Over the past couple of decades, architects and builders looking to green their projects turned to the addition of various piecemeal elements to save water here or cut down on electricity there. Those who added more than a few green touches could apply for and get certified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) under its Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design (LEED) program. While these efforts have been laudable—essentially launching the green building industry as we know it today—they represent merely the infancy of what green building might someday become.

The concept of the “living building” has now emerged as a new ideal for design and construction. The Cascadia Region Green Building Council (CRGBC)—the Pacific Northwest chapter of the USGBC—defines a living building as a structure that “generates all of its own energy with renewable non-toxic resources, captures and treats all of its water, and operates efficiently and for maximum beauty.” The group has been pushing for adoption of the concept by construction industries here at home, and also helped to launch the International Living Building Institute to promote the concept internationally.

“We view our role as the organization that is meant to ask the really tough questions, to push the boundaries as far as possible,” says Jason McLennan, CEO of CRGBC. To this end, in 2006 the group launched its Living Building Challenge (LBC), a “call to the design and construction community to pursue true sustainability in the built environment.” So far 60 different projects around North America are vying to meet the high standards of the LBC, which exceed even the highest status of LEED certification.

The first building to be completed for consideration under the LBC program is the Omega Center for Sustainable Living, in Rhinebeck, NY. The 6,200 square-foot, one-level building, which serves as headquarters for the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, features a geothermal heating and cooling system, solar panels, rain gardens that direct water run-off to irrigate plantings, a 4,500-square-foot greenhouse that helps filter wastewater for reuse, “daylighting” design that brings natural light indoor to minimize electric light usage, and eco-friendly building materials all around. It was designed—per LBC criteria—to be “net-zero,” meaning it uses no more energy than it generates itself. Once the building has been in operation for a full year next summer, CRGBC will audit it to see if its performance lives up to the green hype. Dozens of other LBC contenders around North America will be audited as well.

Of course, the costs of creating a living building today are very high. Achieving net-zero can be especially costly, and stands out as one of the biggest obstacles to greater interest in the living building concept. Another challenge is finding materials that meet LBC standards, since many common building materials—such as PVC piping for wastewater transport—off-gas chemicals and have other hazardous attributes. LBC also expects builders to source locally as many materials as possible to boost local economies and make efficient use of nearby natural resources. McLennan remains confident that costs will come down as green materials, technologies and methods become more commonplace within the general building industry.

Resources:
USGBC, www.usgbc.org
CRGBC, www.cascadiagbc.org
International Living Building Institute, www.ilbi.org
Omega Institute, www.eomega.org

A little knowledge and a lot of prevention can be successful for months and months.  For example, to prevent my car engine from breaking down - I get the oil changed.  This works to keep the engine happy and the gas mileage stable.   We can do the same for computers.  Those little devices that help us do everything from work, email, Instant Message and Facebook. The list is endless!   It has gotten so that computers are indispensable.  So why do we take risks with not scheduling regular service for our OC, just like our vehicles? Why is the personal computer the last thing we want to spend time or money on?

That last question can save you from a PC crisis if answered correctly. All day long I resolve computer crisis after computer crisis that could have been avoided. Sometimes I feel like I should have a firefighter’s hat to wear when I go to work!

Here are a few things that can keep you ahead of the “Computer Crisis” game:

Back up data!
If you are not regularly backing up data in your computer, it is a disaster waiting to happen.  You are playing Russian roulette.  There are several ways to backup and protect your data and I recommend and implement all of them. You can back up to an external hard drive, UBS drive, and DVD’s, to name  a few.  I also recommend keeping a back up offsite, even for home computers. Why? Because the pictures of the family and children are just as priceless as business data as well as that home tax return.  As my grandmother said, “Don’t keep all your eggs in the same basket!”

Protect yourself from viruses
There are numerous antivirus programs, but which product is best? None! In my experience I haven’t seen one antivirus program totally stop every single virus or worm – ever. Why is that? Hackers are out there doing what they do best 24 hours a day, and in multitudes. How do you keep your pc safe then? Education.  Followed by a series of steps and scans you should perform on a regular basis. As far as Antivirus programs go, even the free ones will keep you as safe as the paid subscriptions. These programs must be updated on a regular basis or they are ineffective. The scans must be done on a regular basis as well, and the quarantine files reviewed and handled accordingly. All this can be made simple when you know what to do and when to do it. Or you can have a tech team do it for you to free your time up to do the things you really want to do.

I have another Pest to share with you – ‘drive-by downloads’
These happen when you least expect it.  In fact, you more than likely never know that they have happened.  These are advertising programs or data miners that download to your computer and run in the background which slows your pc down. How do you protect yourself from these?  Spyware removal programs.  These programs will help and general knowledge of where to find these programs is in the control panel.

Extra supplies
Just when you need your printer to print or your computer to go online your wireless signal dies – suddenly you can’t connect! This is a good time to have an extra printer cable or Ethernet cable. Help yourself out of a jam in the moment by having a box labeled with these items contained within. This includes the CD’s that came with your computer. More often than not, if your PC needs to be restored you will need those CD’s to make it happen. If you have Vista you may even have to create your own restore CD’s. Do yourself a favor and check now so you can be prepared if you need them.

Throw out that old PC or monitor?
Heck no! If you have the space and your PC is at least a Pentium 4 with good amount of memory – keep them just in case.  Far too often a PC that is sick is going to be out of commission from a few days to a few weeks if you have to send it off for a manufacture warranty. That old computer can be your best friend in those times.  You will be able to get to the internet and check web mail at the very least.  Monitors can go out as well, if your laptop screen goes out you can plug it into an LCD or monitor and still make things happen on your PC.

Documentation and keeping a file for your computer is important
Software packages with their license and passwords are always needed in a time of crisis-and usually impossible to find when you need them.

Be smart now and be prepared to handle any situation that may arise. Acquire knowledge in these areas or find someone who will assist you in keeping you in charge of you PC so you are not at its mercy should a crisis occur.

For more infomation:
IamIT4u
Dianne Patterson
404-457-3489
www.IamIT4u.com

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “mosquitoes … sometimes pose a serious risk to public health.”  Aside from making summer days at the pool miserable and camping trips intolerable, mosquitoes carry numerous diseases. The Center for Disease Control blames mosquitoes for transmission of Dengue Fever, Malaria, Viral Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, and more.  From bird to bird, from birds to horses, from birds and horses to humans, and from humans to humans, mosquitoes transmit sometimes deadly diseases.

Money-saving, fresh, and healthy

I have always been one who grocery shops for weeks at a time rather than every couple of days. And because I like to cook with fresh vegetables and herbs, quite often I found myself throwing out just as many bags of rotting groceries from the vegetable drawer that I was replacing. Not only was this a great waste of food, it was almost depressing to see how much I was spending on fresh herbs every time I went to the store. And let's face it, with this economy, who can afford to throw away unused groceries?