“Green Building” can mean more than just building environmentally-friendly or energy-efficient structures – clean energy and green techniques can also be used during the construction process itself. This videos show how 150 construction workers in Binghamton, New York are on the job without a single conventional generator in use. Instead, their entire project is powered by wind and solar energy systems. Needless to say, the final products of their work will be energy efficient as well.

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From the Ground up, by a Single Mom

This is a great video from a single mom who built her own straw bale home for $50,000 while working still full time and living on the land.  She gives some excellent advice here for anyone who is considering building their own straw bale home, from labor, to coding, to construction.

She also has a great website, HouseOfStraw.com, which I definitely recommend to anyone who is considering straw bale construction for their home, or sustainable green building in general.  You will find great information, from someone who has been through it all.

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Pearly white molding neatly lining the ceiling and floors—a classic interior decorating touch that we all know and love.  Most homeowners choose different types of wood, painted white, for their molding in their new homes—and why wouldn’t they?  That has been the only option . . . until now, that is.  We now have a new product that looks identical to wood, but has recycles wasted materials—Introducing recycled styrofoam molding.

Post-consumer cups and packaging materials are now being transformed into elegant pieces of molding.   The process involves melting down the slew of white fluffy stuff into a near-liquid that settles in molds as long, solid pieces.  According to some estimates, polystyrene (the technical name for Styrofoam) waste products make up nearly a quarter of the trash in landfills. Now all of the styrofoam that comes with a new computer that aren’t traditionally recycled can actually be broken down into smaller parts and recast as totally new products.

The best part about a wood-alternative like styrofoam?  The light weight molding requires no fancy equipment like hammers and nails or saws and sandpaper.  All you need is some caulk, and the molding should stay adhered to your ceiling or wall for upwards of 30 years.  What’s more, the product is typically less expensive than wood.  Don’t you love it when the small changes you make to green your home are good for the environment, and your wallet.

For more information about the recycling process, check out PlanetGreen’s interview video with Todd Sutton.

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