Category: Ask an Expert
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Talking Trash
Forums Recap: Recycling Today, How It Works and What You Can Do To Improve It By Pamela Berns If you’re a New Yorker who actively recycles, you probably know that when it comes to recycling in New York City, tissues count as garbage, not paper, ice cream containers can’t be recycled, and film…
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Resources for Greening Houses of Worship
GreenHomeNYC got a request recently from Brooklynite Adrienne Teleki to help her find information and resources about greening houses of worship. The board and Partners in Practice Advisory Board sent some ideas her way, and Adrienne very kindly summarized them to share with you, our blog readers. Read her note after the jump!
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Grants for energy efficiency retrofits in NY?
I am looking to buy a house but before I do I want to make it as green as I possibly can. I want to put in a geothermal system, a cistern to catch rainwater, energy efficient windows, tankless water heater, composting toilets and other environmental saving features. I know there is money for solar…
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Sources for IEQ-friendly Carpets?
I am building a holistic medical clinic on Long Island and am interested in putting in green/environmental commercial carpets in my treatment room areas. I was wondering if you had any referrals as to where I can purchase these carpets. I am having a hard time finding any companies in New York that sell them.…
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Gowanus Environmental Risks? A Cheatsheet for asking questions about exposure.
I’m considering moving to the section of Gowanus, Brooklyn that abuts Park slope — East of 4th Avenue and South of, say, 12 street. But I’ve heard a lot about environmental issues in Gowanus, not just related to the Canal itself, and I’d like to get an informed opinion about the risks involved in living…
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Low-down on Low-flow Showerheads
GreenHomeNYC founder Aaron Yowell requested tips on low-flow showerheads and we thought we’d share the responses. A showerhead’s water flow is measured in gallons per minute (gpm). A standard showerhead is 5 – 8 gpm, which means a 5 minute shower uses 40 gallons of water. According to NYC’s Department of Environmental Protection, an efficient…
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Greening-up a brownstone
I own a brownstone in Brooklyn and want to have an energy audit and a review of ways to make the building greener in general. Can you offer any recommendations of programs, companies, consultants that do this? Does the city have any incentives or programs to help? -Kippy Kippy, The short answer is yes —…
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Sustainable business resources
I work at a large, well-known internet company and would like to approach the powers that be with a proposal to implement sustainable business practices that will save them money. Where can I go to find information to back up and support such a proposal? Also, do you know of a place in New York…
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Retrofitting Existing Affordable Housing
Here are three questions from a student at Rutgers who was working on a paper about the costs, benefits, and barriers of retrofitting affordable housing to improve energy efficiency: Are the tenants of green affordable homes seeing true savings? Are they increasing awareness about other environmental issues to communities that normally wouldn’t? How are policies…
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Custom green patio door
Where in the NYC region can we buy an FSC-certified, custom wood entryway? We love wood and want something dramatic and functional, but *green*. In priority order: Certified reclaimed lumber, Certified newly cut lumber. Recycled glass would be nice. We’d like a BIG patio door too – same stipulations and decent R-value (U factor) too.…