Footprint progress 3

My 3rd post on my carbon footprint reducement progress. I have stopped using the dryer to wash my clothes, I now hang them up inside during the night instead. It still gets the same result and reduces energy use and my carbon footprint.

Eco footprint diary - Thursday 18 June 2009. (Winged Hussar)

This is a diary of my thoughts, about what I can do to help the environment. The smallest things do count, so I am going to start small.

1. I will turn the tap off when I am brushing my teeth.
2. I will have shorter hot showers
3. I will try to avoid using the dryer to dry my clothes and substitute it by hanging my washing on a clothesline or
   
4. I will turn electrical appliances off when i am not using them
   

Sustainable Architecture

On Wednesday 3rd June 2009 Kris Wilson, an Architect from Design house (www.designhouse.co.nz) came in and made a presentation about sustainable architecture. He pointed out that sustainable doesn't just mean eco friendly. He said that a sustainable house must be able to live and interact with the environment and keeping it healthy and happy at the same time. Kris mentioned that you don't have to be an architect to contribute to sustainable architecture. You could be a builder, a plumber, etc. There are three key aspects to Sustainable architecture.
energy Efficiency
High level of insulation
passive solar power
effiecent heating
ventilation
eco friendly light bulbs
thermal mass (concrete absorbing and releasing heat)
Waste Management
Weather resistant cladding
dRecycling while building
Grey water systems ( re usable water)
low flow/ low pressure water taps and shower heads
Building Materials
sRenewable
Non Toxic
Locally made
recycled

Sustainability

On Tuesday 2nd July 2009 Jo and Clement from Waikato University, in association with S.I.F.E (Students In Free Enterprise), Came in to our class and did a presentation about Sustainibility, being eco friendly and worm farming. They mebtioned some common sense things such as the three R's. Reuse, Recycle, reduce. They told us that we only have 1/32 of the earths surface area to grow all the food the world consumes. at the end they talked about worm farming, And how it reduces your rubbish, (half of it in my case). you can also sell the worm juice and keep some for yourself because it works as a brilliant fertiliser. one important thing they talked to us about is the amount of rubbish we produce, and how it is bad that we throw recycable materials away like paper in tin cans, into a hole in the ground which then gets covered over. In New Zealand, there are only 60 open landfills, and 1000 closed landfills.

Eco House

When designing a house there are 5 important things - Floor, Roof, Wall, Door, and Windows.
The Wall is simple. I will use Adobe bricks. If you look at my previous post titled "My Job"
You will see that my profession revolves around clay, which can be used to make adobe bricks. to make adobe bricks, see this link here. For the floor, I will use wood. I know this will eat away at our trees, but i will use bamboo floors. The roof will be made of Adobe as well, but not brick. it will just be smooth and flat. The doors will be entirely made out of wood. For the handle and hinges we will import iron from Mr. Devoy's island, and hire especially trained peoples to fit them. And finally, for the windows I will use double glazed Glass that slides up into the adobe brick wall, with two adjustable things halfway up the window that can stop the window from sliding back down.

for blankets and rugs etc. you could use the wool from sheep. ( i decided to bring breeding sheep with me to the island as one of my six things