only BP had been prepared... or everyone for that matter. Well it seems that the BP oil disaster has caused others to become better prepared for such tragedies and possible future problems with our oil dependence.

Check out this robot created by by MIT's Sensable City Lab.
Check out the video of the "seaswarm" bot.

Tip of the Week: Plant some fresh air

2010-08-03T12:58:00.004-05:00

Thought I would start posting weekly... as we've slacked a little on our blog.
Hope to keep this habit which would be good... and hoping that posting about other good habits would help all around. ENJOY!

PLANT SOME FRESH AIR:

Instead of buying an air purifier, try a bamboo palm, peace lily or English ivy in stead. These plants act as natural air filters in a room, removing up to 87% of VOC's (volitile organic compounds).

Going Vertical

2010-08-03T12:50:00.003-05:00

via Treehugger

Jargon Watch: Vertical Gardens vs Vertical Farms vs Living Walls vs Green Façades
"..vertical farms, designed for food production, were a very different thing from living walls, which I thought Alex incorrectly called a vertical garden. But he is not alone; we did it in Madrid Gets a Vertical Garden Too and Ugly Cooling Tower Gets Vertical Garden Makeover in Spain. (Interestingly, all Spanish projects) ".

LIVING WALLS:
Randy Sharp explains in Azure:
"Green walls come in two main varieties, according to Vancouver landscape architect Randy Sharp. His firm, Sharp & Diamond, designed the Vancouver Aquarium's 50-square-metre green wall of polypropylene modules filled with wildflowers, ferns and ground covers. A leading expert on "vegetated building envelope systems," Sharp divides these installations into green facades, where a structure fastened to the wall provides a trellis for vines and climbers planted in the ground or in containers; and the newer living walls, where a modular grid of wall panels - complete with live plants, a conventional soil or layered-felt growing medium, an irrigation and nutrient-delivery system, and a support structure - is attached to the building."...

read the whole post on Treehugger.com

Workshop Opportunity at Rice Gallery

2010-05-07T08:46:00.002-05:00

No Experience Required!
$75 gets you materials, parking and refreshments.
Contact Anna Foret : azf1@rice.edu or 713.348.5770

Easy Green Wall Project

2010-03-14T14:29:00.005-05:00

Thought this was pretty neat and simple. We've had several posts on the aesthetics and benefits of green walls before... Seemed like this product fit right in to this topic.

Check out this short video on the use of woolypocket to quickly add a green wall to your living space.

Woolly Pocket from Woolly Pocket on Vimeo.

LIFE

2010-03-09T20:15:00.009-05:00

Be sure to watch Discovery Channel's upcoming LIFE series, premier on Sunday, March 21st, 8PM e/p.

If you haven't watched their previous series -PLANET EARTH- you should. It's truely AMAZING!

(from the press release) "The earth is home to more than 30 million different animals and plants – every single one in its own fight for survival.From the makers of PLANET EARTH and narrated by global media leader and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, the epic television series LIFE is the definitive exploration of our planet’s living things and their spectacular, bizarre and fascinating behaviors. A BBC and Discovery Channel co-production, the 11-part natural history series airs on Discovery Channel on Sundays from March 21 through April 18, 2010, with two episodes at 8-10PM ET/PT each night, and The Making of LIFE at 10PM on April 18."

Watch the Trailer

Nuclear?

2010-02-19T12:32:00.004-05:00

President Obama's recent endorsement of nuclear produced a lot of concern for me....What are your thoughts?
I agree with the following: (be sure to check out the full post)

via Grist
" The lesser of two evils?
When it comes to the question, “Which is better—nuclear or coal?”, the answer really just is “neither.” It’s a false dichotomy that lends legitimacy to a false scenario in which we as a region, country, or world are forced to chose coal or nukes and have no access to developing other energy sources. It is a worst-case, stuck-in-the-corner, fake match-up. On a daily individual level, most people have little choice as to which power source we support with our monthly electric bill. If we do have choices, we should first buy renewable energy or even hydroelectric power. (Find out if you have alternative choices by searching EERE’s Green Power map.) Nuclear and coal are not our only two options; let’s not
pretend that they are."

Freeway transformed into a river

2010-02-18T18:26:00.002-05:00

Via treehugger.com

"In Seoul, South Korea city planners paved right over a natural stream to put in a road. It stayed that way for decades, becoming a freeway and adding to the traffic congestion in the burgeoning metropolis. But Fast Company reports that recently, city officials decided to return the road to its natural roots. Here's FC's video of how, and why, they transformed the freeway back into a stream."

Green Tip: e-cycling

2010-02-11T08:27:00.003-05:00

Best Buy e-cycles!
They'll accept almost any electronic gadget, working or broken, no matter who made it, at any of their stores.

From their site- "You can bring in up to two items a day, per household, and most things are absolutely free. However, there is a $10 charge for TVs 32" and under, CRTs, monitors and laptops — but we'll give you a $10 Best Buy gift card to offset that cost. It's just a little e-incarnation appreciation."

Read More about their e-cycle program.

Food for Throught

2010-02-07T11:58:00.003-05:00

via Good.is/Good blog

"Back in 2007, everyone was talking about the "pain at the pump." But did that change what people drive? This infographic by Chris Svetlik looks at whether high gas prices get people to buy more fuel efficient cars."

Rice Gallery Opening

2010-01-26T11:37:00.001-05:00

CAP and TRADE...a Racket?

2009-12-01T10:28:00.002-05:00

A short video's take on cap and trade.
(via treehugger.com)

The Story of Cap & Trade from Story of Stuff Project

IF you can't see video in your email click on links.

Visual Acoustics

2009-11-05T20:47:00.003-05:00

Photographer Julius Shulman passed away this past summer at the age of 98. Shulman's work played a major role in making modernist architecture familiar and aesthetically accessible to mainstream America by capturing the work of nearly every modern and progressive architect since the 1930s( including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Frank Gehry).

Bricker's film, Visual Acoustics narrated by Dustin Hoffman, is both a biography and a survey of Shulman's career.

Official Website

WINDFARMS AND STARBUCKS

2009-10-16T12:31:00.003-05:00

World's largest, 781.5 megawatt wind farm, located in West Texas USA.
Ranchers in west Texas are resorting to leasing their land to energy companies to "break even". To some though, "selling out" causes upset.

Personally, I love the idea that wind farms can revitalize a community and help maintain an old mainstay industry and culture of ranching and cowboys. The wild west is staying wild by accepting something modern.
On the other hand it definitely does change the landscape a bit. Thoughts?

Read more about the "Starbucks Rule" for siting wind farms.

-via Treehugger
Business Week-
"Turns out there's something called the Starbucks Rule when it comes to siting wind farms. He said Suzlon and its rivals plot where Starbucks are in the general area and then make sure their project is at least 30 miles away. Any closer and there'd be too many NIMBYs (not in my backyarders) who'd object to having their views spoiled by a cluster of 265-foot-tall wind towers."

Video credit:Sunday Morning Show

Dish Sale Fundraiser

2009-10-14T13:42:00.001-05:00

Glenbrook Valley Dish Sale Fundraiser
via Houston Mod
The Glenbrook Valley preservation committee is holding a sale of fine china to support its efforts to be designated Texas' first post-World War II historic district. The neighborhood includes numerous architecturally-significant mid-century houses including some detailed in Houston Mod's on-line database.

According to organizers, the sale will include "100's of pieces, prices starting at 50 cents. Great Christmas gifts, traditional pieces to more mod pieces like Russell Wright."

Sale hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday. The sale will be held at 8206 Glencrest at the corner of Glencrest and Montglen.

CRUDE

2009-09-27T11:13:00.003-05:00

A documentary on the true price of crude.
"Three years in the making, this cinéma-vérité feature from acclaimed filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster) is the epic story of one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet. The inside story of the infamous “Amazon Chernobyl” case"...The landmark case takes place in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador, pitting 30,000 indigenous and colonial rainforest dwellers against the U.S. oil giant Chevron. The plaintiffs claim that Texaco – which merged with Chevron in 2001 – spent three decades systematically contaminating one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, poisoning the water, air and land. The plaintiffs allege that the pollution has created a “death zone” in an area the size of the Rhode Island, resulting in increased rates of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, and a multiplicity of other health ailments."

Find out where it's showing near you and Stay Updated. Sign Up to receive occasional updates about the movie’s release, special screenings and events, the ongoing legal case against Chevron and more.
Check it out.

PNC greenwall

2009-09-23T11:41:00.003-05:00

PNC UNVEILS LARGEST GREEN WALL IN NORTH AMERICA- PITTSBURGH, PA

"The 2,380 sq. ft., soil-based wall - similar in size to a doubles tennis court - features a variety of regional plants grown into living art on the south-facing wall of One PNC Plaza at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street in downtown Pittsburgh.

It is estimated that each of the 602 panels, with 24 plants in each 2x2 sq. ft. space, will offset the carbon footprint of one person. The vertical garden, similar to a green roof, will help to cool the 30-story building. Preliminary studies show the south-facing living wall will be 25 percent cooler behind the wall than ambient temperatures. "The wall is a fitting reminder that PNC is the world leader in green building," said PNC Director of Corporate Real Estate Gary Saulson. "City sidewalks are cooler and quieter thanks to shade and sound absorption by green walls and urban planting."

Watch the video below: (or if you if you're viewing this in your email- click on post to view online)
Read More

The Cove

2009-09-16T12:54:00.004-05:00

TRAILER: (If you can't see trailer click here)

Taiji, Japan-
"In a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling -- and the consequences are so dangerous to human health -- they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it...

O’Barry joins forces with filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society to get to the truth of what’s really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone in the world...The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery that adds up to an urgent plea for hope."