Great News on the Olympic Home Front!

Great News on the Olympic Home Front!

Great News on the Olympic Home Front!

Great news on the home front, it seems like everywhere we turn there is GREEN news linked to the 2010 Olympics. Our goal to be the greenest Olympic is definitely ours! With the intent to become the green envy of eco-mind Olympic we are making headlines everywhere.

"The 2010 Winter Olympics Athletes’ Village will be built to a remarkably high level of sustainability and meet the LEED standards."

This will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, yippee! Taking place in beautiful Vancouver where both the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be organized by the same committee, VANOC. The details that have gone into creating the two villages that will host both games are extraordinary well planned with the environment on the forefront.

"Vancouver’s Southeast False Creek area (Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village), and the other one within the scenic Cheakamus Valley (Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village).
The Vancouver Olympic Village in the Southeast False Creek area will be completed during the first phase. The village will have 16 buildings constructed on an area of 1.4 million square feet, and a community center. All the buildings will be built to LEED Gold standard and the community center will be built to LEED Platinum."

As well,

'All of the buildings will be fitted with solar panels and feature green roofs. Rain water will be harvested and be used for the irrigation of the green roofs and landscaping. In-slab hydronic system will be used for heating and cooling of the buildings, and the latent heat of sewer pipes will be harnessed by an innovative heat exchange system. All parking will be underground, and plans are afoot to achieve water neutrality as it will collect as much rain water as it uses. The two villages will be connected through latest and state-of-the-art communication technologies, and athletes will travel conveniently between the two. The Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village will have the capacity to house 2,100 athletes and officials; and the Whistler Olympic and Paralympic Village will accommodate 2,400 athletes and officials. After the games the villages will serve as valuable legacies, and will be developed as models of sustainable community and sustainable living." http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/07/10/2010-winter-olympics-going-green/

I am so proud of this forward thinking that the environmental moment is the only way to move forward and claim a true name in the world. Keep up the great work, this step forward will make the next steps larger as future Olympics from now on will be trying to out due Canada on the GREEN front, nothing is better then a great competition in making the world more GREEN.

Stay green my friends!

Until next time,

w&c designer girl!

The Greenest Olympic to date - Leave it up to Canada to figure that one out!

The Greenest Olympic to date - Leave it up to Canada to figure that one out!

The Greenest Olympic to date - Leave it up to Canada to figure that one out!

GO Canada GO!!! I am so proud of our Country for developing an Eco-friendly Olympic medal. Recycled from old computers and electronics a company in B.C collects the materials then breaks them down and separates the gold, silver and bronzes found in circuit boards, it is then shipped off to Germany to be refined into a metal. It's the ultimate in recycling - and it could be your electronic that is in one of the medals. Which makes it feel like every Canada played a part in making 2010's Olympic medals. So if you've ever recycled a computer in Canada, you may have a small claim to fame at this years Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Second to the green medals they are also the first to be undulating, not flat, and will be the heaviest in the Olympic history.

"They're based on two artworks of an orca whale and raven by Corrine Hunt, a B.C.-born artist.This is a fantastic use of old computers, which makes me think there must be an artist out there somewhere who could turn some of the many recycled computers into permanent art somewhere."

"The Vancouver Olympics made a smart choice in deciding to use precious metals from old electronics. By salvaging metal materials from old products, the Olympic committee is saving perfectly good gold, silver, and bronze from ending up in landfills. Because it makes no sense to mine for new gold when a single junked PC has more of the stuff in it than 17 tons of ore. And if the medals are promoted well, they could bring awareness to the cause of recycled scrap. With the entire world watching what happens at the Olympic games, there is no better venue to promote such an important--and easy-to-implement--solution to electronics recycling."

GO-Canada - GO!! This is an awesome step forward in the name of the green movement and I am so proud that Canadians thought of it first! Can't wait to see what the other countries come up with next!

Stay green my friends!
Until next time,
w&c designer girl!

Off gasing is it KILLING YOU?

Off gasing is it KILLING YOU?

Off gasing is it KILLING YOU?

Do you know what chemicals your house is making you breathe in?

When you take a look inside your own home, you will have a rude awakening when you realize the health problems that you yourself have brought into the very place you are trying to keep safe. Everyday materials that we put ourselves in contact with are the very things that are making our homes dangerous! Off-gassing! If you don’t know the term yet, YOU SHOULD! The chemicals that you are breathing in while you sleep or while you cuddle your baby is something most of us don’t think about, in any means we must start!!

So what is off gassing? “The evaporation of volatile chemicals in non-metallic materials at normal atmospheric pressure”. This means the building materials within your home or office are releasing chemicals into the air through evaporation, which can continue for years after the initial install. This silent stalker is creating these chemicals which enter your lungs on a daily basis, whether you know it or not. It comes from your paints, stains, varnishes, carpet, insulation, flooring, kitchen cabinet and countertops, plywood, particleboard, and paint strippers, producing substantial off gassing in any space. “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns about the health effects of poor Indoor Air Quality from the off gassing of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).”Indoor air pollutants such as off gassing is the leading cause for people who suffer with Allergies, Chronic sinusitis, Asthma or respiratory problems in general. Off gassing can cause symptoms ranging from puffy, red and watery eyes to a runny nose, congestion, coughing, and asthma-like symptoms. Off gassing can also be the cause for skin irritations such as rashes, itchiness and hives. The two most identified type of off gassing that you can smell is a “new car” or “new carpet”. Now these smells are obvious but there are numerous products/materials which the off gassing is odourless.Stockholm University in Sweden conducted a study where they found that certain computer monitors emit a chemical “triphenyl phosphate” which can be the leading cause of allergic reactions. Triphenyl phosphate is a flame retardant that is used in many plastics. When turned on, the monitors' heat causes the compound, which is not bonded to the plastic, to start evaporating. So the question here must be asked, when exposed to such a compound that is typically found in new materials/products can it pose a potential long-term health risk? Apparently they don’t know yet!

Only Kermit the frog can use the excuse “it isn’t being green” to everyone else it only make sense to be.

Stay green and until next time,
w&c designer girl!