Want to determine your ecological footprint?

Want to find out how your lifestyle is measuring up?

Are there more things you can do to lead a sustainable life?

Find out at this nifty interactive quiz site and learn what else you can do to improve.

Some facts you may not be aware of:

Though the U.S. accounts for only 5% of the world's population,
Americans consume 26% of the world's energy.

U.S. residents consume almost 9 times more electricity
per person than the average consumption for the rest of the world.

Fossil fuels (such as coal) are depleted at a rate
that is 100,000 times faster than they are formed.

Residential appliances, including heating and cooling equipment and water heaters,
consume 90% of all residential energy in the USA.

Worldwide 2 billion people currently live without electricity.

It is the time to focus on what we, as fellow stewards of our planet, need from it!

Can an iphone teach you?

I ran across a list of iphone apps today that help you live a "greener life."
Some of them are even free.
I'm excited to see so many things you can do in the palm of your hand. It seems so efficient.
I will get to play around with one soon, I hope.

As to the Ohio Sustainable Community? Plans are coming along. I will also be providing as a representative of solar and day-lighting equipment in Ohio.

We hope to work with local contractors to provide energy efficient products and solar panel systems-as well as education and jobs to the community.

I have found out many interesting things lately and can't wait to share them here but I'm catching up on work, and settling into the new environment Ohio offers.

A better choice to Light the way

How much money have you spent in light bulbs?

How many light bulbs have you changed in your life?

Hundreds? How many watts did you typically use? 60W 90W? 120W?

Meet the bulb that uses 6 Watts of energy to produce the same amount of light as a traditional 60 Watt bulb!!
Not only does it use significantly less energy, it also fits standard sized light fixtures, can be dimmed, keeps bulb temperature low, and is made of recyclable materials.

This LED bulb is the most environmentally safe option; using no lead, mercury,or toxic chemicals found in CFL's, and lasts up to 6 times LONGER than CFL's.



The Lemnis Lighting company states: if every American household switched just one traditional 60W light bulb to a Pharox light, $1.4 Billion in electricity costs and 9 billion kilowatt hours would be saved annually. This would equate to a carbon emissions reduction of 5.2 billion kg annually.


That is staggering! Imagine if all NEW construction used only LED bulbs and Solatube lighting. The cost of energy would be instantly reduced and people will get a lot more performance out of solar and wind generation! Help light the way!

How big does your house NEED to be?

It is my hope to help introduce people into a new way of living. The way we do things now will not sustain our planet. The good news is there are better ways of doing things. I hope to touch on more of these areas soon.

Today I want to talk about size of residence.
How much space do you really need?

The average American house size has more than doubled since the 1950s; it now stands at 2,349 square feet. Whether it's a McMansion or a bigger, cheaper house in the exurbs, the move toward ever large homes has been accelerating for years. Unfortunately so has the population- of the earth!


Are there spaces in your home that never get used? Places just for "show" or because your house is supposed to have a family room, great room, game room, whatever the case may be?
I would like to propose a different viewpoint. That part of your home you aren't using is costing you energy to heat, cool, power, and clean, not to mention furnish.


So much less space is actually required for us to function. I, for one, am a big fan of multi-purpose spaces. Your "living room" can easily be an office, den, bar, guest bedroom, and center of the home.

Kitchens? Lets just say I'm not much of a cook. There are a few things I can make but I have realized that there are many other people out there, just like me, who are running a full size old fridge to house 1 pitcher of tea, mustard, and one empty ice tray in the freezer. Appliances and kitchens for people that barely use them can be very small.



There are even more appliances available to furnish homes like these, and power them for a lot less!

It is the smallest priority for me personally in a home. I see a lot of space that could be used for
other things.





Need a huge bedroom?

Why? As long as you have sufficient storage space, you really need a space for your bed and a few comforts. Face it, your bedroom is for the BED. Why not create spaces that you really love elsewhere in the home, or outside of the home, for that matter to enjoy and relax in? Remember the family on Little House and the Prairie? The kids slept in a loft above the main rooms. It worked fine for them and many other families as well. I really love this idea for a kid's room.

There is an entire movement of people who believe in living in smaller homes, and sustainable movements as well. I hope to help merge the two.


www.tinyhouseblog.com

www.thistinyhouse.com

www.greenandsustainablehomes.org

Living in this way- I hope to show that a community center, that houses many of the not often used elements of the home, will reduce the size and footprint of each individual home and create a sense of community.


Questions? Comments?

Back to the Blog!

Your Sustainable Station blogger is back, and short one faithful reader-(my mother Cecilia Price), but the time to move forward has come. She supported my dreams and hopes for making sustainable communities become reality, so the work must begin.

There are several key topics when it comes to the sustainable housing I want to build.

The community will:

• Use planet friendly building products
• Be affordable
  
• Handicap accessible plans
  
• Renewable energy utilized
• Rainwater collection and gray water systems used
• Garden and greenhouse space available
  
• Community center for multiple use spaces
  
• Bike friendly
• On-site recycling and composting for minimal waste.

I will address each item in turn and keep you updated on our community as it forms.

Thanks for your patience!

A car that runs on Air?

I Stumble!(d) across this article on the AIRpod car today. It was too cool not to share! Imagine the possibilities of having transportation that runs on Air?! If they incorporated solar energy to run the heating and cooling like the new Prius will, these could be the wave of the future. The article is worth a browse.

Also, since I mentioned it, if you haven't tried StumbleUpon yet, try it! It is a way to channel surf the internet for things that you are specifically interested in. It also allows you a place to save the pages and share with other people. I've really enjoyed it so far! It even has a handy toolbar to access its features. Happy browsing to you! If you want to see what I've been checking out add Tawanda19.

Station Break

We interrupt this blog to bring you an important message.

Robin is currently unavailable to write due to a sudden serious illness in the family. Please stay tuned for sustainable news updates as she will be writing when she gets a chance.