Sustainable North

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Sustainable North

Use Your Head, Use Smoke Detectors

May 28th, 2009 · No Comments

BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner May 28th, 2009, Section A3 Don’t keep an open bucket of smoldering ashes in your house. If it doesn’t burn your house down, the carbon monoxide emissions can kill you. This simple fact escaped me during my first winter [...]

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Category: Energy Focus Articles
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EPA’s “Design for the Environment” program certifies household cleaners

April 14th, 2009 · No Comments

For the past several years, the US EPA has been partnering with manufacturers of household cleaners to certify “green” products using a strict list of criteria developed by industry and government.  “Design for the Environment” applies these criteria to each product submitted for certification. According to Clive Davie, an engineer with the EPA, “We ask [...]

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Category: Sustainable Living
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Fairbanks homeowners begin building adventure

December 15th, 2008 · No Comments

Gail Koepf and Rocky Reifenstuhl, Fairbanks, Alaska homeowners, are building a new home using sustainable, energy efficient techniques. CCHRC staff are filming aspects of the construction for use in a future “Best Practices” video about homebuilding in the North. The following is the first entry from Gail’s ongoing journal about the project. We will continue [...]

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Category: Building Structure · Energy, Renewable · Mechanical Systems · Northern Living · Sustainable Living
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Arctic Ocean — the new shipping channel?

December 1st, 2008 · No Comments

From the Anchorage Daily News, on Wednesday, November 26, 2008: With global warming melting the Arctic’s eons-old ice at an alarming rate, shipping and oil companies are looking ahead at how to exploit the new open waters. For the past 30 years, the summer Arctic ice pack has been shrinking. In 2007, the melt reached [...]

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Category: Energy, Information · Sustainable Living
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Making nuclear plants prettier

November 7th, 2008 · No Comments

From the New York Times on November 7, 2008: As the world seeks low-carbon forms of energy production to reduce the emissions blamed for global warming, the champions of nuclear power have been re-branding the industry as one of the world’s greenest. Last month, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency said “nuclear energy is virtually carbon-free” across its [...]

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Category: Energy, Information · Energy, Renewable · Sustainable Living
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Chimney Pipe Safety

October 2nd, 2008 · No Comments

BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner October 2nd, 2008, Section A3 With winter on the horizon, the wood burning season is starting to gain momentum and all indications are that it will be the busiest in recent history. This brings up the topic of chimney safety. Since people [...]

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Consumer Reports examines Energy Star rating

September 29th, 2008 · No Comments

In an article on www.consumerreports.org, posted on September 29, 2008, Consumer Reports blasted the US Department of Energy “Energy Star” rating system, saying “A number of test procedures are out of date or problematic,” says David B. Goldstein, codirector of the energy program at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Part of the reason [...]

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Category: Energy, Information · Legislation and Policy · Sustainable Living
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A greener home

September 19th, 2008 · No Comments

The first of a two-part series, “A Greener Future”, from the LA Times, September 14, 2008: Innovations in designing green chemicals are emerging in nearly every U.S. industry, from plastics and pesticides to toys and nail polish. Some manufacturers of cosmetics, household cleaners and other consumer products are leading the charge, while others are lagging [...]

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Category: Energy, Information · Energy, Renewable · Legislation and Policy · Recycling · Sustainable Living
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Understanding Your Crawl Space

September 18th, 2008 · No Comments

BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner September 18th, 2008, Section A3 Crawl spaces are one of those areas in the house that tend to get neglected. The old adage “Out of sight out of mind” might apply here. Unfortunately, this also means that crawl space problems can go [...]

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Category: Building Structure · Energy Focus Articles · PORTAL · Sustainable Living
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An HRV System Overview

September 11th, 2008 · 6 Comments

BY: Ilya Benesch, Cold Climate Housing Research Center Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner September 11th, 2008, Section A3 Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) systems are a relative newcomer to the cold climate construction scene, yet have become almost indispensible in today’s super-insulated, air tight homes. They are also becoming an increasingly common element in the current [...]

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Category: Energy Focus Articles · Energy, Information · Mechanical Systems · Sustainable Living
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