Red Hot and Green

The new show on HGTV called RED, HOT and GREEN is hip, fun and informative. It sounds like it could be a show about Mexican vegetarian cuisine… but it’s an eco-friendly renovation show. Carter Oosterhouse is the big star of the network and he’s not only a hotty but he knows his stuff. I’ve only seen the show once, but I have seen Carter’s other show, Carter Can, and his furniture building skills are amazingly impressive! Nicole Facciuto is a great sidekick and designer… her stuff is top notch. What makes this show a recipe for success? The talents of the carpenter and designer, and it’s slick, well produced quality.

Environmentally friendly… burritos??!!

Ok… so Chipotle has gone green! I’m so excited… Their store in Gurnee, Illinois is LEED Silver-certified. LEED certified means “energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.” Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? To find out more go to the United States Green Building Council website.

They’ll have a wind turbine on site to generate electricity, use recycled drywall and barn metal for the building itself, and lots of other goodies for conserving water and energy. A round of applause! And I love their burritos to boot!

Put the roof in your pipe and smoke it!

Did the grass hut go out of style? The Flinstones certainly don’t think so. Fred is about as eco-friendly as you can get, but I do wonder if he wears leather (not in the bedroom… where’s your head?)

I think Elton John was onto something when he “sat on the roof and picked off the moss”… Five percent of everything that goes into a landfill comes from roofing industry, so we really need to give this industry a second glance in durability and sustainability.

This waterproofing membrane is usually what causes pesky leaks – it’s exposed to extreme temps and can breakdown over time. Dow’s inverted roof (or PMR) uses Styrofoam insulation above the waterproofing membrane, and can be used with any roof type.

It’s a sustainable product because it “reduces the total energy consumption of the building.” It’s said to reduce monthly electric bills which in turn lowers pollution from burning fossil fuels (ie. less carbon monoxide in the air.) Also it’s said to be a recycled product.

Let’s talk about the veggie roof. The most common of the veggie roofs is an intensive garden roof – which is like another lawn. It needs to be mowed regularly and a wider variety of plants can be used. The biggest benefit of a veggie roof is that it is cooler and absorbs heat so it reduces energy costs.

Why Filter the Love?

My ever-so-thrifty and ingenious father-in-law passed on this great list of uses for coffee filters. It reminded me of the various articles in Domino Magazine and Martha Stewart Living that provide lists for Aha! uses of everyday household items.  It’s ECO! Join in the fun and share some of your Aha! uses with only ONE essential ingredient.

1. Cover  bowls or dishes when cooking in the  microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows and  mirrors.  Coffee filters are lint-free so they’ll leave windows  sparkling.
3.  Protect China.   Separate your good dishes by putting a  coffee  filter between each dish.
4.  Filter broken cork from wine.  If you break the cork when  opening a wine  bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5.  Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the  skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6.  Apply shoe polish.  Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7.  Recycle frying oil.  After frying, strain oil through a sieve  lined with a coffee filter.
8.  Weigh chopped foods.  Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a  kitchen scale.
9.  Hold tacos.  Coffee filters make con venient wrappers for messy  foods.
10.  Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot.  Line a plant  pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through  the drainage holes.
11.  Prevent a Popsicle from dripping.  Poke one or two holes as  needed in a coffee filter.
12.  Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows?  Use  strips of coffee filters.
13.  Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken  fingers, etc on them.  Soaks out all the grease.
14.  Keep in the bathroom.  They make great “razor nick  fixers.”

None other than Martha herself (or her genius, ever crafty staff) makes a Fairy Godmother costume out of 100 coffee filters! Too cool for school…