HOME DESIGN : Concern for Earth Begins at Home Too
Saving the world!
Sounds like a job for Superman, doesn’t it?
Actually, this particular job would be better handled by millions of mild-mannered homeowners willing to make a few changes in the way they live by making their homes environmentally friendly.
“We have to start thinking about how to use less energy per person,” says Bill Roley, an environmental science instructor at Saddleback College and the executive director of the Permaculture Institute of Southern California, an organization that provides public education on ways to live without polluting.
“Home energy consumption is a significant portion of the pollution in general. Insulating your home is addressing the greenhouse crisis because you are going to use less fossil fuel.
“We could probably reduce the 6.5 tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere every year just by using a house that’s been insulated wisely.”
Roley is the designer of Sprout Acres, a model environmentally friendly home in the Bluebird Canyon area of Laguna Beach that shows how people can live in a way that promotes conservation of natural resources and encourages recycling.
This “house of the future”--as Roley calls it--includes systems for solar heating and cooling, year-round organic food production, a solar greenhouse and earthworm fertilizer farming. The four components of human living--water, food, energy and waste--are part of a cohesive system designed to lessen the demand on the utility, water and sewer companies and also on the grocery store.
“You link everything together so that one waste is another resource for something else,” Roley says. At Sprout Acres, for instance, household waste is composted to nourish the gardens, filtered water from the shower and kitchen sink is recycled into the garden, and air rising from the attached greenhouse heats the main house.
Eco-Home in Los Angeles is another such demonstration project. It features energy and water conservation systems such as solar-powered lights, solar-heated water, low-flow shower heads and toilets, wall and attic insulation, and weatherstripping around doors and windows. Organic gardens, drip irrigation and trees are part of the environmental-preservation effort.
“An environmentally friendly home is one that allows us to maintain our life style without damaging the environment,” says Julia Russell, founder of the Eco-Home Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to demonstrating physical systems for the home that are not detrimental to the surroundings. The organization is based in Los Angeles and counts 900 members worldwide.
It doesn’t take living in a model home to save significant amounts of energy, though. Roley says there are several simple energy conservation steps that any urban homeowner can take: Weatherstrip doors and windows, add attic insulation, use trees to shade the house in the summer, illuminate individual work areas instead of an entire room, use energy-efficient appliances and fluorescent light bulbs, hang curtains to keep heat inside during the winter and outside during the summer.
And there’s another payoff: Sprout Acres has the lowest utility bills of any house in its neighborhood.
Conserving energy is only one facet of living in an environmentally friendly manner. Reducing the use of toxic materials can make your home more compatible with Mother Nature. The first step is to stop buying them every week.
“You have to shop ecologically. Smart shopping habits can reduce the production of carbon dioxide and CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) in the atmosphere,” Roley says.
Stores such as the Natural Grocer in Laguna Niguel and Mother’s Market in Costa Mesa carry products that are environmentally safe. At these you’ll find nontoxic, biodegradable household items such as fabric softeners, glass cleaners, laundry detergents, cleansers and floor polishes. All are made without perfumes, dyes, phosphates or chlorine.
The Seventh Generation mail-order catalogue offers hard-to-find items such as unbleached toilet paper and coffee filters, cellulose sandwich bags and paper products made from recycled paper. To request a copy, call (800) 456-1177.
Remember that there are simple alternatives to toxic products. The Alameda County Office of Education publishes a comprehensive booklet called “Our Common Future: Healing the Planet--A Resource Guide to Individual Action.” Among the information on alternatives to toxic household products and shopping with an environmental awareness are several suggestions for making substitutions: a dish of hot vinegar can be used as an air freshener; a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil can polish furniture or floors; and baking soda dissolved in water can clean ovens.
Recycling is also important.
The pressure to reduce trash production is reaching critical mass. According to a state survey, Southern California generated 67.1% of California’s waste in 1988. The state Waste Management Board estimates that if trash continues to be created at its current rate, Southern California will run out of landfill capacity in four years.
Reducing the amount of trash your household contributes to the waste stream can have a significant impact on the environment.
According to a compilation of government statistics by Janet Marinelli of Garbage magazine, an estimated 30% by weight and 50% by volume of household garbage is disposable packaging material used to hold and wrap the items we buy. The process starts at the grocery store: If you don’t bring it into your home, you won’t need to discard or recycle it.
Buy products sold in bulk and with the least amount of packaging. Buy meat, poultry and fish at the butcher counter instead of in prewrapped packages. Avoid items covered in many layers of packaging, particularly those that are wrapped in more than one type of material. Don’t purchase one-time items such as disposable razors or cameras. Select items that are repairable, refillable and reusable. Stay away from disposable paper products as much as possible. Use mugs instead of paper cups, cloth instead of paper napkins, dish towels instead of paper towels.
Buy items that are recycled or that come in containers that can be recycled. The three most easily recycled materials are glass, aluminum and newsprint.
The act of recycling has many ramifications. Not only does it reduce the trash sent to landfills, it also conserves natural resources and reduces energy use.
It can, for example, slow the depletion of tropical rain forests.
“The bauxite mining that takes place in the tropical regions of South America is the direct result of our consumption of aluminum cans,” says Jennifer Rigby, curator of education at the Santa Ana Zoo. “If people can recycle more aluminum cans, it may reduce the need for the mining of bauxite.”
On Earth Day, April 22, the Santa Ana Zoo will be presenting a program between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to show how individuals can make their homes more environmentally friendly. It will include information and demonstrations on recycling, resources for finding alternatives to toxic household cleaning products, guidelines for making environmentally sound choices at the supermarket. There will also be exhibits on endangered wildlife species and their disappearing habitats.
Rigby, who created the zoo Earth Day program, says she is keeping the scope simple, hoping to get people interested.
“Ultimately,” Rigby says, “what we want to show people is that they’re capable of making (conservation-minded) decisions. There are alternatives. The point is not to despair. Take a small step. If everyone takes one small step, we will make a difference.”
Sprout Acres is open for tours once a month. The February tour will begin at noon Feb. 24. Directions and further information is available at (714) 494-5843 .
A two-hour tour of the Eco-Home in Los Angeles will be led Tuesday and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Call (213) 662-5207 for reservations. A donation of $5 is requested.
Homeowners interested in reducing their electricity consumption can get a free energy audit from Southern California Edison. To arrange one, call (800) 952-5062.