Sustainable living video - Jared Diamond: Thoughts on Managing Change

"In early 2011, ClimatePrep.org had a chance to sit down with Jared Diamond to talk about climate change, the challenges presented to conservation and development practitioners, and the opportunities he sees in confronting them.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond is a world-renowned expert on ancient societies. His now famous book, Collapse, is a study of the choices societies have made throughout history in the face of change -- climate change, as well as others -- and the consequences of such choices.

To learn more about ways people around the world are preparing for and responding to climate change visit www.ClimatePrep.org"

some more results regarding our efficiency measures

Today the outside temps reached 90º, the maximum inside temps reached 80º, no AC required.
When we got up this morning it was 76º inside, after our policy of aggressive morning ventilation was undertaken we got that down to 75º. For most of the day the house stabilized at 77º. At the hottest part of the day the house got up to 79º but we exacerbated the situation with a half hour of cooking, the oven really cranks out a lot of heat, which took it up to 80º.

So I'm still stoked, we got through a 90º day without using the AC! YeeHaw!

Household efficiency skyrockets while bank account plummets!

Just in time for the first days of summer, we have FINALLY  addressed two very important efficiency issues on the house at The Sustainable Living Project. In the last 2 weeks we have had our walls insulated, a process of drilling holes through the indoor plaster and blowing it in, as well as a new reflective metal roof installed over a layer of 1" foam insulation.

The walls; our brick walls get full sun for most of the day and that heat was going straight into the interior plaster, which is about 1" thick, and thence into the house. We shopped around for contractors, looking specifically for someone to use cellulose insulation as that is not only more sustainable but also less toxic. Not a single one would use it! They all use fiberglass. As the walls are sealed I believe we are avoiding exposure to the fibers, which have recently been listed by the EPA as a carcinogen, but we had to compromise on the sustainability aspect.

Being on a tight budget we have long ago reconciled ourselves to compromise when it is necessary. One of the rationales in this case is that the material is going to help us reduce our use of fossil fuels by improving the thermal efficiency of the house. Over time we hope this savings will offset the damage done in the manufacture of the less sustainable material.

On the North side, insulation first, metal on top, good riddance to the asphalt!

The roof, as with most homes here and all over the south, was covered in dark asphalt shingles applied directly over the wood sheathing. These shingles act like a massive thermal collector and the heat is passed directly indoors. In the summer heat this is lunacy! We have been planning to address this serious design flaw for some time but again, it took a while to find a contractor we were comfortable with that we could afford. He had never put a residential metal roof over insulation but was willing to look into it. After some consultation he determined that it would not void any warranties. But alas, again we compromised, going with his recommendation of foam insulation rather than a natural fiber board. This has several advantages, it is lighter, will not absorb moisture, and could be installed over the existing asphalt shingles. We really did not want to disturb the existing roof as the ensuing mess in the yard, where we grow our food, would have been quite toxic. So essentially these toxic petrochemical roofing shingles are now encapsulated under the new roof. And yes the same compromise principle applies, these materials will last a long time and will reduce fossil fuel use for their lifetime.

And oh what a difference this has made. Normally the upstairs renovation is 15º to 20º hotter than the downstairs. Now at most it has been 5º warmer. When we got up this morning, the outdoor temp was about 68º while indoors it was 74º. We embarked upon our usual practice of aggressive ventilation during the cool hours of the morning. The temp held firm at 74º. I believe this was due to the outdoor temp staying relatively cool for most of the morning as it was raining. Eventually the temp indoors dropped to 73º and later, as the outdoor temps got up to near 88º with full sun, our indoor temp rose to 75º. When I cooked a zuchini casserole in the oven at the hottest time of day the indoor temp climbed to 77º downstairs and up. I'm stoked! Essentially we've changed the way the house responds to temperature changes, slowing down it's response. This is good, as the indoor temps will likely be at their highest in the evening when the outdoors is cooling off we will be able to draw that cool air into the house to drop the temps which will continue to drop through the night as the walls will not be collecting heat from the exterior bricks. I'm betting we will not need the AC at all now. Additionally, in the winter the extra insulation should drastically reduce the amount of wood we need to burn to stay warm.

So far so good, but tomorrow, the solstice, the temps are supposed to reach into the low nineties. That'll be the real test.

the south side

Sustainable Living video - Sust Enable: The Metamentary

Here's an interesting project exploring what sustainability means. Also check out
http://www.indiegogo.com/sust-enable-the-metamentary






 

Check out our day lilies!

I really like magnolia flowers and have featured one ours for quite some time at the top of this blog. And while the blooms this year are just as lovely we have added some new perennial flowers. My new favorite flower is the clump of day lilies out in our perennial bed. I have placed it in the top slot until I discover one I like better.

here's another shot showing it's edible neighbors;
french sorrel on the right and New Zealand spinach behind that.

I dig this gal's outlook and ethos. Wear Nothing New! On Ted.

Crow Garlic

The full plant

size 13 foot for scale

the seed head

the bulbs ready for chopping

The crow garlic is going to seed so we've been harvesting some for cooking. In the picture with the bulbs on the cutting board you can see little cloves on the side. We usually plant these back where we dug up the plant to continue  the crop.