Business & Innovation...

As I was checking out the latest issue of Popular Mechanics in my dentists’ office (not at all because the latest issue of People was taken up by a surly-looking woman with a swollen jaw) I came across an interesting entry. In their latest issue, Pop Mech (cuz that’s how it looks in my head) provides a list of the top smart green home designs out there. And let me tell you, there’s some cool stuff. As the article lays out green design: “The principles are simple: Use materials wisely, conserve water and energy, save money in the long term, and create surroundings that are safe and healthy.” From soybean sealings to rescued wood floors to green beer (and no, I’m talking a St. Patrick’s Day tradition), this is a list essential to anyone building a green building or doing a green remodel. Apparently while drunk, but that’s beside the point. Here are some of the goodies laid out for us:

Amazon Environmental accepts all types of water-based paints for reprocessing. Half are recycled into high-quality paints, and the rest are turned into specialty additives for cement. Cool!

Smith and Fog’s Bamboo Ply-Wood is “an emissions-free alternative to pressed-wood products containing glues with toxic formaldehyde.” That and they don’t cut down trees to use it. The trees will thank you for it – especially after a night of green beer.

Helio Volts’ solar cells are so thin they will eventually making it cost-effective for even windows and exterior cladding to become power sources. It’s easy renewable energy.

New Belgium Brewing in Colorado has devised a system from hops in to beer out for designed for greater green efficiency. Not sure how this fits into green design, but it sure sounds awesomely tasty.

Props to Popular Mechanics for compiling this must-have list for the green designer. Unless you don’t want “a house that can sell energy to the grid, a countertop made from glass that would otherwise go to a landfill, and a cable that wires sunlight through solid walls.” Clearly they mean, unless you are nuts!