Soy what else is new? Glad you asked. As we each do our tiny part to collectively make Earth a little less polluted, many companies now offer cleaning and other maintenance products made from natural ingredients. And before anybody says, "Yeah, and arsenic's natural, too," let's not miss the forest for the trees — which no one has to hug, by the way, because going green is now less an ideology than it is a practicality: We want to keep our personal air as clean and breathable as possible and avoid the "toxic building" syndrome that's been proven to be the living-space equivalent of secondhand smoke. Read More »

Green is the new black … top. Yes, welcome to the wide, wonderful world of environmentally friendly paving material! What next? Eco-conscious LED electric chairs?

We're using "green" in the metaphoric sense, of course — the new Greenpatch cold asphalt mix isn't actually colored green. But if your co-op or condo has driveways, walkways, playgrounds, patios or, who knows, film noir back alleys were private eyes smoke cigarettes while a mournful saxophone plays, well, you bet your asphalt this may be a great non-polluting alternative to your usual blacktop patch product. Read More »

Think we live in New York State? Get ready to live in solid state – as in eco-friendly solid-state lighting, which no less than the U.S. Department of Energy is pushing on its Energy Efficiency and Renewal Energy page. That means if you haven't already, you'll soon be seeing the light … of things like the Ilumisys, Inc. MK1 LED tubes, designed to directly replace standard T8 and T12 fluorescent tubes. Read More »

On the roof, it's peaceful as can be, and there the world below can't bother me. Why? Well, I've got an old Drifters album playing on my iPod, and I'm sitting on a rooftop covered by a mixture of viscous, sticky, organic liquids soluble in carbon disulfide and primarily composed of condensed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — bitumen, in other words. And if you know your roofs, you know your bitumen — a nice, waterproof material that works well with many other materials. Such as? Well, this latest, eco-friendly batch of roofing membranes from industry giant Polyglass, for starters. Read More »

This week's new product isn't so much "new" as it is new to us — and, we'll wager, to most board-members in these neo-green times. Because wouldn't you know it, but nowadays even insecticide has gone green.

We're speaking about "diatomaceous earth," or DE — a soft, sedimentary rock comprised of ground-up, fossilized shells of algae-like plants called diatoms. (See above. Kinda pretty, ain't they?) Ground into a flour-like powder, DE is used for all sorts of things, from filtration devices to cat litter to an odorless and nontoxic "mechanical insecticide." Read More »

We want ice in our drinks, not on our sidewalks. Removing it so that no one goes slipping and sliding usually means spreading salt – which can do all sorts of damage to concrete, soil, and pets' feet. But now you can pass on the salt with EnvironMelt, a green-alternative ice-melter. Read More »