Healthier Homes, Healthier You, Healthier Planet

September 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Part II

So How Do I Get There?

Its about lifestyle that is the focus that each individual needs to make. Sustainable Lifestyles include obvious, the 3R’s Reducing, Reusing and Recycling.

Lets start with reducing. Our resources on this planet are being overtaken by man. We (in the United States) use 1/3 of the world’s resources, yet we are only 3% of the world’s population. That is a bit of excess is it not? Our society would like you to believe in obscenest consumerism. Buying a new object because the old one is not good anymore. It used to be vogue to be thrifty, crafty and handy. The things you do use can often be used over and over again – either for the same purpose or for something totally new. Be creative. Not only are you cutting back on your resource use; you’ll also end up with some cool eye-catching conversation starters.

Recycling is something that we all do (or should); Set aside bins in your home to separate and collect recyclable materials, including newspapers, white paper, clear and colored glass, plastic water and milk bottles, aluminum, cardboard, batteries and fluorescent light bulbs. Check with your local trash-collection company, municipal government or business directory to find out what recycling services are available. Be valiant with regards to your recycling efforts. IF your town does not collect product A, look for places that do. You may even be surprised to learn that you can earn a little cash for proper recycling!

Packing peanuts and other loose fill will sit in a landfill for centuries, but there are lots of places you can bring them for recycling. Call the Peanut Hotline at 1-800-828-2214.

Many computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronics include toxic materials that should not sit in landfills, and you’d be surprised how many retailers and other companies will take your old gadgets for recycling. The Environmental Protection Agency can help you find local electronics recyclers.

And that’s not all: Did you know you can recycle athletic shoes? Mattresses? Dry-cleaning hangers and plastic? Here are seven items you didn’t know you could recycle.

Lets talk about reusing. There are all types of reusing that can be done and the one that brings us here today is Remodeling. Right? What is the most earth-friendly thing you can do with your home when contemplating a renovation? Yes it is reusing your existing home, finding existing materials that can be-repurposed and locating materials for your new home from sources that include recycled content. These building renovations have been given a name. GREEN BUILDINGS

ah! clean green
Anastasia Harrison, AIA, IAQA, LEED
Shaklee Independant Distributor
Office/Cell 908-591-1945
email: greenclean@homeharrison.com
web: www.shaklee.net/anastasia/getclean

Posted by Anastasia Harrison AIA LEED-AP | Filed Under Mothers musings 

Healthier Homes, Healthier You, Healthier Planet

September 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Part I
Why all the hype lately? In the past several months I have come to realize the ease of the message. Being involved with eco-minded building design for nearly 10 years has been a struggle, but not as of late. Financiers, economists, and environmentalist have marked December 2007 as the BEGINNING of the green revolution. Oh and what a revolution it has become.
For more years than I can remember healthy building alternative materials and building it differently was taboo. Finding materials that did not contain such heavy levels of toxins were impossible! Distribution of building supplies by the BOX STORES became commonplace and cheap. Oh did I say cheap, and that means used by more and more people, fixing, repairing and renovating their homes, themselves. This is the perfect storm of sorts. Chemicals being sold to general consumers not technically savvy on how to use them; finding different purposes for the original intentions; and keeping the unused portions in their garage, basement etc around for years; continues to pose health problems for all of us.
No the other side, keeping your new stuff shiny. How do we clean our homes? How is our stuff maintained? Well if a product is on TV marketed to us as the next new and best thing, then found on our grocery store shelves we believe it to be safe. RIGHT? Not necessarily. Over 100,000 new chemicals have been introduced into our environment in the last 40 or so years, with less than 10% of them being tested and or reviewed by the EPA. Who is watching out for us?
Well I’m not really sure to tell you the truth. Working in the design and construction community for over 20 years, I have seen many ‘new’ products, new processes using traditional products and the swing to make everything old new again. The latest shift in the science of stuff seems to be swinging in all directions; eco-friendly, natural, bio-degradable, green, healthy. What does all this mean?
This new green revolution has made a tidal wave with all that we do, especially in my industry. The science is in: The momentum to save the planet is has begun, but going green isn’t just about finding a sustainable alternative to the way in which we live. It is not about reversing global warming either. For me it means creating a safer place for my kids to play, improving my own heath, and saving money.

www.wesketch.com
www.homeharrison.com

Posted by Anastasia Harrison AIA LEED-AP | Filed Under Mothers musings 

Every woman has a story. What’s yours?

August 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment

There’s a place where real voice rule, where women can write and publish stories about anything that matters to them. It’s called DivineCaroline.com and you’re invited to come and explore, read, write and make connections. One area of the site we think you’ll really appreciate is Parenting.

DivineCaroline is new, but the community is already an active one. So come and wander around. When you’re ready to join in, registration is fast and free. Hope to see you soon at DivineCaroline.com (link to: http://www.divinecaroline.com/?CMP=GP_MM_E38)

Posted by Dr. Natalie Geary MD | Filed Under Dr Geary, Mothers musings 

WHY? WHY ME?

June 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Working in the design and construction community for over 20 years, I have seen many ‘new’ products, new processes using traditional products, and the swing to make everything old new again. The latest shift in the science of buildings seems to be swinging in all directions. New materials that are ’sustainable’, improved materials that are better for our environment, and old materials being used the way they always were. The trend to go green with everything has made a tidal wave with all that we do, especially in my industry. The science is in: The momentum to save the planet is has begun, but going green isn’t just about finding a sustainable alternative to the way in which we live. It is not about reversing global warming either. For me it means creating a safer place for my kids to play, improving my own heath, and saving money.

Changing the way in which we do everything as we know it demands a radical overhaul of everything learned. As with a new year’s resolution, change is not something take lightly. The process needs to be made one step at a time. Simple weekly adjustments can be made in everyone’s lives, including your children, you home and even the dog! But if you think going green demands a radical overhaul of your life, think again.

Anastasia Harrison, AIA, LEED-AP, IAQA Anastasia Harrison, is an architect at the forefront of the dialogue of green building and healthier indoor air solutions for common household items. A frequent lecturer on the USGBC speaker circuit, her comments on green design and indoor air quality have seen her featured in the state’s largest newspaper, the Star Ledger in addition to NJ Biz and the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Journal, and even for the radio program “The Balancing Act for Women” where she will specifically discussed indoor air quality.

As technical specialists here at the IAQA Event, we all understand the importance of healthier buildings, we are trained on how to solve problems. But when all of the professionals are gone, and their work is done, what is the homeowner to do to ensure that the problems do not return? Or even cause other problems for themselves? This lecture is to discuss just that… How to live everyday in a contaminated world and made the most educated decisions for ourselves and our families.

download pdf to read complete article

Posted by Anastasia Harrison | Filed Under Mothers musings 

Mothers Musings

January 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Most days, I dream of being the quintessential urban mom.

I’d sport high-heeled suede boots and a coat that follows whatever trend has been featured lately in the Style section of the Sunday Times as I take my son to the playground. Or I’d show up for my daughter’s third-grade teacher conference perfectly coiffed and enter data about little Madison’s improved reading skills in my palm pilot. When I stop on the way home from an oh-so-busy day to meet a friend for a glass of Pinot Noir at some chic bistro, my driver would keep the engine of my black oversize Escalade idling out front. And on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I attend a hot yoga class, I’d barely sweat. The only problem with this dream is that it’s not me. And unless I go through some shape-shifting, life-altering transformation, it never will be. (Although my son, Harry, tells me there’s still hope if I became a Transformer.)Instead, I live about an hour outside a big City. My only child and object of all my affection is Harry, a second grader. He plays town soccer and throws a football in the back yard with his father when we can peel him off the couch. We live with five pets – two large Labs, a 26-pound cat with Nantucket paws, and Car and Truck - two very smelly rabbits. I even drive a Volvo, the backseat of which is filled with Goldfish cracker crumbs, Pokemon cards, and completed schoolwork that I have no place to store because my basement floods with relative regularity and yet I can’t bear to throw out because these papers mark various milestones - or pebbles - in Harry’s education. (My personal favorite is a math worksheet to solve the riddle: What did one eye say to the other? Answer: Something between us smells. Now there’s $25,000 of tuition dollars at work.)

When I had my son later in life (I was 35), I vowed I’d be the parent that gave him only pureed organic vegetables and wooden toys. There would be absolutely, positively no television or electronics of any kind. He certainly wouldn’t get a present every time we went to the Super Stop ‘n Shop, and under no circumstances would we be Family Bedsters. This fantasy – like my urban motherhood myth – lasted all of about two hours, when, during his first night on the planet, Harry screamed uncontrollably until he was curled up by my side in the hospital bed. Our house is now a repository for every conceivable piece of plastic. Harry got a Nintendo DS for Christmas; I went on eBay to find a Wii; and I’ve even been known to pay him to babysit himself by watching the Disney Channel.Why the switch? First of all, I quickly discovered that I was mortal. Motherhood presented challenges I never knew I’d face – like saying “No” for starters. And having come from a family of girls to now raise a son presents a particular array of challenges – most of which have to do with an overload of testosterone. These are what I’ll share in Nancy’s News. It’s a mother’s musings, which I hope you’ll find amusing.
Let me know what you think.
Nancy

Posted by Dr. Natalie Geary MD | Filed Under Mothers musings, Parents