Posts tagged "Being Green" | Show All

†21 April 2009

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Since moving in, we have been surprised at what litte waste we are generating.We started composting and have two bins going, one for kitchen scraps and one for leaf mold. In our tropical climate, the compost is decomposing fast, and after three weeks, a rich black soil has developed in our big blue bin.In addition to composting, we now shop for almost all our groceries at the central market located a few blocks from our house. We buy a selection of fruits and veges that get placed directly into our Mexican-style shopping bag with zero packaging. What packaging we do aquire (a bag of chocolate mole sauce for example) tends to be thin, flimsy plastic that gets reused at least once before heading to the trash.At the end of each week, we create three small bags of waste. One contains glass bottles to be recycled, one is food scraps that cannot be composted, and the third (the smallest) is everything else. It’s pretty amazing how much less waste we produce through some minor changes to our daily habits.

Since moving in, we have been surprised at what litte waste we are generating.

We started composting and have two bins going, one for kitchen scraps and one for leaf mold. In our tropical climate, the compost is decomposing fast, and after three weeks, a rich black soil has developed in our big blue bin.

In addition to composting, we now shop for almost all our groceries at the central market located a few blocks from our house. We buy a selection of fruits and veges that get placed directly into our Mexican-style shopping bag with zero packaging. What packaging we do aquire (a bag of chocolate mole sauce for example) tends to be thin, flimsy plastic that gets reused at least once before heading to the trash.

At the end of each week, we create three small bags of waste. One contains glass bottles to be recycled, one is food scraps that cannot be composted, and the third (the smallest) is everything else. It’s pretty amazing how much less waste we produce through some minor changes to our daily habits.

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16 February 2009

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Ventilation = Comfort

In Mérida, a well-ventilated house is key. Bringing a steady flow of fresh air helps flush the humidity, keeps people cool(er) and is the best cooling strategy for the climate.

Upon revisiting our design today, we realize our plan is not very ventilation friendly. The central courtyard, for instance, is sheltered from wind on all sides with little or no airflow across the space (bad thing).

We need to do a better job as this is where we are trying to push most of our outdoor living.  As such, we’re backtracking our design with an eye to maximizing ventilation strategies.

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