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6.04.2011

Unique Housing: Taking Expatriate Living to the Extreme

25 meters in diameter and floats on about 125,000 plastic bottles. As I step onto the island there is slight buoyancy and a smile crept across my face. Rishi resides in the three-story house he has built on the island which includes a guest room, kitchen, two showers and natural compost toilet.

The construction of Joysxee is fascinating; Rishi collects plastic bottles from all around Isla Mujeres and they get stuffed into recycled fruit sacks to create a floating platform. Palettes are put on top of the full fruit sacks, then board or carpeting on top of that, and finally sand. The baby mangroves he plants on the edges of the island serve as an additional locking system as their roots take hold of the bottles below.

Over just a few months a new bag of bottles will host barnacles and lock in to place underneath to provide more support for the entire island. The bottles stay under the island; they are sealed and remain in darkness which slows the decomposition process. The result is an island created out of approximately 70% recycled material. Rishi is continuously adding more bags of plastic bottles to the island so it can continue to grow and expand. He has been able to add a variety of plants such as sea grapes, mangroves, cactus, fruit-bearing plants bougainvillea and even palms.

Unique Housing: Taking Expatriate Living to the Extreme

Germany Can Get Rid of Nuclear Power, Why Can't the US?

Germany Can Get Rid of Nuclear Power,
Why Can't the US?



 
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If Germany Can Get Rid of Nuclear Power,
Why Can't the US?

Nuclear Power? No Thanks!

act

Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will be in Washington DC next week to meet with President Obama. But she won't be talking to him about Germany's bold decision to shut all 17 of its nuclear power plants by 2022 and create an 80% renewable energy program by 2050.

That's too bad because Germany, the world's 4th largest economy, is about to leave the US in the technological dust, taking the lead – and the profits – in the Renewable Renaissance. Meanwhile, the U.S. clings on to antiquated nuclear power technology, insisting on wildly expensive new nuclear plants and prolonging the operating lives of its dangerous old ones.

Your Senators and Representative should be standing up for your safety. That means supporting a moratorium on operating licenses at the country's most dangerous Fukushima-style reactors; an end to license extensions for deteriorating old reactors; and a halt to subsidies and licenses for proposed reactors.

Please follow this link and send your elected officials our new ad. Please consider placing it in your newsletter or local newspaper, and on your website and Facebook pages.

Thanks for using it wherever you can. And please support our work by making a donation to Beyond Nuclear today.

Your contribution will help us Move to a Moratorium on Nuclear Power!

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Thank you for working with us for a nuclear-free world.

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The Beyond Nuclear Team

www.beyondnuclear.org









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5.25.2011

Scotts Contracting Storm Damage Repair and Waterproofing

Storm Damage Repair- Roofing, Skylights, Waterproofing, and misc General Repairs.

See Hail Storm Photos taken by Amateur Climatologist Sharon Wendel http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2126076955683.2123535.1358693673

and

**Hail Storm Photos 5/25/2011
http://www.kmov.com/younews/122619894.html

If your home or business was damaged by the Hail Storm email: scottscontracting@gmail.com for a green estimate to repair the Damage.

5.24.2011

St Louis Ameren Coal Fired Electricity Plant Users

Energy Efficient Homes use Less Coal Fired Electricity and Reduce Carbon Emissions -if every home in America reduces their energy use by the average in this program, projected energy usage would drop by more than 26,000 GWh per year-equal to the emissions from three 500-MW coal-fired power plants. The Preceding Quote was from: Alliance to Save Energy


Energy Efficiency Makes Huge Difference

Energy efficiency and home energy management have been developing trends in the last year or two in the relationship between consumers and their utilities. Now comes word of a new study detailing how effective this relationship has the potential to be at driving down home energy costs as well as reducing carbon emissions.

The study, according to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), found that energy reduction behaviors based on data generated from information-based energy efficiency programs reportedly could generate billions in savings for Americans and reduce CO2 emissions by more than 8.9 million metric tons per year on a nationwide level.

Programs from 11 utilities across the country were analyzed in the study, encompassing more than 750,000 households nationwide. It was found, on a national basis, that these information based programs had driven household savings ranging from an average of 1-3 percent per year – mostly through small behavior changes.
The data analyzed includes more than 22 million meter reads gathered over periods of a minimum of twelve months from each of the deployments. The data analyzed came from the home energy reporting program of Opower, an energy management company each of the utilities were working with.

EDF believes that, if every home in America reduces their energy use by the average in this program, projected energy usage would drop by more than 26,000 GWh per year. The previously mentioned carbon emissions savings related to this power reduction is equal to the emissions from three 500-MW coal-fired power plants.



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If you are interested in ways to save $money$ on your Cooling Bills this summer Scotty suggests to weatherize your home and the $Money$ you save will come back to you by decreased Summertime Cooling Bills.  Rule of Thumb: For every $1.00 spend on weatherization, will return $2.00 in savings on your Electric Bills.  Use the email address below for additional $Money$ saving cooling tips.


*Scott's Contracting*

Green Me UP-Scotty
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://scottscontracting.wordpress.com
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5.20.2011

Rapture

If for some reason I'm not wisked away in the upcoming Rapture on May 21st 2011.  I'll be available for your Green Building Needs in St Louis.  email: scottscontracting@gmail.com about your project.

With Cooling season is approaching- Proper Insulation Levels in your Attic coupled with Ventilation will save you $ on your Summer Time Cooling Bills.

Certified Insulation Installer for: Batt Type, Spray Foam, Loose Fill-

Green and Eco Friendly options are always available.

US Department of Energy and the Green Building Initiative quote that by having:
  "Proper Attic Insulation will save 40% on 
your Summer Time Cooling Costs".
  • Example:  5 months of Cooling Bills= $750 - 40%= $450
  • Savings of $300 
  • When added to winter time savings your Insulation will pay for itself in under 2 years for a standard size home.
There are additional benefits to adding insulation to your home.  If you would like to know more feel free to email: scottscontracting@gmail.com for additional information and to schedule a Green Site Evaluation.

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