Green Buildings & Burials

-- Quote of the Day --

“Green burial is when a person is buried in a biodegradable container, or nothing at all, and being returned to earth’s soil. …Being buried without metals, plastics, chemicals or concrete …without toxic glues and varnishes. The main way people choose to do this is through an earth friendly casket crafted out of wood, or bamboo, banana leaves or willow.”
~ Feb 4th – Elizabeth Fournier

Check out the interview, where this quote came from, by clicking on the show title: Green Funerals, which aired on Conscious Discussions Talk Radio back on Feb 4th, 2010.

-- Curbing Rising Temperatures --

If we as humans want to have a fair chance at curbing the current trend of rising temperatures across the globe we must reduce our emissions by 80%.

Buildings are responsible for 40% of global energy consumption, yet building efficiency can be improved by 80% with cost-effective energy savings improvements, such as new insulation.

The Canadian province – Ontario has been recognized as a world leader in conservation as well as the production and distribution of renewable energy – the province has recently passed the Green Energy Act which requires a home seller to provide the buyer with an EneGuide Rating for the home. This provides the buyer with the right knowledge to weigh out the pro’s and con’s of that property based on rebates available for improvements.

In 2009 the Canadian government provided an economy stimulus budget to provide funding to help stimulate the housing sector and improve building efficiency. The US had a similar program, but offered the additional benefit of providing more help to those with a lower income.

According to a booklet put out by Roxul Inc. (a rockwool insulation company) titled Climate & Environment 2009 - stated that in the United States alone, buildings account for 72% of electricity consumption, 39 percent of energy use, 38 % of CO2 emissions, 40% of raw materials used, 14% of potable water consumption, and 30% of waste output (construction results in 136 million tons of waste annually in the US).

Find Dave & Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio shows & free resources & articles at www.brummet.ca