Part 4 of Mold: Enemy of a Healthy Home. Guidelines for Mitigation and Personal Protection Common intervention methods reported in the literature for residential mitigation of mold hazards include: Location and removal of sources of moisture (control of dampness and humidity and repair of water leakage problems). Increasing ventilation. Use of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) […]
Part 2 of Mold: Enemy of a Healthy Home. Environmental and Housing Factors Affecting Mold Growth In indoor environments, mold originates from two sources: mold infiltrating from outdoors (e.g., through open windows), and mold colonization on the interior of the home. Molds can obtain nutrients and moisture sufficient for growth from water-affected building materials such […]
Part 1 of United States Climate Change Impact. What is this Series? this Series summarizes the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It is largely based on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and integrates those results with related […]
Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from plants. Essentially non-drinkable grain alcohol, ethanol is produced by fermenting plant sugars. It can be made from corn, sugar cane, and other starchy agricultural product. The cellulose in agricultural wastes such as waste woods and corn stalks (also know as “cellulosic ethanol”) can also be used as a […]
Overview It is natural and all around us. It comes up from the ground, down through the atmosphere, and even from within our own bodies. It can be man-made too. But it’s nothing new. It’s been present since the birth of the planet. It is radiation, and radiation is, quite simply, part of our lives. […]
A National Cancer Institute (NCI) survey published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, March 20, 1991, showed no general increased risk of death from cancer for people living in 107 U.S. counties containing or closely adjacent to 62 nuclear facilities. The facilities in the survey had all begun operation before 1982. Included were […]
Introduction Those who depend on foreign oil for transportation fuel have seen prices roller-coaster between $5/gallon and $1.75/gallon and back up again. The economic impact of our dependence on foreign oil could not be clearer. To get off the roller-coaster, smart consumers are looking at the expanding availability of advanced, efficient vehicles, including hybrids and […]
Part 1 of Advanced Technology and Alternative Fuel Vehicles. Transportation accounts for more than 67% of oil consumption in the USA-more than it produces. Today, our country imports more than 54 percent of its oil, and suggested that this could increase to 75% by 2010. According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the average vehicle […]
Part 3 of Air-Source Heat Pumps. When selecting an air-source heat pump, consider the following three characteristics carefully: the energy efficiency rating, sizing, and the system’s components. Energy efficiency rating In the United States, we rate a heat pump’s energy efficiency by how many British thermal units (Btu) of heat it moves for each watt-hour […]
Part 1 of Zero Energy Community. Vista Montaña In August 2003, Clarum Homes opened the doors at Vista Montaña, California’s largest Zero Energy Home community, with homes designed to use almost zero net electricity over the course of a year. Built on a former apple orchard, all homes in the development will harvest the sun to […]
Part 8 of Elements of an Energy-Efficient House. The following are sources of additional information on energy-efficient houses: The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Clearinghouse (EREC) P.O. Box 3048 Merrifield, VA22116 1-800-DOE-EREC (1-800-363-3732) EREC provides free general and technical information to the public on many topics and technologies pertaining to energy efficiency and renewable energy. […]
Part 9 of Ways to Save Money on Energy at Home. Appliances account for about 20% of your household’s energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list. When you’re shopping for appliances, you can think of two price tags. The first one covers the purchase price—think of […]