"Remember that using a few green items is better than using none"

The U.K.'s Times reports that "a stylish and eco-conscious home can be created pretty cheaply." This article was very interesting, especially one VERY sobering quote that caught my eye, "According to The Ecologist, 2.5 million tons of timber is removed from libraries, churches, hospitals, pubs and homes each year in the UK." If that is JUST the UK, what are we doing in the US?

While we all know some resources for re-using materials (think Craigslist, salvage yards and friends/relatives), there are other great guidelines and sites forming for NEW eco-friendly materials.

According to "guidelines by the interior designers One Eco Home: (new)products should be made from recycled and recyclable materials, or they should be made from a renewable material and wood should have been grown sustainably (look for the FSC or PEFC stamps); they should be made locally." Also, look for "finish(es) on hard and soft furnishings should be free from chemical lacquers, preservatives, bleaches and if possible toxic flame retardants." The Times lists various means of obtaining eco-friendly products in the UK.

This brings up a great point, though (WARNING: Rant ahead). As Interior Designers, we are very concerned with the health, safety and welfare of the users or the spaces we create. Flame retardant coatings were created for a very specific reason: To protect the public. We have all heard of the nightclub fires where many people were killed as a result of extreme flame spread. Until there are viable natural alternatives to these chemicals, we have an ethical dilema on our hands. Okay, back to the articles...

So what about new products available in the USA? There is a great website called ecolect which is a "Community for Sustainable Design". And there's always Craigslist.

"The Future's So Bright..."

So we're not talking about the Timbuk3 song from 1986, but the bright and exciting future of LED lightbulbs. Lightbulbs, you say? Yawn....

Well, it its sustainable design and in fact, very cool technology. Just read on:

A great website that we found to explain, and sell the benefits of the LED revolution is http://www.ccrane.com

Some of the benefits of using LED bulbs:

• LED bulbs offers a warmer glow, with better color rendering than fluorescents
• LED's do not contain mercury, as fluorescent bulbs do
  
• One LED bulb can last up to 60,000 hours (in comparison, one 60 watt incandescent bulb will last only 1,000 hours)
• Uses only 2-10 watts of electricity (1/3rd of compact fluorescent or 1/30th of incandescent bulbs)
• Cool to the touch, unlike halogen or standard incandescent
  
• Very durable bulb with no filaments to break
• Instant on-off, with no warm-up time
• Fully dimmable

You say that you like your standard incandescent bulbs? Think about having to change the bulbs every year or so, the waste in our landfills, the energy you pay for every day...

Now who wouldn't want to try LED bulbs? Look at the initial cost as an investment, install the bulb and forget about it for the next 20-30 years...