Creating A Greenhome: Are You Sacrificing Health for Environmental Sustainability?
Building a new greenhome--or simply retrofitting your home for environmental sustainability--is an essential endeavor in today's world.
It's also a highly complicated one, as you can see in sorting through the hundreds of tips offered online in selecting green materials and methods for greening your home.
One mistake some people make is in over--focusing on the environmental sustainability aspects of their greening efforts--and sacrificing their health in the process.
Yes, it's important to save energy, but don't forget about your family's health in the process.
Indoor Air Quality in your Greenhome For instance, it's possible to lock in mold, animal dander and carcinogens caused by chemicals in the materials used by making your home as airtight as you can in order to conserve energy.
Mold is the biggest organic culprit and can especially be caused by incorrect energy conservation retrofits that trap moisture in walls and other building cavities.
Formaldehyde is probably the most dangerous of the carcinogens used in materials sometimes recommended for "green" building.
Many products, including particle board, are glued together with urea formaldehyde that can outgas for years.
Other carcinogens that are fairly standard in constructing and remodeling homes are vinyl chloride, used to make PVC flooring and shower curtains, and synthetic rubber in carpeting.
There are several great resources on the subject of indoor air quality and energy efficiency of green building.
Electromagnetic Exposure in Your Greenhome Another mistake people make in trying to create a greenhome with environmental sustainability in mind is forgetting about the amount of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) they're creating in their home.
Green tips often include the use of the energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs that have become so popular--which are indeed great for conserving energy and money--but are not great for our health.
They not only give off a huge amount of EMFs, they also contain mercury.
Going wireless is another tip often given in greenhome suggestion blogs.
As convenient as the wireless industry has made our modern lives, it's also brought on significant health challenges for many people.
Scientific literature abounds with the link between EMFs (especially the wireless kind) and many major diseases.
Perhaps the greatest mistake people can make in creating a greenhome is in using solar panels-and not realize that the inverters on the panels emit a huge amount of hazardous EMFs into the home's environment, especially if they're inside the home or on the roof.
Fortunately, you don't have to give up your solar panels or your cell phone and Wi-Fi-or even your energy-saving light bulbs.
You can protect yourself from EMFs.
Explore information on the health effects of EMFs and easily installed home EMF protection systems.
There are so many new possibilities for environmental sustainability and creating a health greenhome for both the planet and your whole family.
Enjoy the process!
It's also a highly complicated one, as you can see in sorting through the hundreds of tips offered online in selecting green materials and methods for greening your home.
One mistake some people make is in over--focusing on the environmental sustainability aspects of their greening efforts--and sacrificing their health in the process.
Yes, it's important to save energy, but don't forget about your family's health in the process.
Indoor Air Quality in your Greenhome For instance, it's possible to lock in mold, animal dander and carcinogens caused by chemicals in the materials used by making your home as airtight as you can in order to conserve energy.
Mold is the biggest organic culprit and can especially be caused by incorrect energy conservation retrofits that trap moisture in walls and other building cavities.
Formaldehyde is probably the most dangerous of the carcinogens used in materials sometimes recommended for "green" building.
Many products, including particle board, are glued together with urea formaldehyde that can outgas for years.
Other carcinogens that are fairly standard in constructing and remodeling homes are vinyl chloride, used to make PVC flooring and shower curtains, and synthetic rubber in carpeting.
There are several great resources on the subject of indoor air quality and energy efficiency of green building.
Electromagnetic Exposure in Your Greenhome Another mistake people make in trying to create a greenhome with environmental sustainability in mind is forgetting about the amount of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) they're creating in their home.
Green tips often include the use of the energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs that have become so popular--which are indeed great for conserving energy and money--but are not great for our health.
They not only give off a huge amount of EMFs, they also contain mercury.
Going wireless is another tip often given in greenhome suggestion blogs.
As convenient as the wireless industry has made our modern lives, it's also brought on significant health challenges for many people.
Scientific literature abounds with the link between EMFs (especially the wireless kind) and many major diseases.
Perhaps the greatest mistake people can make in creating a greenhome is in using solar panels-and not realize that the inverters on the panels emit a huge amount of hazardous EMFs into the home's environment, especially if they're inside the home or on the roof.
Fortunately, you don't have to give up your solar panels or your cell phone and Wi-Fi-or even your energy-saving light bulbs.
You can protect yourself from EMFs.
Explore information on the health effects of EMFs and easily installed home EMF protection systems.
There are so many new possibilities for environmental sustainability and creating a health greenhome for both the planet and your whole family.
Enjoy the process!