Are You Aiming for Carbon Neutral?

Jul 9, 2007 Sponsored Posts, Website Reviews

I was invited to take a look at a website on saving energy. Being interested in that topic, what could I do but agree?

I went ahead and signed up with NeutralExistence.com. The idea is to stop global warming by helping people to decrease their carbon emissions. Registration was easy, and there are both free and paid options. Probably the hardest part about registration was thinking about what I pay in electrical and natural gas bills. Those have been on autopay for a long time, and while I take care of bills that need check sent in, my husband tracks the autopay ones, so I hadn’t the foggiest notion off the top of my head.

One of the first places I went was the forum. This is a new site, so these aren’t swamped with people, but not dead either. Registration for this was separate from registration for the rest of the site. I hope they can integrate these soon, since that would make a lot more sense, but I know getting databases to work together can be difficult.

The basic idea of the site, however, is that of a social site, rather like other popular social sites. You have a profile page, you can blog on your site, and so forth.

They have a lot of plans for this site, and it should be interesting to watch them grow. One plan is to have a rating system for how much people have reduced their emissions.

The site is quite new, and there aren’t a lot of members. On the other hand, that means if you want to say hello to me over there, I’m not that hard to find.

Have You Seen a Green Roof?

May 22, 2007 Eco Friendly Home, Sponsored Posts

I find the concept of green roofs and roof gardens quite interesting. Probably in part because I can think of a science fiction story (can’t recall the title just now), where roof gardens were a part of the story. The idea has been around a while.

I can see where one of the challenges would be grass for roof gardens. The linked article talks the advantages of using artificial grass for a roof garden. Artificial grass is, of course, much easier to care for, and lawns are not necessarily the most environmentally friendly things, as they require a great deal of water and trimming. But they sure feel nice!

It’s one of those things where I feel kind of mixed about which is better.

But a roof garden can certainly be good when you have a flat roof. It provides insulation. It provides a quiet sanctuary.

And of course, I do wonder if there are factors I’ve not considered. Has anyone ever seen one of these in action? I’d love to hear about it.