Posts Tagged ‘geothermal’

Teaching the next generation

Monday, April 6th, 2009

Brigitte shares her story on doing her part for the environment:

I just wanted to share some of what I am trying to teach my 4-year-old son about the environment and our part in it. We live in a small town north of Whistler and we walk, ride our bikes or sled to his school every day, and recycle every week.

We live in a very small condo with geothermal heating. We only use heat in the winter maybe about 2-3 hours a day. I always turn lights out if we are not in that room. We have air conditioning but do not use it in the summer. The best thing is that we have an Athena/Ionways water machine that gives us Alkaline water right from our tap and we fill our glass bottles up every day, NO PLASTIC BOTTLES EVER! Only about 1/10 of plastic bottles are ever recycled, and 1.5 million barrels of oil are used annually to manufacture the bottles! This water machine has changed our lives.

I also own a house cleaning business using only acidic water produced by this machine and tea tree oil for disinfecting as well as other natural products. I am hoping to buy some land soon in BC and be totally self-sufficient, living off the land! I teach my child to love and respect everything in nature and he loves the song by Jack Johnson, the three R’s, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! He also always stops to pick up garbage on the ground and finds a garbage to put it in!

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Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, Green Parenting, energy, garbage, off the grid, recycling | No Comments »

Why use trees to build houses?

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Mark Moritz from Ontario writes:

I have designed the world’s most energy-efficient, greenest house! Yes, quite a bold statement, but true. I’m a professional carpenter and builder who, through years of construction and research, has come up with a house design that is built with a combination of new and very old construction techniques.

This house is made entirely from concrete with no lumber. The exterior of the house has been Armor-protected with a new, unique coating that is indestructible. This dwelling is self-sustaining, producing its own energy from wind and solar sources, and will be equipped with a one-of-a-kind LED mirrored lighting system, illuminating the entire house. It will also have centuries-old building technique of geothermal chambers and rainwater cisterns under the structure.

My goal is to build communities with such houses. Imagine the impact of communities contributing little carbon footprint, where no trees are used. There isn’t any reason why all future homes can be built like this. Everyone wins! It looks like I will be receiving funding from the Government for this project. They said helping the environment is of the utmost importance.

So far, it looks like the house will be built in Udora, Ontario, just south of Lake Simcoe. I’m hoping to break ground by June 2009, but I’m in need of funding for this project. The cost of such a dwelling is almost double the cost of a conventional house. But the payback is much greater down the road for your pocket and the environment.

My goal is to show people that they can live in a healthy, modern environment that is self-sustaining and affordable, while leaving a zero carbon footprint. I am willing to do what it takes to get this technology out there and to do my part to educate the public and preserve the environment.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Why use trees to build?

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Posted in Consumer Issues, Green Living, Sustainable economy, climate change, conservation, energy, forests and wild Lands, off the grid, sustainability | 1 Comment »

Earth, Wind and Vegetable Oil

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Terry Deck from Deck’s Geo-Electrical in Lumsden, SK writes:

Four years ago we installed geothermal to heat our buildings and now we have installed a wind turbine to offset the electrical energy that we use. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAD0QJdT9M4

Since geothermal runs on electricity, we felt the next step would be producing green electricity. The most natural way to do this in Saskatchewan is by using the wind. So this past summer we installed a 5Kw wind turbine that will generate almost all of our power needs. We have invested a lot of money and time, but are reducing our carbon footprint to nearly zero!

I also have a service truck that I use for my business that I have converted to run on vegetable oil. I collect the oil from local restaurants and filter it at home. The next plan is to convert a mini van to operate on electricity. We would plan to use the van for most of our small commutes around home. For long trips, we can then use my truck that will run on the vegetable oil.

Our planet gives us a lot and we feel we should give back so others will have it to enjoy for years to come. I have spent over 12 years working on green energy ideas and plan to spend many more. I invite anyone who may be interested in what I have done to offer their ideas and ask me questions. I am more than willing to offer advice if someone is interested. I truly have a passion for this and plan to continue my work to help our planet.

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Posted in Green Living, off the grid, sustainability, transportation | No Comments »