Building A Sustainable Future: The Greenest Living Building and Biomimicry

As an environmental writer, I have the unique opportunity to explore a multitude of eco-related subjects. With environmental news rightfully focused on catastrophic events such as the Gulf Oil Spill, and stories about greenwashing running rampant, it may seem like there’s a fog descending upon the green world. But, I source exciting fresh information daily, I'm impressed with the level of new eco-friendly products and sustainable materials available.

As a blogger I feel that it is my duty and honor to dish out environmental news and commentary about things that have the capacity to enrich the environment and hopefully, create a more sustainable future for our kids.

I was invited last month to the Omega Institute of Holistic Studies to tour one of the most sustainable buildings in the world and listen to architects, designers and eco-visionaries discuss the inspirational process of creating the Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL). The OCLS is a state-of-the-art water reclamation facility and environmental education center that brings together wastewater recycling, clean energy, green architecture and other sustainability elements that can be replicated locally and globally.

Omega spent the last four years working to achieve one of the most prestigious honors in the green world – The Living Building Challenge. To make this happen, Omega had to reach the most advanced level of sustainability in a built environment. Here we (writers and photographers) are hearing Omega's, Skip Backus talk about building the OCSL:

Three awe-inspiring things I learned at the OCSL:

1. As a high-performance designed building, the OCSL is powered by passive solar heating, a geothermal system, a photovoltaic power and includes a greenhouse and green roof, constructed wetlands and a green classroom that integrate seamlessly with the natural environment. 2. The OCSL is a teaching facility that teaches Omega participants as well as local schoolchildren how to adopt sustainable living practices in their own lives and homes. 3. From waste come life – At the core of the center is a greenhouse with a living water filtration system that uses plants, bacteria, algae, snails and fungi to recycle Omega’s wastewater (approximately 5 million gallons per year) into clean water used to restore the aquifer. To watch a video about the OCSL and learn more CLICK HERE.

While I was visiting Omega, a conference called, Design By Nature: Creative Solutions With Biomimicry, Permaculture & Sustainable Design was in full swing. This event brought together some of the nation’s foremost leaders in the fields of biomimicry, permaculture, and sustainable architecture. The main objective was to explore the creative potential of these promising green technologies for the sustainability of the planet.

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a fascinating emerging science that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.

Biomimicry can answer questions such as:

How would nature get water to the desert? How would nature heat and cool a home? How would nature create color without harmful chemicals or dyes? How would nature create non-toxic waterproof adhesive?

To find the answers to these questions and read more about how biomimicry can change our lives CLICK HERE.

As we hope to forge towards a more sustainable future, we can learn so much from "living buildings" like the OCSL at Omega, and scientific ideas such as biomimicry. They truly fill me with the promise of a bright green future.

Photo Credits: Omega Institute and Care2

A Book Giveaway!

Now that we are settled into fall, it is the perfect time to induldge in two favorite pastimes: reading and creating things that are reimagined, reused and recycled.

Do you judge a book by its cover? When books come my way to be reviewed, it is the cover design that often grabs me first. So, even before I cracked open P.S.-I Made This…I See It. I Like It. I Make It by Erica Domesek, I was intrigued by the cover. The white cover displays a fashionista-clad model. That’s not so odd since the book is about fashion and DIY. But, what I love about the cover is that the font looks handmade and there are arrows to six DIY projects on the model. When I stopped ogling the cover and dove in, I found not just the cover had style, the whole book was designed minimally, with clear and concise step-by-step instructions for projects that are backed up by visually appealing fashion montages.

CLICK HERE to read more of my review and to find out why Erica says, "Thanks so much, this was one of my favorite reviews I've ever read."

Want to win a copy of P.S. – I Made This…?

I've been chatting online with Erica and she sent me another copy of her book to give away to one lucky econesting reader. Simply, leave a comment on this post (below) and tell us how you've brought a little green into your nest. Comments close 9am EST on Friday, October 22, 2010. A winner will be chosen at random and I will announce it later that day. Sorry, open to US residents only.

Unraveled and Moving Forward

I know, I’ve already chewed your ear off about knitting, and I promise to get to the matter at hand – greening it up. But, it’s not everyday the circus comes to town and you get to jump into the ring with your buddies.

Knitted Rapture

While a bit overwhelming, The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival brings both pageantry and artistry to the creative craft of knitting. The sheer quantity and quality of yarn and wool-related items at this event is truly remarkable.

I generally don’t wear my love for knitting on my sleeve. Actually, most of my knit/purling goes directly to gift giving, but once a year at the Sheep and Wool Festival I'm in my element. In my yarn rapture, I feel connected to this creative community. Each year, I bring home one special skein (ok, maybe two) that reflect the moment.

Socks made from last year's blue/green gem:

Poking through the bins today, I found this beauty:

Greening up

As I continue to examine the eco-friendliness of….well, everything, I’ve got to say that knitting is not the greenest of crafts. It’s expensive, and much of the yarn is dyed with nasty chemicals. The manufacturing process is not energy-efficient, and a large chunk of yarn comes from faraway places, and that stomps on our carbon footprint.

What about organic yarn? Yes, organic yarn exists and it adheres to the same rigorous requirements as organic meat. The sheep must be fed organic food and be free of injected growth hormones. Their fleeces cannot be washed in chemicals. Even managing organic livestock is more sustainable than mass farming because the overgrazing of sheep is limited.

The yarn industry as a whole may have a way to go, but it’s encouraging to see that more and more small yarn producers are greening up their wares as they move forward in favor of a more sustainable future…like these folks:

Unraveled

I’ll leave you with a pearl of wisdom that my friend, Eric once noted while watching me (during a faculty meeting) rip out two hours of complicated knitting. He said that if you want to really get to the heart of a problem, you’re going to have to unravel your knitting and follow the situation back to the place where you made the mistake. Then move forward.

Photo Credit: Socks - Jen Kiaba

Stalking The Woodpile

As the heating season warms up, I'm paying homage to my heating source - wood. Do you heat your home with wood? One hundred percent of my home is heated by wood. The heart of my house is a hot-pumping workhorse - the humble woodstove. It's been cranking out heat for years. We have three woodstoves – one for the main house, one in a detached studio and one that we fire up for our wood-heated hot tub. On the right is a picture of my son sizing the wood for our stoves last spring.

I have a fair amount of yin/yangy feelings about the environmental impact of heating with wood. I discuss my quandary, and present the cost-saving pros, as well as the ecological cons of heating with wood here.

Having just taken the wood carrier and fireproof gloves out of hiding for their first spin of the season, I headed outside last evening and admired my woodpile. Seasoned, cut and stacked, I could have sworn that luscious pile of wood winked at me.

Take a look at these images and please tell me: Can a woodpile be sexy?

Photo Credits: Gemma Comas via Sweet Paul, Swiss Miss, unknown , Design Milk, Freshome, unknown, Casa Cara, A View To, House & Home, Freshome

Do You Live in A Slow Home? Take the Test...

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means." ~ Albert Einstein What is a Slow Home? Think of a Slow Home as you would think about Slow Food. Or, thumb think about the opposite of Slow Food – processed food. That would equate a fast home to be a standardized, hospital homogenous, hospital wasteful home that is not advantageous for the environment or healthy for our bodies. The interiors and exteriors of Slow Homes tread lightly. They are simple to live in, designed with intention, and a benefit to the environment.

Take the Slow Home Test to find out if your home is fast or slow. CLICK HERE FOR MORE (and to find out why I need to slow up even more)

Credit: J. Morgan Puett via Desire To Inspire