While riding out Hurricane Irene in suburban New Jersey at my brother’s house this weekend, I got to see permeable pavement in action. The storm dumped over 7 inches of rain onto his town in about 12 hours. As I was out walking my dog in the worst of it, I saw water streaming off [...]
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Permeable Pavement
Making pavement impervious to water only seems like a good idea. In fact, it creates a huge and serious problem. Whenever precipitation accumulates, the water travels across the pavement to street gutters, picking up contaminants along the way — from motor oil to dog poop. This noxious mix then flows into storm sewers, which empty [...]
Low VOC Paint is Best
Recently, I’ve had experience in my home with low-VOC paint as well as conventional paint. The first left the place virtually odor-free; the second filled it with noxious fumes from volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Possible health effects from VOC exposure include headache, dizziness and respiratory problems in the short-run — and liver, kidney and neurological [...]
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This Green Blog is the companion blog to NRDC's This Green Life, a green living column written by Sheryl Eisenberg for the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Subscribe to get it for FREE each month.) Sheryl has also written Greentips for the Union of Concerned Scientists and designs websites for environmental groups and others with her firm, Mixit Productions.
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