Big Green Loud Mouth

Two down, many more to go I hope. We had a wonderfully successful and energized Open House yesterday in the midst of many passing storms and downpours. It was kind of like a Deep Energy Baptism. Thanks to the Daily Hampshire Gazette posting an announcement and everyone involved spreading the word, we ended up with many curious families and homeowners from across the community. Everyone was interested and motivated to learn how and where they can make their homes more efficient. This is everything we hoped for… spreading the word, fighting for the cause, setting an example, being the guinea pigs. It hasn’t been easy, but it sure has been rewarding on so many levels. In case you missed the numerous memos… we all have to do this. We have to improve the efficiency of our existing homes. It’s the only way to avoid those imminent catastrophic and irreversible effects of global warming.

Okay, enough preaching… it was so encouraging to see the amount of interest in living more efficiently from everyone who attended yesterday. Gives me so much optimism. A reporter from the Gazette was here to take some photos and write an article, so stay tuned for some more solid local press. And to those of you who know people, help us get our story in the national press… This Old House, Dwell, Fine Home building, whatever. It’s a message that people need to hear.

This week I’ll go over the last 6-9 months of oil bills and have some real numbers to share. We really won’t have a clear picture until we go through the coming winter months, since our Deep Energy Retrofit was in progress this past winter, but it’ll still be interesting. And I can’t wait to see what kind of impact retiring the dryer has had on our electric bill. Sam’s out there right now turning the compost, just picked some blueberries, pulled the clothes off the line before the rain started. Does it get better than this? Not really. Simplicity is everything, the source of happiness and fulfillment. That’s not too hippie dippie is it? Well, too bad, it’s true.

Before we get into the roof and other facets of our ever-looming Deep Energy Retrofit, let’s talk about where I was supposed to be right now. Barcelona! I seriously had every intention of blogging from a relaxed Spanish cafe, sipping wine and enjoying tapas. And after so much planning and bending over backward to carve out some time for myself, my mom, and my daughter to get away for 10 days, we were thwarted by the volcanic ash cloud. Oh, the environmental drama! I know we can’t exactly blame global warming for the Icelandic volcano eruption, but it never hurts to consider how much the earth, weather, and environmental conditions affect our daily lives. I mean, this stubborn old ash cloud may very well put airlines out of business.

So I’m here, and having mourned the loss of my much-needed and deserved vacay, my sights are on the next steps of our DER project. First, the roof goes on this week! I think. We have geared ourselves up for this process before and discovered that other issues had to take precedence. But I think it might actually happen for real this time. So to celebrate our slate grey standing seam icing on the already space-aged shiny silver foam insulated cake, we’re having our first Open House!

Come one, come all, and see the mythical DER beast for yourselves. Stand face to face with the legend of 70% energy reduction! A week from today, Saturday, May 22nd, 10-2. And more details on the invite below:

This event is going to be super fantastic! Our home is in just the right staight of flux for visitors to get an accurate sense of what these energy efficient improvements really look like and how they impact our daily life. We’ll have experts on hand from Beyond Green Construction, National Fiber, Holden Humphrey, Harvey Building Products… and of course we, the homeowners, will be there. And if you ask us any questions we promise not to sugar coat the answers.

Now, the dilemma. I will tell all of you that the money we are spending is really starting to freak me out (see what I mean about not sugar coating?). I have a ton of faith in this work, though, and that’s what’s getting me through. I also have a ton of faith that fuel costs will raise considerably, and now with this oil spill, maybe faster and sooner than expected. But we’re already tipping our financial scales and maxing out every resource to get this project done without even a plan for how to pay for the windows or solar hot water.

Based on recent blower-door tests that BGC has performed, I (and they) would say that the windows are going to have one of the biggest impacts of any of the other puzzle pieces. Futuristic insulation is great, but if the holes in your walls aren’t properly sealed and protected by efficient windows, then the insulation doesn’t count for much. So the window plan will require some fundraising efforts (stay tuned to be hit up for some cash). And the solar thermal? We might have to nix it altogether. The consensus from the building science gurus involved is that it just won’t have a huge impact with our lifestyle.

So how do we save that extra 2.5%? Here’s a novel idea that we’re seriously considering. We may retire our dryer. Turns out the dryer is the biggest energy sucking appliance of them all. It makes sense, of course, but we all think the dryer is a necessity. I actually lived for about fours years in Queens, NY with only a clothes line that ran the distance of the courtyard, and it was totally fine year round. Sure, sometimes the clothes came in a little icy, but it just requires some planning, checking the weather forecast, and maybe having a backup, like a sizable rack in the basement for that relentless rain and snow that we sometimes endure in New England.

So I’m really excited about this idea, and I hope the utility company will allow this strategy to be part of our building science model.

Think that dryer plan is a good idea? Check out the movement and learn more here. When you stop to think how much conservation can be so much more effective, affordable, and realistic, it’s really quite eye-opening. Doesn’t make more sense to get rid of the giant appliance, rather than use the resources to create alternative energy systems in order to keep them? It’s summer and we all love to grill, right? So use some hardwood charcoal and skip the gas grill or indoor stove. Fire good. Gas bad.

And for all of you loyal environmentalists and waste-haters, diligently toting your reusable bags everywhere you go, check out ecobags.com for small washable produce bags and all sorts of waste-resistant everyday vessels.

Now I can’t wait to post photos of the roof and the siding going up. The hardieplank is going to be totally awesome, by the way. So stay tuned for some more frequent updates. And save your change, ’cause we’re gonna need it for the windows.

Here we are on Earth Day weekend basking in the glow of the first flashing details on our window and door frames. Truly magnificent! When I came home on Friday afternoon in the midst of the usual chaos that ensues as Lucy and I disembark from the car with a week’s worth of supplies that return from preschool and my office, I couldn’t help but feel that something about our porch looked so neat and clean. I really didn’t have the intellectual time or energy to try and figure out what it was so I just continued lugging tote bags inside the house and coaxing Lucy to follow.

Our porch with Green Wrap and First flashing details

Then later when talking with Pierre from Beyond Green Construction, I was suddenly privy to why I had felt that sense of order. He had started the flashing! The window and door frames must be built out in order to accommodate the thick layer of rigid foam that will soon encase our humble home. And, man, did they do a good job! All the guys on the team just continue to impress us with their attention to details and pride in their workmanship. It’s really quite touching, because they show so much care and concern about our home. This is the kind of community unity that is going to get us all through these tough environmental and economic times.

Seriously, let’s talk about the concept of community for a minute (or two). I mean, doesn’t the whole idea make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? After all, it’s an ideal, utopian concept. No matter how much importance anyone places on financial gain or success, it’s those moments when families are gathered, or groups of friends, or block parties, or festivals, that really make our world go round. Those community endeavors truly sustain us and remind us that all we need is each other. We can combine resources and teach each other and create and grow and build and fix and clean up without a single dime. And at the end of the day, we are more at peace having shared the weight of whatever burdens we are carrying.

About a year ago I developed an extreme fear of dying of some terminal illness. I was told by many that this was a normal occurrence for mothers of young children and that did make some sense. But it didn’t make me feel any better. This somewhat irrational fear got in the way of daily life, causing me to be constantly distracted when I should have been enjoying those family moments. Then the other day I realized that fear I had been lugging around in my subconscious for so long had just plain evaporated. Why? Because over the last few months our family has been cultivating a new community of friends and support here in Easthampton. The effects of this fabric being woven with little effort have been so positive, in a way that is deeper and more potent that I ever could have imagined. So if you are lucky enough to have this community in your life, don’t take it for granted. And if you are missing it, go get some!

So now on this rainy Earth Day weekend I can’t help but feel that the whole spirit of the movement has gotten a bit lost. We are all desensitized by the constant greenwashing and normalcy of sustainability. That would be really good if everyone was really working as hard as they should at this whole planet-preservation thing. I saw a commercial this morning for the Ford Escape, a vehicle that’s way too f-ing big. The emphasis was on the automated parallel parking and voice activated communication. Do we really want to be that disconnected? Look at the cyber-bullying issue for example. Maybe a product of the severe desensitization of the youth in this country. They (and we) are living and relating and communicating and feeling through this tiny electronic bluetooth 3G wireless barrier. I mean, how can kids learn about emotions and compassion if they never get to hear the tone of voice or see the expression on the face at the other end of a text. I suppose it’s possible that this is evolutionary protection for when we all live in Fahrenheit 451 style compartments or underground windowless bunkers. Do we really want to let ourselves prepare for that kind of existence? I didn’t think so.

So go outside and be with friends and family and work together  to make change and reduce energy consumption and grow more food and drive less and laugh and play and relate and communicate. Sappy, I know. But true.