Recent Green Living Posts
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By Steve Rypka on April 23rd, 2011
 We live in interesting times. Never before have we witnessed so much change in so little time. Whether we resist or embrace change, it is still inevitable, but if we actively embrace the changes we like we can often minimize the change we’d prefer to avoid.
For example, almost everyone in this country uses some sort of fossil or other non-renewable fuel to heat water. We all like the convenience, but few of us like the changes that are occurring on the planet due to greenhouse gases or nuclear catastrophes. Solar hot water systems can help change that.
In January I wrote about new solar hot water system incentives and mentioned that Southwest Gas was due to roll out a new program soon. The Southwest Gas Nevada Smarter Greener Better Solar Water Heating Program (that’s the official name in its glorious entirety) is now up and running.
Continue reading Solar Hot Water – Be the Change!.
By Steve Rypka on March 24th, 2011
 Lately it’s difficult to think about anything except the recent horrific events in Japan. My heart goes out to everyone involved. Disasters like the earthquake and tsunami are mostly unavoidable; they are a natural part of our planet’s evolution. The ongoing nuclear disaster is another story.
The world would be quite a different place without modern technology and I enjoy most of it as much as the next guy. But when a technology holds so much potential for severe, long-term damage, we must know when to alter our course. Even without accidents like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and now Fukushima, many have known intuitively that nuclear energy is just too risky.
Often wrongly touted as a carbon-free source of energy, it is actually far from it. The life-cycle of nuclear energy production produces tremendous amounts of carbon emissions from plant construction, mining, fuel processing, plant decommissioning and waste handling, including transportation and storage (over both the short-term of decades and long-term of thousands of years). Renewable energy is orders-of-magnitude cleaner and infinitely safer.
Continue reading The Insanity of Nuclear Energy.
By Steve Rypka on March 10th, 2011
 This column often explores the exciting transformation taking place in the building industry. Green building programs have grown and multiplied at an amazing rate in recent years. We’ve looked at Energy Star, LEED and even the Living Building Challenge. These programs are important because they raise the bar and provide real-world examples of what is possible, not just what is permissible. They drive innovation and change.
Each program has its own unique approach but they all share a common goal of creating a better world by improving the built environment. Energy efficiency is a key to every meaningful green building program but one program in particular takes it to an entirely new level of performance. I’m talking about Passive House, where energy use reductions of 90% are not uncommon. The term applies to many types of buildings, not just homes.
Continue reading Passive House – Ultra Efficiency.
By Steve Rypka on December 30th, 2010
As 2010 comes to a close, I thought it would be interesting to take a quick run back through the year’s Green Living column topics to reflect on what where we’ve been and perhaps get a glimpse of where we might be going.
Continue reading Looking Back on 2010.
By Steve Rypka on July 29th, 2010
 The sun oven is fired up, steaming hot inside - and totally carbon-free! Renewable energy can be fun, easy, inexpensive – and good tasting. Yes, it’s all those things and more when you get into the joy of cooking using a sun oven. We’ve had our sun oven now for about five years and this summer we’ve been using it more than ever (they work during the winter too by the way). Who needs a hotter house, a bigger gas or electric bill, or food that has to be constantly watched to keep from burning? Solar cooking is the new barbeque – and it is a lot of fun!
Continue reading Solar Cooking: The New Barbeque.
By Steve Rypka on March 25th, 2010
 Expired: to emit the last breath; to die out, as a fire. I think it’s time to set a big, audacious goal for Nevada. Let make it the nation’s first carbon-neutral state. That doesn’t mean we have to stop driving, cooking or heating our homes. It does mean that we would make a major commitment throughout the state to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy production. In the process, we will create jobs, build new infrastructure, transform communities and create something that all Nevadans can be proud of.
We have all the ingredients we need to make this happen and it starts with our homes. The national push to improve home efficiency has taken root in Nevada. Home energy audits and retrofits are poised to be the “next big thing” as energy prices continue upward and awareness of our climate problem increases. Purchasing a home without a prior energy audit is like buying a car without knowing the mileage rating. It’s basic information that one needs to make an informed decision.
Continue reading Carbon-Neutral Nevada.
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We live in interesting times. Never before have we witnessed so much change in so little time. Whether we resist or embrace change, it is still inevitable, but if we actively embrace the changes we like we can often minimize the change we’d prefer to avoid.
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