Home Design of the Future
By: Ragelle Dumlao | Ms. Vitale SNC1D1
Sustainable Ecosystems
A Green Environment
There are many ways to make your home's environment "greener":
Save Energy↓
- You could switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which uses just a quarter of the electricity of regular incandescent bulbs. It also lasts 10 times longer, which lets you save your money.
- Turning off the lights while not using it, will for sure save a lot energy.
- Set cooling and heating temperature correctly, especially with refrigerator and freezer because it consumes the biggest electrical energy of the house
- Unplug electronic appliances, including TVs, computers and CD/DVD players, which consume so much energy when in standby mode at a short time
- Turn off lights and just use sunlight to save energy
- Ban smoking can help have no exposure of smoke that will be able to be breath in from anyone in the house, so no one may have cancer
- Grow plants indoor, so the plants around the house will act like a natural air filter
- Use durable goods, which can be reused
- Buy recycled products, with the recycled label on it, which means it has been made from plastic or paper and could still use it
- Wait for a full load to laundry instead of wasting a water for less than a load
- Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or scrubbing the dishes
My Vegetable Garden
Plants that I would "farm" in my vegetable garden would be fruits and vegetables that would give nutrients to my body, instead of buying at the grocery store, which could have chemicals on the food, which are all organic. Also, I would have plants indoor so the plants in the room will act like a natural air filter. I wouldn't spray any pesticides because if I do, it'll have so many chemicals that could make the plant or vegetables not last long and wouldn't taste the same as a regular harvested vegetable. Also, I wouldn't use fertilizers, even though it may help it grow faster because it is basically salt, the plant will be short lived, diminishes soil fertility, and the cycle of needing to provide another nitrogen fix escalates as the soil fertility decreases.
When chemical fertilizers don’t work right, you lose.
When they work right, you still lose!
“The more you use, the more it grows. The more it grows, the more you mow. The more you mow…”
…the more you wonder why you wanted a lawn in the first place!
Transportation
Transit-arian
Car-nivore
Mobi-vore
Waste Management Systems
First, I will be having a garbage bin is much better than just throwing our mess on the ground or anywhere, where the entire environment will be polluted by being really smelly and dirty, and would like to live there? No one. So why make a mess and be surrounded by filthy stuff, when you can be surrounded by a clean and odorless environment.
Then, I would have a recycling bin because not everything we have can be thrown all at the same place. Plastic and papers have to be in separate places, which can be reduced and reused to something new. Separating paper and plastic would help much better to the people who get our mess, so it'll be less work for them, and also will help the environment be greener and safer.
Lastly, I should have a compost bin because food and yard waste can be put into the composter, rather than going to the landfill in a plastic bag. Soil that is produced is rich in nutrients for your yard (it can be put right onto your grass), garden, or flower beds. It is also much cheaper to make your own compost than to go to the garden store and buy it. The soil is a natural fertilizer, and can remove the need to use chemical fertilizers. This is safer for the environment, and can save you money.
Endangered Species
Almost all of the species of penguins out there, the numbers are less than they were just a few decades ago. There are many reasons for this including hunting them for oil, taking their eggs, destroying their natural environment, the weather, and a lack of food supply. All of these factors though have left many of them vulnerable and others at risk for extinction.
By understanding how penguins are being affected, we can all take action to prevent them from being extinct. There are plenty of organizations that you can become a part of online if you wish to help with such efforts. Some of them you can help with by volunteering with them at a location in your area. Others can work with by donating money, spreading information, or helping them with a particular cause they promote.
It is important that we all take action now to prevent them from becoming a part of the past. Many species have drastically low numbers even with conservation efforts in place.
Therefore it is obvious much more needs to be done if there is hope for their survival. It is the responsibility of each of us to do all we can to get these penguins removed from the endangered and the vulnerable lists. With constant efforts we can do it!
Atoms, Elements and Compounds
Fluoride
Fluoride is the negative ion of the element fluorine. This chemical's group or chemical group of the Periodic Table is located on 17 (Fluorine-F). This element is a non-metal.
The Characteristics of Electricity
Energy Source
This is a sustainable choice because during the day it's bright out, and the windows are cleared so you can see everything clearly. Also, everything is controlled by the heat to work so it isn't using electricity. Especially living where, it's never night, so it's bright every minute, no dark, like at Alaska.
Physical Structures
Physical structures that make a house more energy efficient:
- Windows (light)
- Sun Roofs (light)
- Solar Panels (power)
- Wind Mills (energy)
By using natural sources of energy such as the wind and the sun, we only use energy that we need and still does it job.
Appliances
Improving your home's energy efficiency with ENERGY STAR can help to lower high energy bills, improve comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ENERGY STAR products are independently certified to save energy without sacrificing features or functionality. Saving energy helps prevent climate change. A new home that has earned the ENERGY STAR label has undergone a process of inspections, testing, and verification to meet strict requirements set by the US EPA. ENERGY STAR certified homes use 15-30% less energy than typical new homes while delivering better comfort, quality, and durability. Improve financial performance and reduce carbon emissions with EPA's strategic energy management approach.
The Study of the Universe
NASA
One type of technology that is in my future home that has been developed or researched due to space exploration is LED (Light-Emitting Diodes) light bulbs. Red light-emitting diodes are growing plants in space and healing humans on Earth. The LED technology used in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments has contributed to the development of medical devices such as award-winning WARP 10, a hand-held, high-intensity, LED unit developed by Quantum Devices Inc. The WARP 10 is intended for the temporary relief of minor muscle and joint pain, arthritis, stiffness, and muscle spasms, and also promotes muscle relaxation and increases local blood circulation. The WARP 10 is being used by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Navy as a noninvasive “soldier self-care” device that aids front-line forces with first aid for minor injuries and pain, thereby improving endurance in combat.The next-generation WARP 75 has been used to relieve pain in bone marrow transplant patients, and will be used to combat the symptoms of bone atrophy, multiple sclerosis, diabetic complications, Parkinson’s disease, and in a variety of ocular applications.
Another technology is Harnessing Solar Energy. Homes across the country are now being outfitted with modern, high-performance, low-cost, single crystal silicon solar power cells that allow them to reduce their traditional energy expenditures and contribute to pollution reduction. The advanced technology behind these solar devices—which are competitively-priced and provide up to 50 percent more power than conventional solar cells—originated with the efforts of a NASA-sponsored 28-member coalition of companies, government groups, universities, and nonprofits forming the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Alliance. ERAST’s goal was to foster the development of remotely piloted aircraft intended to fly unmanned at high altitudes for days at a time, requiring advanced solar power sources that did not add weight. As a result, SunPower Corporation created the most advanced silicon-based cells available for terrestrial or airborne applications
Home Design
References
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