GOOD NEWS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels today announced that Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 were 7 percent below 1990 levels, meeting the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. The reduction in climate pollution is even more remarkable considering Seattle’s population grew 16 percent since 1990.
“We should all be proud of achieving the Kyoto goal. We have shown the world that reducing climate pollution is an economic opportunity and it inspires us to do even more,” said Nickels. “Now is the time to take action on the international, national and local levels, recognizing that every household can and must make a difference.”
The 2009 Climate Protection Initiative Progress Report, released today, includes an invntory of greenhouse gas emissions produced by transportation, buildings and industry. For the whole report visit: www.seattle.gov/climate.
Click below to read my latest remodeling column at the Seattle Home Examiner:
BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - WHY STRUCTURAL INSULATED PANELS MAKE GOOD CENTS
http://www.examiner.com/x-13862-Seattle-Home-Improvement-Examiner~y2009m11d17-BABY-ITS-COLD-OUTSIDE--CONSIDER-SIPS-FOR-REDUCING-HEAT-LOSS-IN-YOUR-NEXT-REMODEL
Have you given your home a health check up
For many Americans, their home is their single most important investment and is also where they spend the majority of their time. But how many of us think about giving our homes a "health check up?" If you could hire a professional who could give your home a health check up, test your home for energy leaks and could recommend easy retrofits, which could create healthier indoor air quality, save on utility bills and save hundreds if not thousands of dollars from your upcoming 2009 tax return, through federal tax credits, most of us would ask where do I sign.
Local contractors such as Home Performance, Inc, Vesta Home Performance Retrofitting, Inc and Northwest Homecrafters, Inc., specialize in addressing the problem of providing a complete energy audit and retrofitting Seattle's single family homes to current energy standards from a holistic point of view combining science, technology and the latest advances in sustainable building. As members of Home Performance Washington, a local association of Washington State businesses offering whole house energy efficiency solutions, they can perform a professional energy audit designed to assess your home's energy usage and recommend the most efficient way to enhance your home's energy efficiency, indoor air quality and overall comfort.
Professional energy auditors have successfully completed a training and certification program to ensure the auditors and contractors are fully qualified to assess your house and implement the changes required to make the home more energy efficient.
A professional energy audit assesses the most efficient way to increase the energy performance of the entire home from a holistic approach.
According to the American Lung Association, American adults spend about 90% of their time indoors, and thanks to our more tightly insulated/sealed homes and workplaces, the concentration of pollutants indoors may be even higher than outdoors.
Major indoor pollutants include environmental tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke); combustion by products stemming from improperly vented gas appliances, pet dander, pollen, molds, and dust mites; volatile organic compounds present in paints, cleaners, pesticides, copiers, printers, glues, and adhesives; lead dust from old, lead-based paints; and asbestos. For more information, visit: www.alaw.org.
Reprinted with permission from NW REPORTER a publication of the Seattle King County Association of Realtors
www.nwrealtor.com
RESOURCES: www.homeperformanceinc.com, www.northwesthomecrafters.com, www.vestaperformance.com
