Remodeling Building Systems: April 2008 Archives
How Your House Works: A visual guide to understanding and maintaining your home, by Charlie Wing
Before my parents allowed me to drive, they suggested I learn how to change a tire and check the oil. And learn to read the dashboard widgets!
The same might apply to a house. The head(s) of every apartment and house might need to know the basics. How the plumbing can be shut off in case of a flooded room. How the thermostat works. How the bathroom stool works.
And in the throes of learning how to take care of these minor emergencies, it just might happen that you learn how to make minor repairs that will save you many "retail" level repair bills, and give you the satisfaction of truly being the king or queen of your domain.
This book is a good start in the right direction. It gives clear visual diagrams to help you see beyond the obvious skins of modern magic.
Potential culprits are debated, with causes asfar ranging as climate change and mutated viruses to pesticides and even cell phone signals. But the answer is elusive.
What most people don't know is that honey bees are not "native" bees in most parts of the world. These hard working "domesticated" bees actually originated in Europe and have been transported around the world to help pollinate crops. Native bees are also available around the world, and are usually solitary little critters. They don't mass in hives -- so they haven't been good for honey production and not domesticated for pollination, either. But pollinate, they do! Most of nature relies on native bee pollination.
One of these native bees in the US is the Orchard Mason Bee.
Mason bee nesting blocks are available at Clean Air Gardening today for $19.99
Learn more about Orchard Mason Bees at the NCSU.edu website.
The Orchard Mason Bee is the common name of a nonsocial native bee
(Osmia lignaria ssp.) that pollinates our spring fruit trees, flowers
and vegetables. This gentle, blue-black metallic bee does not live in hives.
In nature it nests within hollow stems, woodpecker drillings and insect
holes found in trees or wood. Sometimes there may be dense collections
of individual nest holes, but these bees neither connect or share nests,
nor help provision or protect each others' young. Also, they are active
for only a short period of the year. 
They are not aggressive and one may observe them at very close range without fear of being stung, which makes them excellent for enhancing our yards and gardens. They add beauty, activity and pollination to our plantings. However, they do not produce honey.
The female Orchard Mason Bee visits flowers to collect pollen for its
young. She forms a small ball of pollen and nectar in the back of the nesting
tube and lays an egg on the ball. She then collects mud to form a cell
partition and repeats the pollen ball-egg laying process until she reaches
the mouth of the tube where she caps the end with mud.
Nest Block Construction
The native eastern species of Orchard Mason Bee will nest in holes drilled in a wooden block. Untreated 4" x 6" lumber works great. Holes can be drilled in the wood on 3/4 inch centers. They should be 4-8" deep (depending upon the size lumber used), smooth, and a 5/16" diameter hole is important. A smaller hole encourages higher production of male bees which reduces the reproductive potential of the population. Blocks may be drilled from either face giving shallower or deeper holes. Shallower holes may produce more male bees. Do not drill completely through the lumber. Drill the hole to a depth about 1/2 inch from the back of the block. Attach a roof to provide protection from the midday sun and rain. Outside surfaces may be painted or stained, but do not use wood preservatives. One hole may be drilled in the back to provide a means of hanging the block. Face nesting blocks as close to the southeast direction as possible to catch morning sun and affix it firmly so that it does not sway in the wind. It should be located at least three feet above the ground.
These bees need mud to construct cell partitions, so adding a mud supply may be helpful if needed. This can be a trench or tub located nearby where muddy soil is maintained during the nesting period. The mud should not be highly organic or sandy. Clay soils work well.
Do not move the blocks during the weeks of active nesting. Once all
nesting activity has stopped, the nesting block may be moved to a shelter
such as a shed or unheated garage. Be gentle when moving occupied
blocks at this time of year. This will give the bees added protection from
predators and parasites, yet will allow them exposure to the cold temperatures
that they need to break hibernation. If desired, bee emergence can be delayed
for a short period by refrigerating the block in the spring until you are
ready for the bees to emerge. Bees will need three days to warm up following
refrigeration.
Orchard Bees are sometimes reared in cardboard tubes, hollow reeds, or straws. Cardboard tubes and straws need more protection from weather and parasites. Paper straws allow better inspection and manipulation. Plastic straws hold moisture and allow mold to develop and are not recommended. Bees may also be purchased commercially.
You can be creative with your nesting blocks. Blocks can be made from any shape wood. They may be cut to a fancy shape, be a small piece of dead tree limb, fence post or scrap of firewood. You can vary the diameter of the drilled holes to attract different species of tube-nesting bees or nonsocial, beneficial wasps.
Your Local, Native Bees
Bee species vary by ecosystem and location. You can foster native bees that pollinate agricultural and wilderness plants by learning about your own local species and providing them with habitat. Habitat includes plants for foraging (for both food and nesting) and even houses to encourage their prolific reproduction to keep pace with the need in local agriculture.You can also help the native bee population by educating gardeners, lawn care professionals, farmers and homeowners about preventing unnecessary death of these bees with chemicals. Pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals kill beneficial insects as well as unwanted insects. By choosing to use Integrated Pest Management practices, we can foster beneficial insect populations, reduce toxins in our water and soil systems...and maintain the balance of species required to foster a thriving ecosystem.
You can help remodel your lawn and garden for natural habitat!
Your work can be in spurts..but very important!
Designed in Australia, where water conservation is extremely important, the HET dual flush water-saving toilet uses, at most, 1.6 gallons per flush. “Dual flush” means that this toilet has two different types of flushing. One for liquids (or #1), which is only .8 gallon of water, and one for solids ( like #2, c’mon let’s be grownups about this!), which is only 1.6 gallons of water. At its biggest flush, this water still uses less than the standard new toilets, which use 1.8 gallons of water per flush. That’s up to 50-75% savings!
Remodeling doesn't always mean ripping out walls -- if you think green, you can rip out utility costs!
The project has gained steam in the past few months as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and some of the biggest names in the wine business have signed on; in March, county supervisors approved $1 million for a feasibility study. The flurry of interest comes as more cities and businesses take a hard look at their contributions to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and national labs expand their research to include not just military security, but water, energy and economic security.
Sonoma officials will meet with lawmakers in Washington about allocating money for this project and establishing a fund, similar to the Community Development Block Grant Program, to pay for similar projects all over the United States. In addition to federal money, Sonoma is considering revenue bonds and creating a special assessment district.They estimate savings of 90 percent on natural gas and about 50 percent on electricity for heating and cooling. The environmental benefits are hard to quantify - but the county is working on it. Under the wastewater recycling plan, 55- to 60-degree water would be pumped from the treatment plant to the business park through underground pipes into a pump inside each building. Once in the pump, a refrigeration device transfers heat to or from the wastewater. A compressor converts that heat energy into warm or cold air that can be pushed through about 3 million square feet of office space at the business park, replacing the traditional heating and air conditioning systems.
In this "open" system, the water could also be used to irrigate landscaping, or, with a secondary set of pipes, flush toilets. Otherwise, the chilly or hot water - between about 40 degrees and 150 degrees - would pass through underground pipes to two adjacent reservoirs.
The wastewater recovery system could work particularly well for small or midsize cities or suburbs where the energy needed to pump water to low-slung buildings is much less than for skyscrapers.
Why?
"We all know California will have severe droughts in the next 20 to 40 years and that will affect water supply," said Gary Geernaert, director of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Los Alamos National Lab. "This will help us make educated guesses about what the pressures will be on the public and private infrastructure and help build that into the design."
SOURCE: April 2008 SFGATE.com
Life cycle assessment (LCIA) is an internationally standardized (ISO 14044) environmental accounting tool designed to accurately measure the benefits and tradeoffs of each choice.
Developed by leading scientists from 22 countries to provide a scientific bases for environmental claims and green design, Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) sets the new standard for environmental metrics.
Environmental Performance Declarations by SCS
Declarations are based on life cycle assessment (LCIA), and the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) "Decalaration" results are not boiled down to a summary score as in some systems. Each indicator is charted on the declaration so that areas for improvement stand out.
Results are not boiled down to a summary score as in some systems. Each indicator is charted on the declaration so that areas for improvement stand out.
Environmental Performance Declarations provide designers, architects,
facility managers and product manufacturers with a new precise method
of determining the environmental performance of building designs,
office equipment and systems, building operations, and transportation
including air travel and work commutes.
SCS Declarations are available for building design and construction, electric power systems, building materials, building products, and workforce and building operations.
Environmental Performance Building Declarations
Building Declarations provide designers and architects a new precise method of determining the environmental performance of building designs.
Declarations are based on life cycle assessment (LCIA), an internationally standardized (ISO 14044) environmental accounting tool which quantifies environmental performance based on measurable biophysical impacts. According to SCS, "LEED-Rated buildings make improvements in some areas, but leave others unexamined. While the building on the right has a higher LEED rating, its total environmental impacts are much greater that those of the lower-rated building on the left. Only a life cycle perspective shows total impacts."
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Examples of SCS Environmental Performance Declaration of LEED Rated buildings. | |
CONTACT:
Scientific Certification Systems
2200 Powell Street, Suite 725
Emeryville, California 94608
Phone: 510-452-8000
http://www.scscertified.com
