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Eco-Friendly Home Improvements Ideas

Changes in Air Quality Call for Eco-Friendly Home Improvements
According to Glenn Haege, a master handyman who hosts a national radio show on home repair, as our homes and apartments have become more energy efficient and airtight, “humidity levels from cooking and breathing tend to increase, causing mold and mildew.” Harmful chemicals, he says, from construction materials, insulation, furniture, carpeting, padding, paints, solvents and household cleaners, drawn by this moist atmosphere, combine to contaminate the indoor air which then stays trapped inside. Read more »

Are Scooters Eco-friendly?

Some people are turning to scooters to reduce their transportation costs. And since scooters are smaller than cars and have smaller engines, they're more eco-friendly right? Wrong! The cleanest gasoline-powered scooters typically emit more smog-forming hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides than a car because so little pollution-control equipment fits on them. On the positive side, scooters can help ease traffic congestion, minimize materials used in manufacturing and lessen carbon dioxide emissions (because they get better fuel economy). Read more »

White shingles reduce your cooling costs?

Did you know painting your home or office building roof a light color or installing white shingles helps to reflect heat, reducing cooling costs. Replacing a 1,000-square-foot dark roof with a white one can offset the emission of 11 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Roofs account for about 25 percent of the surface area in most cities, so there's a huge opportunity to reduce your eco-footprint just by changing the color of your roof! If white shingles aren’t your style, manufacturers also offer heat-reflective coatings in darker colors for shingles, tiles and metal roofs.

Get Tax Breaks for Living Eco-Friendly

Claim federal tax credits and incentives for living green! Here are 10 Tax Breaks for Eco-friendly living:

1.Buying a hybrid, a car that runs on alternative power, or a lean-burn diesel vehicle can net you a tax break of $250-$3,400. This refund is dependent on the amount of gas saved by the engine and the overall weight of the vehicle. If you buy two hybrids, you get two tax breaks.

2.People who buy and install energy-efficient windows, insulation, roofs, doors, air conditioners and central-heating units can receive a $500 tax credit. Read more »

Making your workplace ecofriendly

If your workplace is anything like mine was, there’s ton of waste everywhere. From the stack of documents that mysteriously appear next to the copier machine that no one ever claims to the garbage cans full of recyclables (i.e. soda cans, pizza boxes) that the cleaning crew discards nightly in the trash compactor out back. After becoming more environmentally conscious of my own actions and making changes in my home life to conserve more and use less, I turned to my “home away from home” – work (sad isn’t it). Read more »