James McKinley in the Times: memory sticks are Samizdat technology in Cuba

The Toeprint Project

• Radiant Floors
  [caption id="attachment_787" align="alignleft" width="419" caption="Radiant Heating diagram courtesy of This Old House"][/caption] Radiant flooring (also called warm floors or underfloor heating) is a method of providing heat via a series of tubes that carry hot water and are installed just below the surface of the fl […]
• An Energy Conservation Teach-In
  Live in Brooklyn?   You are INVITED! Join us at Sustainable Kensington/Windsor Terrace's first HOME ENERGY CONSERVATION TEACH-IN! Come to the Oak and the Iris Café, located at 2826 Fort Hamilton Parkway on the corner of East 4th Street on Wednesday, June 17th from 6:30-8:30PM to learn how you can make your home or apartment building healthier, more en […]
• Incentives for green building measures
  What incentives can you get for green building measures?  That's the $64,000 question.  Or maybe it's a  $1,500 tax credit? Currently, the federal and state government and many municipalities (including NYC!) offer great incentives to encourage people to perform certain sustainable strategies including weatherization, installation of insulation, e […]
• Tour a Green Building at 93 Nevins Street - Part of Brooklyn Designs
  Brooklyn Designs starts tomorrow (May 8th)!    Don't miss it.  Local sustainable  design and construction businesses will be showing their stuff.   On Saturday, May 9th from 1-4 pm, join us for tours of the newly finished green double brownstone located at 93 Nevins St.  (*please note: the Saturday event for 93 Nevins ... […]
• Water Conservation
  Guess how much a gallon of tap water costs in NYC. If you guessed $.0055 you are right. That’s just about 1/2 cent per gallon. Makes you wonder why you spend $1.29 for a plastic bottle containing less than a quart of inferior water doesn’t it. The low cost of ... […]
• Energy Tracking - More Tools!!
  So how's your tracking going? After 2 months, we have reduced our electric usage by 7% and water use by 16%! Although tracking adjacent months or quarters is not particularly accurate, it's like stepping on the scale and seeing that you lost 10 pounds unexpectedly! We'll take it! The ... […]
• Insulation - Part 1
  With the Obama Administration’s increased focus on energy conservation, we turn our attention to some of the more easily achievable strategies we hear being bandied about. Well, the lowest of the low-hanging fruit is the insulation and weatherization of our homes and buildings.  Simple enough, right?  It's achievable, measurable, not terribly ... […]
• Spring Cleaning
  The crocuses and daffodils are coming up. Admit it, you just want to throw open those doors and windows and clear out the musty winter yuck. Traditional cleaning supplies have bad stuff in them. Think about it, what's the first thing you child-proof: the cabinet under the sink ... […]
• Green fashion
  Of all the strategies we'll post about this year, this is the one I probably know the least about...but here goes: Fashion can reasonably be described as planned obsolescence - Each season's new styles require new upgrades and disposal of the old unfashionable stuff. However, there are a few things we can ... […]
• Composting - c’mon a worm farm isn’t that gross!
  First of all, what is compost? Finished compost, sometimes called humus (not to be confused with the middle eastern delicacy made out of chick peas), is dark brown or black and looks and smells like good, healthy, fertile dirt. Compost is the result of the managed decomposition of yard trimmings, ... […]