True Green Home – a National Geograhic book
Recently, I received a book in the mail called, 'True Green Home - 100 inspirational ideas for creating a green environment at home.' The book, by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin, was released by National Geographic this month.
The book is a handy little thing that does exactly what its title says in outlining
Being an environmental reporter, most of the ideas in this book don't surprise me. I already knew building orientation mattered, as does placement and type of windows, building material and design. But I was surprised by a few things I didn't know. For example, Number 30 advises me to invest in a bag-less vacuum cleaner. Call me crazy, but I had no idea such a thing even existed! Number 76, regarding natural cleaning of kitchens and utensils, advises me to clean copper with equal parts ketchup and Worchestershire sauce. Really?! I almost want to go burnish my mom's copper pots and pans just to test it out.
Every idea comes with glossy, pretty pictures. Case studies from William McDonough + Partners, Whole Foods, the USGBC and others also punctuate the pages.
For those people who live, breathe and eat green, this book will be old news. But for those who are just looking to learn about green building or are considering a home remodel, this could be a helpful source of information.
The book is available online. For more information, visit National Geographic here.
DJC Green Building Blog
Welcome to the Daily Journal of Commerce Green Building Blog. Our focus is on green building issues in Seattle, the Pacific Northwest and anywhere that might interest you. If you have any comments or questions, please email maudes@djc.com.
Opinions expressed by bloggers are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.
Polls
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.Recent Posts
- Your patio can also be a power plant
- Living Future a Deep Dive into What’s Possible…and Necessary, says Noted Paul Hawken
- House gets a deep green remodel for $150 a square foot
- When it comes to certified wood, GSA is right to question LEED
- Is it time for Seattle to embrace graffiti?
Recent Comments
- Panchavarnam on Scrap metal demolition is green, but not always easy
- Rooms to Rent UK on Your patio can also be a power plant
- Washington, D.C’s Green Building Act: What it Is and What it Could Mean for the Future of Construction | Viridian Wood Products on What can we learn from D.C.’s green building law?
- Less energy: Seattle Green Home Tour 2013 | LD Arch Design on House gets a deep green remodel for $150 a square foot
- There isn’t anything better coming along. | O'Brien & Company on Crunch the numbers and preservation wins
Energy information
- BetterBricks
- Earth Advantage Blog
- New Buildings Institute Blog
- Washington State University Extension Energy Program
Green blogs
- Best Green Blogs
- Building Capacity Blog
- Building Seattle Green Blog
- City Tank
- Climate Solutions
- Earth Advantage Blog
- GreenbuildingsNYC
- GreenFab News and Media
- Greenversations
- Inhabitat
- Jetson Green
- Landscape and Urbanism
- Metaefficient
- New Buildings Institute Blog
- Portland Architecture
- SeattleScape
- The Greenworkplace
- Thinkspace
Green Building organizations
- Built Green
- Cascadia Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council
- City of Seattle Green Building
- City of Seattle Green Building Program
- DJC.com
- Environmental Services Directory for Washington State
- Green Infrastructure Wiki
- King County GreenTools
- Lifecycle Building Challenge
- Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Resources
- Puget Sound Partnership
- Seattle Great City Initiative
- Whole Building Design Guide
Green events in the Seattle area
- AIA Seattle
- Cascadia Green Building Council Events Calendar
- Master Builders of King and Shohomish County Built Green Events Calendar and News
- Seattle Department of Planning and Development Events
March 23rd, 2009 - 09:45
I refurnished my apartment with LED light bulbs 6 months ago, although it is too early to tell is the energy costs is kicking in, I’m curious to know if this book tells me about LED’s in homes and other alternative green solutions. I mainly used PAR 30′s purchased from http://www.EagleLight.com. My other option was solar panels, but I do not own the apartment so the investment did not make sense. Does the book cover energy efficiency
March 23rd, 2009 - 14:44
Ryan
Just did a quick scan of the book and I didn’t find anything on LED lighting, other than a definition of it in the back. The book does talk about CFL bulbs and their benefit, and mentions numerous aspects of energy efficiency. But because you’ve already taken the jump to LED lighting, you might be beyond the scope of this book. If you’re looking for more info on energy efficiency, there’s a wealth of knowledge out there on that specialized topic. The Northwest Building Efficiency Center at http://nwbuildings.org is one great source. As for books, just search energy efficiency on Amazon to see a score of other titles. Good luck!