Unfortunately, older homes often contain materials we might not even be aware of. Because homes constructed decades ago were not subject to modern regulations, dangerous chemicals might sit dormant in these homes, waiting to get exposed. However, allowing these chemicals to exist in homes is an irresponsible response many homeowners are willing to take.  Unfortunately, permitting the presence of toxic materials does not just threaten the home owner, but anyone who might ever become exposed to these concentrated materials in the future as well.

When one purchases a home, they assume responsibility for all the materials in that residence, including toxic ones. It then falls upon these homeowners to ensure the safe removal of household hazardous wastes like thermometers, electronics and paints. Household wastes that qualify as hazardous do so on the basis of their reactivity, ignitability, corrosiveness, toxicity, and persistence to environmental degradation. These materials pose a high threat when discarded inappropriately, without proper consideration for who must handle them, the effects they might have on their location of discard and who could encounter the materials in the future.

Further, personal safety is compromised when home owners fail to investigate the hazards that might be hiding just through a wall or in a basement. While these dangerous materials might remain dormant for almost the entire life of a home, renovation is an opportunity for these chemicals to escape and threaten homeowners. Some of the more common dangerous chemicals are radon, mercury, lead and asbestos. Lead and asbestos, especially, represent a huge risk to homeowners because of their pervasiveness in past construction and difficulty to spot.

Lead was once a major component in numerous household products including furniture, gasoline and plumbing pipeline.  Although recognized as a threat in older paints, it remains dangerous because so few homeowners are aware of its use in other common home goods. Furthermore, this chemical is an even greater threat to children because it is so easily absorbed into growing skin. Side effects of lead exposure can be extremely damaging, especially to children, with physical growth delays, stunts in mental development and behavioral problems all resulting from exposure to this chemical.

A naturally occurring mineral, asbestos is another insidious material commonly used in home construction. Valued as an insulator against heat, fire, chemical exposure and electricity, this material can be found in several forms. Although it too recently received attention for its dangerous side effects, its commonness and varied use make it difficult for untrained professionals to spot. While relatively benign if undamaged, this material becomes a threat when its composition becomes compromised through splintering. When it becomes small enough to become dust in the air, it can then be breathed into the lungs of homeowners, leading to asbestosis or cancer.

Mesothelioma symptoms, which are the indicators of the cancer caused by asbestos, typically do not occur until 20 to 50 years after one’s initial exposure to this household danger. Although sufferers of this chemical face prolonged side effects that can take decades to appear, many of these other toxic chemicals pose serious risks to those exposed far quicker. That is why newer homes need to be constructed using safe materials. Indeed, homes should be designed using only materials that can easily be recycled, either biologically or industrially, without the dangerous side effects we continue to see. By making this concept the main concern for all new homes, Americans might begin to find redemption for past foolishness and start leading safer, cleaner lives.

About Eric: Eric is currently a student preparing to practice environmental law.  He is very passionate about the green revolution, and has dreams of building a fully sustainable green village.

1. Choose wisely

I’m not talking here about the landscaping contractor or even the design contour (though these are important)—I’m talking about the plants themselves.  Ideally, all your plants, flowers and grasses will be native to the area.  Naturally, this practice is better for the local eco-system, contributing proper nutrients to the local wildlife and other plants, while being more likely to be self-sustaining and survive longer in the environment.  In addition, choosing native plants means that shipment is local, decreasing the footprint of your yard, in some cases, dramatically.

In many places, including most of California, this means choosing natural bushes and flowers, and fewer grasses.  This has the side-effect of less lawn mowing, and thus less carbon emission as a secondary effect of your yard.

2. Conserve

With the many existing water sources to water your yard, take as little of the municipal water as possible!  You have several options here, any of which can greatly reduce your water consumption, and even completely cover your garden’s water needs.  First off, there’s rainwater harvesting.  Many collection systems exist, harvesting roof run-off in particular, which is stored in barrels or containers, and then routed to the garden.  But that’s not the only way to harvest unused water!  In hot, humid areas, air-conditioner condensation can be collected and stored.  In summer months, this method can collect several gallons per day in a single-family home, plenty to put a dent in that water usage for the yard.  Finally, there is another method that, with an initial investment, could take care of the whole yard: grey water recycling.  This means taking the drainage water from things like the shower and kitchen sink, running it through a filtration system, and routing it to the back yard.  This water could not be used for potable water, but with filtration, can be perfectly healthy for your plants.  The system has more complicated installation, but the amount of water that could be re-used is enormous.

In addition, installation of drip irrigation systems, which enables more targeted water distribution, will help conserve water whether or not it’s been recycled.

3. Site placement

Make the best use of your yard or garden for the home, too!  Reduce wind by placing taller trees in the wind direction of the home.  Increase shade and temperature stability by placing deciduous (seasonal) trees to the south of the home (if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere).  Make sure to consider how much sun each plant needs before deciding where it will, go, otherwise, you could waste water keeping it alive, or lose it for lack of sun.

A good landscaper will be well-versed in these site considerations, but it’s important for you to consider what you’re looking for so that you can bring the right goals to the table for planning and design.

4. Grow your own

…food!  If you have the time, having a vegetable garden is a wonderful way to reduce your personal footprint, and enjoy the fruits of your land!  Check what veggies grow best in your area, and create a plot.  Alternate seasonal vegetables for the best use of the soil.  Of course, whether you are growing food or flowers, keep a compost bin going, to create your own fertilizer.  Learn more about composting here.

Whether you’re doing a window garden or major landscaping project, there are tons of ways to make sure you’re choosing the most eco-friendly options.  If you need more ideas, check out the Landscaping Ideas page, and ask a question to the pros.

CalEarth

So imagine my glee when a newly-minted computer millionaire replete with ponytail, tie-dyed shirt and old pickup purchased an empty parcel right in the middle of The Estates and began to build a huge domed eco-compound that looked like a cross between a Zuni Indian village and Fred Flintstone’s house. As you can imagine, the reaction of the blue-bloods was to raise holy hell, sighting everything from zoning laws and real estate values to Satan worship.

But alas, it was too late; the main structures were up and occupied before the ink on the first petition was dry. Hippies, dogs, lowlanders like myself, and various other strays now had a “dome away from home” right in the middle of the well-heeled gentry, and my friends and I soon learned brand-new words like “organic gardening,” “tofu” and “Shiva.”

Build Your Own Eco-Dome

If you’ve always wanted to go off the grid and thumb your nose at society like my ponytailed guru, but you’ve been shackled with a conventional home and not much space to build, take heart, fellow traveler! Here’s a chance to scale down your counter-culture dream home and still piss off your neighbors by building a small, efficient, 400-square foot Eco-Dome on a relatively small patch of homestead. The kind folks at Cal-Earth even offer workshops and tutorials to teach you how to build your own eco-home.

Using a simple plan utilizing earth-filled “Superadobe” coils, you and three or four of your comrades can easily build a small main dome with four “niches” that can function as a small guest home or studio apartment.  Use the main dome as a living room and the niches as an entrance hall, kitchen and bathroom, or convert the whole structure into something the website calls a “Bed-womb,” which I’m not sure I want to know about.

Once built, you can leave as is, or make it the first step in a cluster design of connecting vaults and domes that could lead to a backyard commune, a divorce, banishment from the Homeowners Association or all of the above. But remember, take it slow, because to paraphrase the old adage…Dome wasn’t built in a day.