This Day In Tech: August 18th, 1868

Helium Discovered During Total Solar Eclipse

By

Hadley Leggett

Wired.com Aug. 18th, 2009

1868: A French astronomer spots an unknown element, now known as helium, in the spectrum of the sun during a much-anticipated total eclipse. The event marks the first discovery of an “extraterrestrial” element, as helium had not yet been found on Earth.

Astronomers had been eagerly awaiting a total solar eclipse since 1859, when German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff figured out how to use the analysis of light to deduce the chemical composition of the sun and the stars. Scientists wanted to study the bright red flames that appeared to shoot out from the sun, now known to be dense clouds of gas called solar prominences. But until 1868, they thought the sun’s spectrum could only be observed during an eclipse.

French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen camped out in Guntoor, India, to watch as the moon passed in front of the sun and revealed the solar prominences. Like other sun-gazers that morning, Janssen discovered that the prominences were mostly made of super-hot hydrogen gas. But he also noticed something extra: Using a special prism instrument called a spectroscope, he determined that the line of yellow light everyone had assumed to be sodium didn’t match up to the wavelength of any known element.

Janssen wanted to keep studying the mysterious line, and he was so impressed by the brightness of the sun’s emission lines that he felt sure they could be seen without an eclipse, if he could just figure out how to block other wavelengths of visible light. Working feverishly over the next few weeks, Janssen built the first “spectrohelioscope,” a device specifically designed to examine the spectrum of the sun.

Unbeknownst to Janssen, a second scientist was also working on the same problem 5,000 miles away. English astronomer Joseph Norman Lockyer succeeded in viewing the solar prominences in regular daylight in October 1868. In stunning scientific synchronicity, the two scientists’ papers arrived at the French Academy of Sciences on the same day, and today both men are credited with the first sighting of helium.

At the time, however, Lockyer and Janssen got ridicule rather than accolades for their discovery. Other scientists didn’t believe the astronomers’ account of a new element … until 30 years later, when Scottish chemist William Ramsay discovered a perplexing earthly gas hidden inside a chunk of uranium ore.

Ramsay sent the sample to Lockyer for confirmation. The scientist was thrilled by the element’s “glorious yellow effulgence,” which he described in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London in 1895. Finally vindicated, Janssen and Lockyer were honored by the French government with a gold medal bearing both their faces.

Short-Term Green Tips For Home

Here is some short-term quick and easy steps to help you get started on the road to green in your home


Tip 1:"Green" your laundry.
Detergents, fabric softeners and bleaches can be toxic to your family and to the environment. Some surfactants and fragrances in laundry detergents contain hormone-disrupting chemicals that can't always be removed by wastewater treatment plants and end up harming local wildlife. Chlorine bleach is not only poisonous for humans, but can create dangerous byproducts, such as dioxin, when flushed down the drain. Get your clothes clean without all of the pollution by switching to eco-friendlier cleaners. The companies Ecover, Sun & Earth, Seventh Generation and OxyPrime make less-toxic alternatives to traditional laundry detergents. Try nonchlorine bleach such as OxyBoost or Ecover's hydrogen peroxide-based option.

$ Factor: The eco-friendlier detergents and bleaches cost no more than standard products.



Tip 2:A little warmer, a little cooler.
About 47 percent of the average household's annual energy bills stem from heating and cooling. Every degree you raise your thermostat in the summer will reduce air conditioning bills by about 2 percent. Lowering the temperature by one degree in winter will save you 3 percent on heating bills. Regular maintenance and a tune up every two or three years will keep your heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, system operating efficiently, saving energy and money. A programmable thermostat -- excellent for a family that spends a good part of the day at work or school -- will shave 10 percent off your bill.

$ Factor: Adjusting your thermostat is free, easy and can yield big savings. A programmable thermostat starts about $30 and produces an annual savings of about $100.



Tip 3:Switch to cold water.
Almost 90 percent of the energy used to wash clothes is used to heat the water, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Save money and energy. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water, instead of hot, using a detergent formulated for cold-water use.

$ Factor: Turning the dial from hot to warm will cut your energy use by 50 percent per load, and save you up to $63 a year, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.



Tip 4:Line dry -- like grandma used to do.
Dry your clothes on a laundry line rather than throwing them in the dryer. Clothes dyers are the third-largest energy users in the home, behind the refrigerator and washing machine, costing more than $100 a year to operate, according to Project Laundry List.

$ Factor: Drying your clothes on the line can save you as much as $10 a month, said Brad Stroh, co-founder of Bills.com. Laundry lines vary in cost, from about $5 for a simple rope line to $500 or more for deluxe models.



Tip 5:Stop the junk mail.
Each year, 100 million trees are cut down and turned into junk mail, with Americans receiving a total of 400 million tons of it every year. Earthworks Group, an environmental consulting firm, said cutting out junk mail is one of the most effective things people can do to reduce pollution. There are several ways to stop the flow of junk to your house.

$ Factor: For a $15 one-time fee, Green Dimes will send you a junk-mail opt-out kit that will remove your name from mailing lists for junk mail and catalogs. They then monitor the lists to make sure your names stay off of them, potentially reducing your junk mail by 90 percent. Green Dimes also plants 10 trees for each kit sold. Or, you can contact the Direct Marketing Association, and pay a $1 fee to be removed from some mailing lists.



Tip 6: Switch to Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL).
Compact fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer. They're more expensive than traditional light bulbs, but it only takes about 3 months to make up for the higher sticker price in energy savings.

$ Factor: You will save $85 over the life of the bulb for each 60-watt light bulb you replace with a 15-watt CFL. You'll also save 543 kWh of electricity and reduce your CO2 emissions by 833 pounds.


Tip 7: Kill 'vampire' electricity.
Many appliances use electricity even when they're turned off. It's called a phantom load, or vampire electricity, and as much as 75 percent of the electricity used by home electronics and small appliances is used while they're turned off. The Ohio Consumers Council estimates that it costs consumers $40 to $100 a year.

$ Factor: The simple solution is to unplug small appliances and electronics when you aren't using them. Or, plug them into a power strip and turn the power strip off when you aren't using those items. Power strips cost $10 to $20 each, and can save you up to $100 a year, depending on how many electronics you have. Simply unplugging one television, computer monitor and fax machine when you aren't using it will save you about $6 a month, Stroh said.



Tip 8: Set up a compost bin.
Composting is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to reduce the amount of garbage your household produces. Through composting, yard waste such as leaves, grass clippings and food wastes such as vegetable scraps can be turned into a nutrient-rich soil amendment that reduces the need for commercial chemical fertilizers in home gardens.

$ Factor: Compost bins vary in cost, from a few dollars for a simple, homemade bin up to several hundred dollars for a ready-made system. Composting at home can make a significant dent in household waste. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, estimates that about 25 percent of the 245 million tons of garbage going into U.S. landfills come from yard clippings and food.



Tip 9: Run full dishwasher loads.
You'll save up to 20 gallons of water per load, or 7,300 gallons a year. That's as much water as the average person drinks in a lifetime.


$ Factor: You can save even more money by running your dishwasher during off-peak hours, usually from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Many utility companies offer off-peak energy rates. And don't pre-rinse if your dishwasher can handle it.



Tip 10: Don't preheat.
Don't bother if you are broiling, roasting or baking a dish that will cook for an hour or more. Don't preheat for more than 10 minutes for breads and cakes. And when roasting meats or baking casseroles, turn off the oven 10 minutes to 15 minutes before cooking time runs out; food will continue to cook without using the extra electricity.

$ Factor: By reducing the time your oven is on by one hour per year, you'll save an average of 2 kWh of energy. If 30 percent of U.S. households did this, 60 million kWh of energy could be saved.



Tip 11:Watch that pot.
Use the right-size pot on your burners.

$ Factor: You could save about $36 annually for an electric range or $18 for gas.



Tip 12:Filter your water.
Buy a water filter for your kitchen faucet and put to good use yet another way to do away with those plastic water bottles that are clogging landfills and burning up energy in recycling plants. About 1.5 million tons of plastic are used on the bottling of 89 billion liters of drinking water each year.

$ Factor: You can buy a water filter for as little as $29, or about a month's worth of bottled water.



Tip 13: Don't run while you brush.
Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth. You'll conserve up to five gallons of water per day -- which could add up to 1.5 billion gallons that could be saved across the country each day -- more than enough for all of New York City.

$ Factor: You could save time and money on water, up to 1,825 gallons of water per person each year. This much water would fill your bathtub more than 35 times. A family of four could save almost 7,500 gallons a year.



Tip 14: No hint of lint.
Clean your dryer lint screen with every use and don't overload the dryer.

$ Factor: You'll save up to 5 percent on your electricity bill -- which could mean an energy-equivalent savings of 350 million gallons of gasoline per year if everyone did this. Also, run your dryer during off-peak hours. Check with your utility company to see if they offer discounted rates during off-peak hours and verify when those hours are. Better yet, use a clothesline.



Tip 15: From warm to cold.
Set warm wash and cold rinse cycles and save 90 percent of the energy used when using hot water only. And run your washer during off-peak hours.

$ Factor: Together, all U.S. households could save the energy equivalent of 100 thousand barrels of oil a day by switching from hot-hot to warm-cold cycles. Check with your utility company to see if they offer any discounted rates during off-peak hours.




Tip 16:Use low-flow water devices.
Wherever you use water, there's a low-flow device to fit it -- from hose nozzles, to showerheads, to faucet aerators. Handy products, such as the WaterMiser Waterbroom, use water and air pressure to remove dirt from outdoor surfaces, reducing water use by up to 60 percent. Low-flow nozzles save about 5 gallons a minute for a standard garden hose, and a low-flow showerhead uses as little as 2.5 gallons of water or less each minute and would save 25 gallons of water per 10-minute shower. Toilets made after 1996 use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush, while earlier versions can use from 3.5 to 7 gallons.

$ Factor: Low-flow hose nozzles cost less than $20; showerheads cost about $12 at home-improvement stores. Low-flow items can save you about 750 gallons of water each month per person in showers alone. They also cut your hot-water heating bills by up to 50 percent. New toilets -- from as little as $100 -- can reduce water use by up to 73 percent per flush. An even cheaper tactic: Put a water displacement bag -- about $2 -- or even a 2-liter plastic bottle filled with water in the tank away from the mechanism and you'll save almost a gallon of water per flush. Faucet aerators cost about $2 each and can cut water use from as much as 2.75 gallons per minute to as little as half a gallon a minute. Households using low-flow aerators save an average of 1,700 gallons of water each year.



Tip 17: Watch the Watts.
Gadgets such as the Kill-A-Watt and the Watt Minder help you find the biggest energy users in your home. Plug an appliance into one of these devices and it will tell you how much energy it uses per hour, month, or year, and how much it's costing you.

$ Factor: Wattage meters cost about $20 to $30. If you are interested in the bigger picture, rather than monitoring one device at a time, the Power Cost Monitor tracks, in real-time, the electricity use in your entire house and shows how much it is costing you. The monitor costs about $130 and attaches to your electric meter.



Tip 18:Make your own cleaners.
Household chemicals, including some cleaners, contain volatile organic chemicals, which contribute to indoor air pollution and may cause disease. A cost-effective way to make your home greener is to make your own household cleaners. Many homemade cleaners use non-toxic ingredients and clean just as well as commercial cleaners.

$ Factor: Making your own cleaner costs about 10 percent of the price a bottle of commercial cleaner, according to Karen Logan, author of "Clean House, Clean Planet." She says a bottle of her all-purpose cleaner costs 23 cents to make, versus a price tag of $2.69 for the off-the-shelf equivalent. If making your own cleaners isn't an option, look for cleaners carrying the Green Seal. Green Seal is a nonprofit organization that certifies products based on their environmental impact, biodegradability and other factors.



Tip 19:Reuse your water.
Water is a precious commodity, and too much of it goes down the drain. Install a rain barrel that attaches to your downspouts and collect rainwater off your roof. Rainwater is relatively free of contaminants and can be used instead of tap water for all kinds of outdoor uses: watering gardens and lawns, cleaning sidewalks and washing the car. Add to the benefit by reusing your gray water -- the waste water from doing dishes, laundry and showering. It's fine for watering plants.

$ Factor: Rain barrels cost $100 to $300 and collect from 50 to 100 gallons of water each. Savings on your water bill will likely be nominal. Recycling gray water can be as simple as reusing the water last night's pasta dinner boiled in to water your plants. More sophisticated systems, such as the Aqus from WaterSaver Technologies, disinfects, stores then and reuses the water from your bathroom sink to flush the toilet. It costs about $200 and reduces wastewater by up to 5,000 gallons per year in a typical household.



Tip 20:Zap your meals.
Microwaves are between 3.5 and 4.8 times more energy efficient than traditional electric ovens. Cooking and reheating with a microwave is faster and more efficient than the stovetop or oven.

$ Factor: Cooking with microwaves can reduce up to 70 percent of energy use for cooking. What's more, using microwaves extends the life of your oven significantly. And one more thing: Cleaning a microwave oven is a snap and saves even more of the cash you would spend on energy with a self-cleaning oven or on toxic-chemical oven cleaners.



Tip 21:Get picky on phosphates.
Pick laundry detergents without phosphates, which deplete the oxygen in water and as a result kill aquatic life. And while you're at it, buy only powdered detergent in cardboard packaging as opposed to a liquid in plastic packaging. The liquid contains water, which you already have, so it takes more fuel to ship that heavier container of detergent and water, not to mention the energy and petroleum used to manufacture the plastic container. The cardboard container also requires energy and resources to produce, but many are now made from post-consumer recycled paper and the trees they originate from are a renewable resource.

$ Factor: The cost-per-load comes out pretty much the same for powder and liquid, so going with the non-phosphate powders give you the chance to help the planet without any real cost to you.



Tip 22:Use commercial car washes.
Getting your car washed at a commercial car wash is better for the environment than doing it yourself. C ommercial car washes not only use significantly less water per wash -- up to 100 gallons less -- but they often recycle and reuse the rinse water.

$ Factor: If every American who currently washes a vehicle at home chose instead to go to a professional care wash -- just once -- up to 8.7 billion gallons of water could be saved, and some 12 billion gallons of soapy polluted water could be diverted from the country's rivers, lakes and streams.



Tip 23:Clean air filters.
Check air conditioning filters monthly to either clean or replace them. This will help the unit run more efficiently. Better yet: buy a permanent filter that can be washed and re-used. This will save you money over the long run and keep all those disposable filters out of landfills. If your unit is outdoors, check to make sure the coils are not obstructed by debris, plants or shrubs.

$ Factor: Clogged filters can make electric bills skyrocket and eventually cause extensive, expensive damage to your air handler.

LEED for Homes Point Categories

The LEED for Homes voluntary rating system awards certification based on point totals in eight categories. (Download the checklist for point requirements.) The categories and requirements are developed through a rigorous consensus-based process, including a period of USGBC member balloting.

Innovation & Design Process
Location & Linkages
Sustainable Sites
Water Efficiency
Energy & Atmosphere
Materials and Resources
Indoor Environmental Quality
Awareness & Education

Innovation & Design Process
Sustainable design strategies and measures are constantly evolving and improving. New technologies are continually introduced to the marketplace, and up-to-date scientific research influences building design strategies. Occasionally, a strategy results in building performance that greatly exceeds that required in an existing LEED credit. Other strategies may not be addressed by any LEED prerequisite or credit but warrant consideration for their sustainability benefits.

Green home-building strategies and techniques are most effectively implemented as part of an integrated design process, with input from individuals involved in each phase of the project. Good design can keep costs down and ensure proper integration of green techniques and achievement of project goals.

One aspect of home design that is often overlooked is the assessment and mitigation of long-term durability risks to the home. Durability failures are a significant cost and cause of stress for both builders and homeowners, but many easy and low-cost strategies are often overlooked because builders do not consider durability in the up-front design.

The Innovation & Design Process (ID) credit category encourages project planning and design to improve the coordination and integration of the various elements in a green home.

Credits can be earned for innovative designs, exemplary performance or regional best-practices that can be shown to produce quantifiable environmental and human health benefits.

The three Innovation & Design Process credits in the LEED for Homes Rating System are:

Integrated Project Planning
Durability Management Process
Innovative or Regional Design.


Location & Linkages
Home-building projects have substantial site-related environmental effects, in terms of both the impact to the site itself and the impacts that stem from the location of the site. The Sustainable Sites credit category focuses on the former; Location & Linkages addresses how builders can choose site locations that promote environmentally responsible land-use patterns and neighborhoods.

Location & Linkages (LL) credits reward builders for selecting home sites that have more sustainable land-use patterns and offer advantages over conventional developments. Land is used more efficiently, reducing the acreage needed for new housing. Fragmentation of farmland and forest and other natural areas is minimized. Well-sited developments need less infrastructure, especially roads and water and sewer lines. And such developments promote a range of sustainable transportation options, including walking, cycling and mass transit, thereby reducing dependence on personal automobiles.

LL credits can be earned in either of two ways:

Pathway 1: LL 1, LEED for Neighborhood Development.
The LEED for Neighborhood Development program certifies “smart-growth” housing development. The pilot phase of this program is expected to conclude in late 2008, after which new projects can register and receive credit for selecting a home site in a certified development.

Pathway 2: LL 2–6.
Projects that either cannot or choose not to participate in the LEED for Neighborhood Development program can earn points in this category by pursuing the following strategies:

LL 2: Site Selection
LL 3: Preferred Locations
LL 4: Infrastructure
LL 5: Community Resources
LL 6: Access to Open Space


Sustainable Sites
Green building goes beyond the built structures because the use of the site and its natural elements can have a significant environmental impact. The Location & Linkages category awards projects for choosing a preferable site; the Sustainable Sites category awards projects for minimizing site impacts.

Early decisions about how to incorporate the home into the site can have significant long-term effects on local and regional ecosystems, as well as demand for water, chemicals and pesticides for site management. Good design decisions can result in attractive, easy-to-maintain landscaping that protects native plant and animal species and contributes to the health of local and regional habitats.

Depending on how a home is integrated into the site, normal rainfall can be a problem, causing soil erosion and run-off of chemicals and pesticides or an opportunity to offset potable water demand and recharge underground aquifers. Surrounding plants can be a burden, requiring regular upkeep, watering and chemicals, or an enhancement that provides shade, aesthetic value, habitat for native species and a mechanism for absorbing carbon and enriching the soil.

Site design should take into consideration the aesthetic and functional preferences of the occupants, but also long-term management needs, preservation principles and potential impacts on local and regional ecosystems.

The six Sustainable Sites (SS) credits in the LEED for Homes Rating System:

Site Stewardship
Landscaping
Local Heat Island Effects
Surface Water Management
Non-toxic Pest Control
Compact Development


Water Efficiency
In the United States, approximately 340 billion gallons of fresh water is withdrawn per day from rivers and reservoirs to support residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural and recreational activities. This accounts for about one-fourth of the nation’s total supply of renewable fresh water. Almost 65 percent of this water is discharged to rivers, streams and other water bodies after use and, in some cases, treatment.

Additionally, water is withdrawn from underground aquifers. In some parts of the United States, water levels in these aquifers have dropped more than 100 feet since the 1940s.

On an annual basis, the water deficit in the United States is currently estimated at about 3,700 billion gallons. In other words, Americans extract 3,700 billion gallons per year more than they return to the natural water system to recharge aquifers and other water sources.

Water for domestic use may be delivered from a public supplier or be self-supplied isby a well. Self-supplied domestic withdrawals are an estimated 3,590 million gallons per day.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated the use of water-conserving plumbing fixtures and fittings to reduce water use in residential, commercial and institutional buildings. Water efficiency measures in new homes can easily reduce water usage by 30% or more. In a typical home, savings of 30,000 gallons of water a year can be achieved very cost-effectively. This results in average annual water utility savings of about $100 per year.

As communities grow, increased demand for water leads to additional maintenance and higher costs for municipal supply and treatment facilities. New homes that use water efficiently have lower water use fees and reduced sewage volumes. Many water conservation strategies involve either no additional cost or rapid paybacks; biological wastewater treatment, rainwater harvesting and gray water plumbing systems, on the other hand, often involve more substantial investment.

The Water Efficiency (WE) category in the LEED for Homes Rating System has three kinds of credits:

Water Reuse
Irrigation Systems
Indoor Water Use

Energy & Atmosphere
Data from the home-building industry indicate that close to 1.5 million new homes are built each year, and that the average size of new homes has doubled in the past 50 years. As a result, total U.S. fossil energy use in homes has been steadily increasing. The average American consumes five times more energy than the average global citizen, 10 times more than the average Chinese person, and nearly 20 times more than the average Indian.

Conventional fossil-based generation of electricity releases carbon dioxide, which contributes to global climate change. Coal-fired electric utilities emit almost one-third of the country’s anthropogenic nitrogen oxides, the precursor of smog, and two-thirds the sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain. They also emit more fine particulate material than any other activity in the United States. Because the human body is incapable of clearing fine particles from the lungs, these emissions are contributing factors in tens of thousands of cancer and respiratory illness-related deaths annually. Natural gas, nuclear fission and hydroelectric generators all have adverse environmental impacts as well. Natural gas is a major source of nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power increases the potential for catastrophic accidents and raises significant waste transportation and disposal issues. Hydroelectric generating plants disrupt natural water flows, resulting in disturbance of habitat and depletion of fish populations.
Buildings consume approximately 37% of the energy and 68% of the electricity produced in the United States annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2006, total emissions from residential buildings were responsible for 1.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, or 20% of the U.S. total.

Scientists predict that left unchecked, emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases from human activities will raise global temperatures by 2.5ºF to 10ºF over the 21st century. The effects will be profound and may include rising sea levels, more frequent floods and droughts and increased spread of infectious diseases. To address the threat of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions must be slowed, stopped and reversed. Meeting the challenge will require dramatic advances in technologies and a shift in how the world economy generates and uses energy.

Absent significant improvements in environmental performance, the residential building sector will be a major contributor of global CO2 emissions. Homes have a lifespan of 50 to 100 years, during which they continually consume energy and produce CO2 emissions. Further, the U.S. population and economy are projected to grow significantly over the coming decades, increasing the need for new homes. To meet this demand, approximately 12 million new homes are projected to be constructed by 2015.

Building green homes is one of the best strategies for meeting the challenge of climate change because the technology to make substantial reductions in energy and CO2 emissions already exists. The average certified LEED home uses 30% to 40% less electricity and saves more than 100 metric tons of CO2 emissions over its lifetime. Modest investments in energy-saving and other climate-friendly technologies can yield homes and communities that are healthier, more comfortable, more durable, energy efficient and environmentally responsible places to live.


Materials & Resources
The choice of building materials is important for sustainable homebuilding because of the extensive network of extraction, processing and transportation they require. Activities to produce building materials may pollute the air and water, destroy natural habitats and deplete natural resources. Construction and demolition wastes constitute about 40% of the total solid waste stream in the United States. Good design decisions, particularly in the framing of homes, can significantly reduce demand for framing materials, as well as the associated waste and embedded energy. Without even changing the home design, a project can save framing materials and reduce site waste by planning appropriately and communicating the design to the framing team through detailed framing documents and/or scopes of work.

Sources should be evaluated when materials are selected for a project. Reclaimed (i.e., salvaged post-consumer) materials can be substituted for new materials, saving costs and reducing resource use. Recycled-content materials reuse waste products that would otherwise be deposited in landfills. Use of local materials supports the local economy and reduces the harmful impacts of long-distance transport. Use of third-party-certified wood promotes good stewardship of forests and related ecosystems. Use of low-emitting materials will improve the indoor air quality in the home and reduce demand for materials with added volatile, toxic compounds.An increasing number of public and private waste management operations have reduced construction debris volumes by recycling these materials. Recovery activities typically begin at the job site, with separation into multiple bins or disposal areas. In some areas, regional recycling facilities accept commingled waste and separate the recyclable materials from those that must go to the landfill. These facilities can achieve waste diversion rates of 80% or greater.

The Materials & Resources (MR) category in the LEED for Homes Rating System has three components:

Material-Efficient Framing
Environmentally Preferable Products
Waste Management



Indoor Environmental Quality
Americans spend on average 90% of their time indoors, where levels of pollutants may run two to five times — and occasionally more than 100 times — higher than outdoors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Similarly, the World Health Organization reported in its Air Quality Guidelines for Europe that most of an individual's exposure to many air pollutants comes through inhalation of indoor air. Many of the pollutants found indoors can cause health reactions in the estimated 17 million Americans who suffer from asthma and 40 million who have allergies, contributing to millions of days absent from school and work.

Homeowners are just beginning to realize the link between their health and their homes. Hazardous household pollutants may include carbon monoxide, radon, formaldehyde, mold, dirt and dust, pet dander, and residue from tobacco smoke and candles. Many homeowners also store various chemicals inside their homes as well, including pesticides, fertilizers, solvents, grease, oils, degreasers, gasoline, antifreeze, strong detergents, thinners and oil-based paints.
Over the past 20 years, research and experience have improved our understanding of what is involved in attaining high indoor environmental quality and revealed manufacturing and construction practices that can prevent problems from arising. Preventing indoor air quality problems is generally much less expensive than identifying and solving them after they occur. Generally, there are three types of strategies: source removal, source control and dilution.

Source removal is the most practical way to ensure that harmful chemical compounds are not brought into the home. Evaluating the properties of adhesives, paints, carpets, composite wood products and furniture and selecting materials with low levels of potentially irritating off-gassing can reduce occupant exposure. Scheduling deliveries and sequencing construction activities can reduce exposure of materials to moisture and absorption of off-gassed contaminants. (Low-emissions materials are addressed under Materials & Resources.)

Source control strategies focus on capturing pollutants that are known to exist in a home. For example, filtering the supply air stream removes particulates that would otherwise be continuously recirculated through the home. Protection of air-handling systems during construction and a building flushout prior to occupancy further reduce the potential for problems.

Dilution involves the use of fresh outside air to ventilate a home and exhaust pollutants to the outdoors. This may also help control moisture within the home. Most new homes in the United States do not have mechanical fresh-air ventilation systems. The typical air-handling systems in new homes merely recirculate the air within the home, continuously pumping indoor pollutants through the home rather than exhausting them.

Another aspect of indoor air quality is occupant comfort. The proper installation of automatic sensors and controls to maintain proper temperature, humidity and ventilation in occupied spaces helps maintain optimal air quality. Surprisingly, sensors to alert a home’s occupants to deadly carbon monoxide concentrations are frequently not required by current codes but should be included in all new homes. Letting occupants fully and effectively control their thermal environment can reduce hot-cold complaint calls and generally raise satisfaction levels.

The Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) credit category encourages builders to prevent air pollution and improve air quality and comfort in the homes they build.

Alternative Compliance PathwaysThe two parallel pathways through the 10 EQ credits in the LEED for Homes Rating System are illustrated in Table 1 and summarized below.

Pathway 1: ENERGY STAR with Indoor Air Package

Projects that participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR with Indoor Air Package initiative automatically qualify for 13 points. Up to 7 additional points are available if the following credits are also completed:

EQ 4.2: Enhanced Outdoor Air Ventilation
EQ 5.2: Enhanced Local Exhaust
EQ 5.3: Third-Party Testing
EQ 7.2 or 7.3: Better or Best Air Filters
EQ 8.2: Indoor Contaminant Control

Pathway 2: Prescriptive Approach

The following strategies can earn points in this credit category:

EQ 2: Combustion Venting
EQ 3: Moisture Control
EQ 4: Outdoor Air Ventilation
EQ 5: Local Exhaust
EQ 6: Distribution Systems
EQ 7: Air Filtering
EQ 8: Contaminant Control
EQ 9: Radon Protection
EQ 10: Garage Pollutant Protection


Awareness & Education
The LEED for Homes Rating System addresses the design and construction of new green homes — roles that are the responsibility of the home designer and the builder, respectively. But the environmental impact of a home continues throughout its life-cycle, well beyond the initial design and construction decisions. Most new homes are expected to last 50 to 100 years, during which the occupants will consume energy, water and other resources. They therefore play a substantial role in the resource use of a home over its lifetime.

Some homebuyers may know very little about green home construction. They may be unaware of the green features in the home, or they may be unfamiliar with how to use and maintain them. Without adequate training, the full benefits of the LEED measures likely will not be achieved.

This credit category promotes broad awareness among homebuyers and tenants that LEED homes are built differently and need to be operated and maintained accordingly. Because the operations and maintenance tasks in multifamily buildings may be performed by a building manager, this credit also addresses the need for appropriate education of building managers.

The two Awareness & Education (AE) categories in the LEED for Homes Rating System are Education of the Homeowner or Tenant and Education of the Building Manager.

How Politics, Backstabbing Can Ruin the Office

by

Ambrose Clancy

Long Island Business News

Published: August 7, 2009

A veteran devil gives an apprentice in the trade a description of hell on earth, telling him to picture a place “where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance and resentment.”

The devil, in C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters,” is talking about a bureaucratic office, and if any of the above dysfunction describes where you work, take cold comfort, you’re not alone.
Ellen Cooperperson, president of Hauppauge’s Corporate Performance Consultants, said in her 25-year career she’s calculated that 80 percent of offices are dysfunctional, with that figure backed up by management research.

We asked her and other experts why good places go bad.

Nobody’s Talkin’
Cooperperson consulted on the Bank of New York-Mellon Financial merger in the summer of 2007. A chief concern was how the newly combined company would function once the bell rang on Wall Street. But people at both firms panicked they’d be pink slipped or, if they survived, what roles they’d have, who they would report to, etc. The panic was expressed by deafening silence.

So Cooperperson invited employees into a room where six elephant piñatas hung.

“Literally making them recognize the elephants in the room,” Cooperperson said. “After smashing them, everyone’s concerns were addressed.”

She described offices as a “network of conversations,” and healthy offices embrace debate as part of those conversations. Fear of debate means a lack of trust; with no debate, gossiping and backbiting are the only conversations remaining. Therefore managers have to upgrade the quality of those conversations.

Trust has to be established by management, but the employee can take the bull by the horns, said Vicky Oliver, author of “Bad Bosses, Crazy Co-Workers & Other Office Idiots.”

“Nothing’s served by being passive. Don’t ignore situations,” Oliver said.
'
Matthew Cordaro, Dean of Dowling College’s Townsend School of Business believes in regularly scheduled meetings.

“And nothing should be sugarcoated,” he said, meaning the present and the future of the organization must be discussed regularly. Another toxic form of communication is private huddling and criticizing people not present.

Fish Rot From the Head Down
Leaders are responsible for an office’s atmosphere, and a poisonous office usually means no accountability at the top, Cooperperson said.

“The ultimate consequence of avoiding accountability is inattention to results until it becomes systemic,” she said. “Goals are not achieved but there are a lot of excuses why.”

Robert Riggio, author of “The Practice of Leadership,” has written about clueless leaders such as the one played by Steve Carell on TV’s “The Office,” who are blind to an awful situation. Then there are managers who simply don’t care. They’re worse, since they delegate poorly and reward incompetency.

Cordaro believes leaders must fight for their people. He recalled 1987 when the Long Island Lighting Co. was melting down, and how employees suffered from the company’s terrible image. Leaders ignored staff morale and that made the situation even more catastrophic.

Another leader working the dark side is one who believes in the concept of divide and rule, said Robert Bornstein, a professor at Adelphi’s Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies.

“Pitting staff members against each other to motivate them creates sibling rivalry and is a great distraction,” Bornstein said. “There’s confusion about roles and responsibilities.”

It’s the System, Stupid
Cooperperson once had an assignment to work with an aloof and arrogant manager running sales at the Long Island headquarters of an international corporation. She found a division with such resistance to this manager that people were making fun of him to the point where an unofficial part of orientation for new hires included hearing negative stories about him.

“It was a mutiny, with the office dead in the water,” she said.

The solution was to work with the manager, who made amends and then took on the larger challenge of “fixing” the organization.

“When someone says, ‘Fix him,’ I know it’s a much larger problem,’” Cooperperson said.

No Plan, Stan
“A good office takes a lot of work, but it also takes a theory,” Bornstein said. “It’s not just being clear, communicative and consistent in your behavior, but having an underlying framework for what you do.”

There are two successful approaches, he added, one Japanese and one American.

“A successful Japanese office is where everyone is nurtured,” Bornstein said, referring to studies published in “Psychology Applied to Work,” by Paul Muchinsky.

A successful American model is one where goals are crystal clear and incentives are completely spelled out and delivered.

In an MBA program run by Professor James Freeley at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, students study Continuous Process Improvement, a technique that constantly identifies the causes of problems, avoiding the need to merely put out fires all week long. One of CPI’s principles is a Japanese principle known as “kaizen,” which means every person in the office is involved in problem solving. Most importantly, no blame is assessed for problems. The focus is entirely about finding a solution. CPI is also forward looking, and thus helps avoid dead ends or over-the-cliff disasters in offices. It also strives to remove all work that has no positive impact on the organization’s goals.

But office systems are like exercise; no matter if you practice yoga or jumping jacks, it’s not going to work unless it’s done every day and reviewed regularly.

Principally It’s About Principals
Leaders have to set an example by acting ethically, not only with all of their employees but with everyone who interacts with the office, Cordaro said.

“Being successful is of course essential, and having a good reputation as a principled company creates a good working environment to achieve that success,” he said.

Silk Purse From A Sow’s Ear
How do you remediate a toxic office? Author Oliver believes offices should start with the concept that youth must be served. Serious mentoring programs should be installed to keep the office from devouring its young.

“It’s enormously important for a young person to find an older person who takes an interest in their career development,” she said. And it focuses on both the veteran employee and the newbie.

“Mentoring should be part of the organizational system, but unfortunately, in most offices, it’s not.”

Cooperperson believes “courageous conversations” should commence immediately.

“People are scared in the beginning,” she said. “It’s, ‘Oh, my God, we’re going to have to tell the truth?’ But you must get the old conversations, the old stories out of the way and put them to rest to make way for the future.”

Paul Brennan, Prudential Douglas Elliman Hampton’s regional manager, said a real estate office differs in some ways from other offices, but there are enough similarities to learn something.

“Changing an office full of wounded egomaniacs is difficult,” Brennan said. “You have to be an example and practice humility to keep people’s egos in check.”

If the theory of squeaky wheels getting the grease is in place, it will be a chaotic mess. “That’s a nightmare when everyone catches on to it,” Brennan said. “You have to be fair to everyone and turn it around by again acting with some humility.”

And if that doesn’t work?

“Get yourself into therapy,” Brennan said.

What Does 'Green' Really Mean?

If trying to figure out what "green" means is causing you to see red, you're hardly alone.

For two decades, words like "natural," "organic" and "recycled" have been used to attract the interest of eco-conscious consumers. "Green" is the new tag to promote everything from paper to building materials that are good for — or from — the environment.

But for consumers, it can be almost impossible to tell exactly what "green" means.

"There's no 'green' stamp of approval that we all agree on at this time," says Nicole Goldman, owner of 'g' Green Design Center in Mashpee Commons. Her store sells green products of all kinds for the home, from building and furnishing materials to biodegradable trash-can liners and light bulbs, towels, cleansers and fabric. But, in general, for a product to be considered green, she says, it has to be ecologically sound, healthy, energy-efficient, renewable, reusable, have recyclable content or be highly durable.

Part of energy-efficiency, too, involves not only the amount of fossil fuels it might take to use a product but also to produce or transport it.

Consumers are starting to get interested, and the bigger picture encompasses climate change, overburdened landfills, increasing energy costs, water scarcity, and diminishing air quality.

Connect all those dots, and you can see a huge potential, not just in the U.S. but globally.

You hear a lot of talk about saving the environment in the news, on talk shows and just about everywhere you turn these days. Terms like "green friendly", "green energy" and "green technology" are often used among others. What do these "green" terms really mean?

The sole purpose of "going green" is to use products and methods that won't negatively impact the environment with pollution or deplete natural resources. While there is still some skepticism about the dangers of global warming no one can't doubt the fact that pollution and diminished resources can (and has) affect on the delicate balance of the planet our very lives depend on.

While the debate over the future consequences continues more people are siding in favor of preservation over risk. Choosing alternative methods or other options that eliminate or reduce the need for natural resources can only result in a positive outcome, regardless of belief, so it's the responsible choice.

Some simple "green friendly" changes are easy to do and can be done with little or no sacrifice. Certain changes can actually enhance the quality of life and not diminish it as some fear.

One good example of taking advantage of the green living lifestyle is paperless billing. When a bill has to be mailed trees are destroyed to create the paper. In addition fuel and natural resources are used to manufacture the paper. Electronic billing online completely eliminates the need to destroy any trees and use natural resources for production. Online billing is easy, convenient and sensible option.

Other examples is the use of eco-friendly supplies such as bamboo flooring or supplies made of recycled goods. More cost effective measures are using thermostat and light timers and energy efficient CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs.

Green and clean products for household use such as lemon juice, baking soda and vinegar are excellent natural cleaning substitutes for harsh chemicals. Many times simple and environmentally eco friendly supplies are less expensive too so there is a two-fold advantage.

If we all do a little something toward the goal of achieving a "green" and healthy environment it will go a long way to stop the detrimental effects of the past and produce a better future for all of us.

Years ago no one seemed overly concerned about the environment. I've always been a little frugal so I always thought it made sense not to waste but I didn't impose my beliefs on anyone. In recent years since these issues have come to the forefront I'm glad to see more people who want to do their part to help. I've dedicated three web sites to the green living causes, eco friendly supplies and green and clean ideas for the home.

I am an avid reader and researcher. I like to learn about new things. I don't claim to know it all but I know about a lot of topics and I'm learning more all the time.

Don't shoot the messenger.

Building Green History

Any study to understand what green building is could not begin without first learning why this trend began. A future student of history could unwisely skip over the answers on how we came as a society to embrace this technology and go straight to lessons on constructing green buildings. However, doing so would undercut the valuable journey that to know where we are going one must know where we have been.

Ironically, we tend to identify/label many things green as new ideology/invention when in fact some of our green technologies and products derive from ancient times. Water conservation products like rain barrels and other catchment devices dates back thousands of years when the Romans used systems to collect water runoff for using in pools and bats. Passive solar design has been around since the beginning of building construction. Architects today often design structures to utilize the sun's solar heat to reduce energy costs over the building's life cycle. However, before the era of modern air conditioning and heating, architects knew how to use the sun for it's benefits and how to shelter against it for its negatives as some of our earlier commercial building features clearly demonstrate this with their orientation and design. It seems like there is a new 'green" product on the market popping up everyday promoting itself as natural or organic. Before the Industrial Age eventually yielded the wide use of chemicals, synthetics, and other inorganic compounds to manufacturer millions of consumer goods, man-kind often used natural products for common taks such as cleaning, bathing, cooking, and painting.

From the previous examples, it may seem that a minor part of green building and green living today includes simply bring back the 'old ways". However building green is much more than that. The history of our modern green movement in the U.S. has its birth in the 1960's and '70's when the environmental movement was getting started.

The 1960's produced influential writers like Rachel Carson who was a biologist and wrote Silent Spring in 1962. A bestseller of its time, her book about pesticides is often cited as one of the major influences for like minded environmentalists, activists, politicians, architects, and lawyers of that period. Her book helped lead to government investigations of the chemical industry and eventually helped inspire (among others) the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by 1970.

In the 1970's, the U.S. faced the hard lessons from imported oil. In 1973, the oil embargo brought high fuel costs andcaused many people to rethink the use of petroleum. In addition to worrying about fuel costs, others began to examine the environmental impact on fossil fuels on our environment. Inspired by these issues and more, a few architects achieved some modern accomplishments in building green during this era. As an example, the Gregory Bateson Building in California was built in 1978 and has photovoltaic panels, underfloor cooling, and zone limate control.

These issues behind building green are vast to say the least. At the heart of the green building movement in the 1970's and into the 1980's was the key term "sustainable" accompanied by the top priority of sustainable design. During these two decades architects along with government agencies like the EPA, Department of Energy (DOE), plus other organizations were instrumental in laying the foundation work towards studying and improving sustainable design in buildings and addressing environmental issues of today. their work is one of the primary reasons sustainable design is the major strategy in the green buildings of the 21st century.

Shades of '1984': Amazon Removing E-Books from Kindles

The New York Times'David Pogue reports that Amazon has decided to pull certain copies of electronic books from its shelves. In doing so, however, Amazon has also pulled them off of Kindles its customers own, and who had already purchased the books in question. Pogue notes a complaints page where Amazon users have begun posting confused messages, trying to figure out why their e-books have disappeared. The publisher apparently decided to remove the books from its electronic catalog and Amazon followed suit.

The irony, of course, is which author was pulled from Amazon's electronic shelves: George Orwell, whose 1984 and Animal Farm basically defined institutional paranoia. And, the fact that Amazon rarely comments on its decisions makes the action even more sinister.

Billy Joel, Elton John: Midsummer double hitters!

5 Days

In preparation of the concert Tuesday night in Chicago

From billyjoel.com

Midsummer 2009 finds Billy Joel continuing the rapturously received series of concert dates that he and touring partner Sir Elton John commenced in early March. Beginning in Florida and sweeping through the heartland before notching some major Canadian cities, the tour’s venues have gradually shifted from indoor arenas towards bigger outdoor stadiums. The tour’s outdoor debut in Washington, D.C., held a special resonance as it also marked the inauguration of live music at Nationals Park, a year-old baseball facility that serves as home to the Washington Nationals. Despite construction delays on the city’s Metro system and a brief threat of rain as dusk settled in on the park, by show time an excited crowd had filled the bleachers and covered infield. The show began in its usual impressive fashion, with seasoned mimic Billy doing a fine job of channeling Elton on several verses of “Your Song”, and Sir Elton returning the favor on “Just the Way You Are”. Then with, Elton attempting to accompany his own “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” on his massive Yamaha convert grand, came a mishap that was distracting to say the least. As recounted by Washington Post contributor Chris Klimek in his review:

John called a timeout after that opening two-fer while a roadie tried to fix a stuck sustain pedal on the royal piano. As John cursed, relief pitcher Joel played an impromptu and funny "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Joel even crawled under his fuming co-star's piano to try to help solve the problem himself. It was one of the most crowd-pleasing moments of the evening, with three hours to go. "At least you know we're not on tape!" Joel quipped. "This is an authentic rock-and-roll [expletive]. You don't see many of these anymore!" Turning back to his own ever-ready Steinway (which gets a meticulous daily inspection from piano tech Wayne Williams, the same man who catches Billy’s flung microphone stand after “Still Rock `N Roll To Me” each night), Billy and band roared into his own portion of the set. The Post account picks up the saga: John finally withdrew while Joel fielded his band for a 65-minute set that opened with a swaggering "Prelude/Angry Young Man." As the entire spectacle was seen by Adam Mazmanian of The Washington Times in his July 13 review, “Piano men John, Joel rally over mishaps”:

In the end, the glitch proved to be a little bit of spilt milk in a 33-song musical feast that left all but the most gluttonous adult contemporary fans sated. Mr. Joel's set featured a rapid fire spray of crowd-pleasers, executed without too much frippery or noodling. There is a relentless drive to the melodies in "Movin' Out," "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me," "Don't Ask Me Why" that Mr. Joel mines to great effect in performance with bombastic piano playing and an energetic singing style. First attempted in 1994, the Face 2 Face tour's pairing of Mr. John and Mr. Joel almost had to happen. The two are nearly exact contemporaries — Mr. John is 62; Mr. Joel is 60 — and they occupy similar spots in the public imagination as leading piano men in a world of guitar heroes. That kind of rally bode well for the several remaining big-venue stops on the current tour leg, and anticipation was high both amongst the Joel troops and of course, the awaiting fans for tonight’s visit (followed by another show July 21) to the city’s historic Wrigley Field. With epochal converts in his native New York forming a good part of the Joel lore—his Yankee Stadium show in '90 was perhaps topped only by last year’s “Last Play At Shea”—baseball parks have been very, very good for Billy. His good pal Sir Paul McCartney is playing the New York Mets’ new Citi Field stadium this Friday, an event which was likely to see Billy in attendance, and the tour’s upcoming arrival at the New England Patriots’s Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

With both piano prodigies sharing a determination to deliver a rocking show every night out, dates in the coming days in New York State and Billy’s traditional stronghold of Philadelphia promise to generate further buzz around a tour that is consistently topping the Billboard tally of top-grossing road acts. As a local reviewer found noted after attending an energetic gig in Columbus, Ohio:

Fifteen years ago, singer-pianists Billy Joel, 60, and Sir Elton John, 62, first toured together, including an appearance before more than 60,000 fans at Ohio Stadium.

In 2003, they hit the road again to more than 18,000 fans in Nationwide Arena. So the third time they've been "Face 2 Face" (the tour's name) may not have been as memorable an event as that first concert, but musically, it was just as great.

The No Responsibility Society
Suing Because Your Daughter Is Texting So Much She Didn't Notice The Open Pothole

From the Houston, We Have A Problem Dept

A bunch of news outlets have been reporting on various versions of this story -- and I have to admit, it sounds so ridiculous that it reads like an urban legend. I was hesitant to even write about it at first, but with so many mainstream media sources covering it, perhaps it really did happen. It was reported in the NY papers last week. Basically, a girl who claims she was so focused on text messaging while working fell into an open manhole in Staten Island. Now, that should be embarrassing enough, but the really crazy part is the claim that the girl's parents are planning to sue the city for not adequately protecting their daughter from herself. At least they're not suing the mobile carrier or mobile device maker as well...The kid should be sued for being stupid and wasting the taxpayers dollars on the manpower to help her out.

Help Us Help You

Advanced Restoration Corporation, A DKI Member Company, is a family-owned and operated full-service property damage restoration company with a combined 75 years experience in dealing with Fire Damage Restoration, Water Damage Restoration, Flood & Storm Damage, Mold Remediation, Smoke Damage Restoration and Reconstruction. We service Long Island (Nassau County, NY; Suffolk County, NY) and the New York Metro area.

When disasters strike, Advanced Restoration Corp. is ready to respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are guaranteed to speak with one of our knowledgeable, caring team members, day or night.

Our immediate response to a claim/property loss helps minimize the damages to the structure, contents, and ease the sometime catastrophic effect that a disaster may have on an owner or occupants.

Our company is dedicated to serving our clients with courteous and prompt service. We take the utmost pride in the craftsmanship of our work. As certified specialists in water mitigation and fire/smoke restoration, we have the knowledge, expertise and experience to deal with all types of property damage. Our professional staff is also trained in all aspects of mold remediation and damage appraisals.

Our Clients
Homeowners
Business Owners
Insurance Professionals
Real Estate Professionals
Mortgage Professionals (FHA 203k Rehab Loan)
Property/Facility Management Professionals

Water Damage In Your Home/Office: Seven Scenarios

Water damage is one of the most common reasons people make claims on their insurance policy. Frozen pipes, broken pipes, leaky appliances, roof leaks, drain backups and rain water often lead people to discover the details of their insurance policies.

Water damage and homeowners policies can be a tricky issue. You really have to sit down and talk to your insurance agent and make sure you have coverage for basic issues. In my experience, insurance companies will not cover the cause of the problem but they will pay for any resulting damages. For example, if you had a malfunction of your water heater which flooded your home/office, they usually will not pay to for the actual repair of the damaged water heater. But they will cover any cost from the damage to the structure that the water caused.

This does not cover a freeze-up situation. If you the water damage was a result of the frozen pipe, if it was caused by unforeseen problem insurance covers repairs to both the frozen pipe and the resulting damages.

Again, please speak with your insurance agent if you have an issue. They are your friend. By talking to him it does not mean you are putting in a claim. Whereas if you call your insurance company and ask questions, they automatically log the call as a filed claim.

Here are common water-damage scenarios and possible coverages.

1: Its the middle of winter. You go away on vacation. The temperature drops to 5 below zero, causing your water pipes to freeze and burst. Your neighbor calls you why you are away to tell you that your house is a block of ice .

Are you covered?
Yes, you're covered for water damage from burst pipes, but most policies won't cover you if you've left the house unoccupied and without heat. If that's the case, your claim could be denied because you've failed to perform your "Due Diligence" that would have prevented that accident.

2: Your pool cracks and floods your lawn and into your basement.

Are you covered?
The damage to your basement and your personal property are covered, but not the damage to your lawn. But again, ask your insurance agent and check your policy. According to a sample policy, "We do not cover land, including land on which the dwelling is located." However, your lawn is covered if it's damaged by certain "named perils." These include fire, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by you and vandalism. The amount of coverage for lawns and plants is small — usually only up to $500. Swimming-pool leaks are not a named peril. But if your leak was caused by a tree falling on the pool, it would be covered.

3: Your washing machine overflows, flooding the basement.

Are you covered?
Yes. But it depends on your home insurer's view of the problem: Did you fail to maintain the washer properly or did sudden, accidental damage cause the flood?

"Most of the time, if an appliance breaks and water goes all over, insurance covers it. In the case of a washing machine, you might need to purchase replacement parts out of your own pocket because they were not maintained correctly, but the damage to your basement is covered," says Griffin.

4: A sewer backs up, flooding your basement.

Are you covered?
No. Standard home insurance policies don't cover sewer backups, and many specifically exclude damage from sewer back-ups. Special endorsements are available, at added cost, for sewers and drains. Call your insurance agent to find out if you have the endorsement. It is not a fun job to cleanup. Trust me.

5: Water seeps from the ground into your basement, damaging your foundation and interior.

Are you covered?
No. Seepage is considered a maintenance problem, not "sudden and accidental" damage, and is excluded from home insurance coverage. Rainwater falls into this category.

6: During a heavy rainstorm, water leaks through your roof. The roof is damaged, as is furniture.

Are you covered?
Somewhat. You're unlikely to be reimbursed for roof repairs because that's a house-maintenance issue. If if it turns out that wind has damaged the roof you might be covered. Call your insurance agent to find out if have an issue. But the water damage to your home is covered. Damage to your furniture is also likely covered if you have a standard H0-3 homeowners policy, but not if you have a generic HO-1 policy (which many insurers don't even sell anymore).

If your neighbor's tree falls on your roof, the damage to your roof, home and belongings is covered. Your policy also reimburses you up to a certain amount, usually around $500, for the cost of removing the tree.

7: A nearby lake or river overflows its banks, causing a flash flood in your living room.

Are you covered?
No. Flood damage is not covered by home insurance. You must purchase flood insurance for that. You can purchase flood insurance as long as your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program. But flood insurance does not kick in for any property below the front door. Which mean if you get flooded and you walk into the damages area and have to step down to get to it, they do not cover anything below grade.


Tips
I touched on this earlier in this post. But I can't stress this enough. Don't shoot yourself in the foot by reporting damage to your home insurance company that's not covered by your policy. Your damage report may still go on your insurance record and look like a claim when you shop for new insurance in the future. Call your insurance agent. They are your friends. It will not cost you anything to ask them questions. And they will answer it honestly and openly because your are their client. their job is to serve you. Whereas the insurance company will be looking out for the insurance company.

Be careful how you report damage to your insurance company. While you should be truthful, make sure you explain the situation using the most accurate language — or you could find your claim denied.

"What you say initially can affect the outcome of your claim. Many people believe their house is flooded because it's full of water — but it's not a 'flood' by the insurance definition," says Allan Sabel of Sabel & Associates, a Bridgeport, Conn.-based adjusting firm.

This may seem like a minor distinction, but your insurer has a very narrow definition of a "flood," which is not covered by home insurance. To an insurance company, flooding means that the water came from an overflow of a lake, stream, river or other body of water. If it didn't, don't even say the word "flood," says Sabel. If your basement is filled with water due to a burst pipe, it's not a flood — even if its depth is knee-high.

"You just have to be careful," Sabel says. "Know exactly what is in your policy, what's covered, what's not covered, and report your claim accurately."

Read how one five-minute call to your insurance company can dog you for seven years.

Legendary Rangers Defenseman Brian Leetch Headlines Hall of Fame Class

I know it's late, been busy with work. Arguably the greatest American born hockey player, Brian Leetch was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame this past week. Leetch was one of my favorite players growing up. It was a sad day when he was traded to Toronto. I'll admit my eyes watered up and I got goosebumps watching his jersey ceremony. Congratulations Brian, you deserve the 1st ballot election.

Legendary Rangers Defenseman Brian Leetch Headlines Hall of Fame Class

BY Michael Obernauer
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Tuesday, June 23rd 2009

6:38 PM New York Daily News

The greatest player the Rangers have ever produced will take his rightful place among the greats of the game.

In an announcement that has been scheduled ever since Brian Leetch hung up his skates three years ago, the Hockey Hall of Fame officially elected the legendary Ranger defenseman to its formidable Class of 2009. Leetch will join Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille at the induction ceremony on Nov.9 in Toronto.

The 18-member selection committee also tabbed Lou Lamoriello for induction in the builders' category, which the Devils president called "a complete surprise" - the only one of the day, in fact.

"A pretty overwhelming day, to say the least. I'm certainly humbled, excited, proud," Leetch said on a conference call, later adding that he was perhaps relieved above all. "And congratulations to the rest of the guys (elected) today. Just an amazing thing."

Leetch, the Rangers' top pick in the 1986 draft, joined the team in 1988 after stints with Boston College and the U.S. Olympic team, and won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie the following season. He played 17 seasons in a Blueshirt, covering 1,129 games - nine fewer than Harry Howell's team record - scoring 240 goals and 981 points (second on the team list to Rod Gilbert) while establishing himself as one of the best two-way defensemen in history.

Leetch won Norris Trophies in 1992 and '97, and cemented his place in Ranger lore by taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 1994 playoff MVP when the Blueshirts broke their 54-year Stanley Cup drought.

Leetch, 41, was driving in his car yesterday afternoon when a call came into his cell phone from a number with a Toronto area code - meaning good news was on its way from Hall chairman Bill Hay. "I pulled my car over, took the call from Bill, and then sat there for another 15 minutes or so," Leetch said. "It was a sigh of relief."

That's a stark contrast from the call Leetch received on March 3, 2004, when Glen Sather's number on his caller ID made Leetch's stomach drop. The Rangers president/GM was calling that day to inform his best player that he had been traded to Toronto - a deal that devastated Leetch.

Leetch's next trip to the Garden came in 2006 in a Boston Bruins sweater; he returned again on Jan. 24, 2008, to watch his No.2 ascend to the rafters.

While Yzerman (692 goals), Hull (741) and Robitaille (668) are connected by the Cup they won together in Detroit in 2002, Leetch, Hull and Lamoriello share a bond from their Team USA days, peaking with their victory over Canada in the 1996 World Cup final. Leetch - widely regarded as the best U.S.-born defenseman - also left an impression on Lamoriello during the Rangers' epic defeat of the Devils in the '94 semis.

"I wish I couldn't comment on that, but I will," joked Lamoriello, whose Devil teams have won three Stanley Cups. "He was the catalyst for that Ranger team. His play was just extremely exceptional. We couldn't contain him."

The '09 class stacks up as one of the best to enter the Hall, although it gets a challenge from the 2007 group led by Leetch's pal Mark Messier that included Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis and Ron Francis. None of yesterday's honorees cared to compare classes.

"It's just great to be going into the Hall of Fame and joining those guys," Leetch said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/2009/06/23/2009-06-23_legendary_rangers_defenseman.html#ixzz0JmvFmBTJ&C

A Closer Look: Cause of Death

Where There's a Will... There's a Dead Guy

Another book I just downloaded on my Kindle from one of the greatest minds of our time.

Celebrating birthdays are always much more fun than thinking about becoming one with Force. But death can be quite interesting when broken down into unexpected statistics, false perceptions, bizarre myths and questions worth asking about diseases, accidents, occupational hazards, poisons, infections, murder, animal attacks, insect bites and war. Cause of Death: A Perfect Little Guide to What Kills Us by Lucy Autrey Wilson, Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, a new book from George Lucas Books and Simon & Schuster, explores all the things that make us become Jedi ghosts before our time.

"As it must to all men, death came to Charles Foster Kane in one of the most famous movies of all time," filmmaker George Lucas writes in the book's introduction. "The eloquence of that notion -- that death will come to every single one of us -- has always been a bit of a morbid fascination for me. But is it really so morbid to be curious about the only thing in this world that is truly certain?.... But death is truth -- and its undeniably fascinating. So, I hope that Cause of Death will intrigue, inform, illuminate and perhaps even inspire you to action -- because when we learn a little about how we die, we also learn a lot about how we live."

Author Lucy Autrey Wilson, who fans might recall began her career with Lucasfilm in 1974 when she typed the script to the first Star Wars movie on an IBM Selectric typewriter, talks with Starwars.com about why George Lucas asked her to research a book about a topic most of us would rather avoid altogether.

How did the Cause of Death book project come about? Why did George Lucas want a comprehensive book of statistics and facts about all the ways humans can die?
In November 2000, in an interview between George Lucas and Tom Grace, George fleshed out his interest in a book that would provide "real" numbers and information on causes of death instead of the "funny" numbers one finds every time you read a newspaper or magazine. He thought providing people with the truth about death statistics would be both useful and entertaining. His good friend Jim Henson had died suddenly May 1990 from a bacterial infection. Because Henson traveled a lot, George had wondered if he caught the bug that killed him in an airport and that led to wondering what the most deadly diseases in the world really were. Tom had volunteered to write and research causes of death thinking it would provide good background for one of his thriller novels. The plan was for him to use his brother's proprietary software to search and find all the desired data online so the book could be put together quickly. Who knew, however, that finding accurate information on what a driver was doing when he crashed his car and was killed, or whether a virus is deadlier than bacteria, or whether people in war died more often of disease or gunshots, or which is the deadliest animal in Africa, etc. would be so much work!

How did you start tackling the research for this project?
My success with publishing Star Wars was to put the various projects into the right hands, which included a team of people who could provide the writers with the research and background they needed. After a year of death research that didn't even dent the surface of what George Lucas was interested in, Tom Grace left the project. By then I knew the book had to hinge on a consistent framework so the numbers being compared were apples to apples and not just random facts that didn't relate to each other. Tom had uncovered the databases maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO) and we had broken down all deaths into interesting groupings. Similarly, the U.S. mortality statistics reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) were synced up to the numbers reported by the WHO. What had become clear was that one couldn't count on online newspapers, bloggers or others to always have their facts straight. We needed to get the bulk of our data from more reliable sources -- i.e. via viable governmental agencies that have massive teams of people to report and track statistics.

With the help of another writer/researcher Jane Ellen Stevens, official sources for stats beyond the WHO and CDC were revealed from the United Nations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to Medline (part of the National Library of Medicine which helped enormously in turning medical terminology into "English" ) to the Bureau of Labor Statistics etc. With a framework of related death numbers reported by both the WHO and the CDC, now research needed to be done via hundreds of databases that would uncover answers to the questions George was asking. By 2004, completely hooked on the subject, and realizing I needed to know the data as well as any contributing researcher in order to edit the final book, I decided the only way to get the project done was to do the bulk of the remaining research myself and hire word-smiths who could then turn the facts into fun.

How did the Internet help with your research?
Without the Internet there would be no book. Thank heavens for Google! And thank heavens for how much all governmental agencies worldwide were uploading and making information accessible between when the research first started in 2001 to when it became intense in 2004. This is one area our tax dollars are really put to good use. Once the numbers, for example, for all worldwide and U.S. accidental deaths were known, then one needed to drill down to find the cause (cell phone or speeding, ladder or hot water, etc.). But when it came to certain areas, it wasn't easy. Neither the CDC nor the WHO list deaths by whether they were caused by a water buffalo or a hippo (in fact most deaths in Africa, China and other countries are best guesses). Nor do they include information on whether someone died being hit or struck while playing baseball or football. So, to flesh out the chapters on Accidental death by Flora and Fauna, Nature and Sports, for example, required coming up with a list of everything to be included (i.e. for Flora and Fauna, a list of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, marine animals, and flora A to Z) and then doing a Google search on each creature on the list to find out as much info as was out there on people killed by that particular agent.

What statistic or fact did you learn in writing this book that surprised you the most?
I probably spent the most research time on death by Flora and Fauna and Bugs. What surprised me in the Flora and Fauna section is that although death by shark attacks, mountain lions, bears, etc. are always front page news, we don't die very often from the creatures we share the planet with. In fact, it made me really sad to realize how many of these creatures man has managed to wipe out. In researching accidental deaths from motor vehicles, I was surprised by how many pedestrians are killed annually (I'm now very careful when I cross the street) and in researching death by Bugs (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and prions), I never fully realized how truly nasty those little microscopic creatures really are (especially if one has a weakened immune system). So, I'm now very good about washing my hands.

Which section of the book is your favorite and why?
I like Accidental deaths by Flora and Fauna and Bugs the best because they were the hardest to figure out and the most interesting. While I was working on the book, people were always asking me if I found the subject really depressing. The answer is no. What was increasingly refreshing was the realization that almost all premature deaths are preventable if you follow general guidelines (wash your hands, exercise, watch what you eat, etc.). That led to a decision to rank the deaths in the book by whether they happen prematurely rather than when one takes all ages into account. What was also uplifting is how much we've improved our average life spans since my parent's generation with inventions like seat belts, bike helmets and improved medicines.

What's the weirdest way to die?
One of the weirdest (and saddest) ways to die is from Scleroderma which killed one of my favorite painters, Paul Klee, and also a very sweet fellow Lucasfilm staffer many years ago. It's very rare, (only one person died of it in the U.S. in each of 2004 and 2005). It's a form of arthritis that causes the skin all over your body to become progressively hardened.

What's the most common way to die?
The most common way to die is by self inflicting your body with too much of the wrong substances (tobacco, high cholesterol foods, high fructose corn syrup, alcohol, etc.) which raise the probability you'll die from some kind of cancer or organ failure.

Why do you think this book will be helpful to readers, as well as entertaining?
I think Robert Young Pelton's introduction sums it up pretty well. It is an active body and inquisitive mind that keeps us young. We are all going to die, but we can live life longer and more fully by doing simple things like wearing a seatbelt, skipping dessert and never smoking. I hope the reader, rather than brood about all the horrible things that can kill you (or has just killed someone you read about daily in magazines and newspapers), will be careful to avoid the bad things that are within their control and go out and have a good time.

Can you talk a little bit about how George Lucas Books was created and why?
In 1999, I had been running the Lucas Licensing Publishing Department for about 10 years when George Lucas first mentioned he was interested in books on subjects that had nothing to do with Star Wars. Even though packaging and licensing books on our own popular movie properties was very different from developing factual nonfiction, I believe in the saying "Where there's a will there's a way" and took on the challenge of turning George's interests into books. One of the books was to be on causes of death and other general film-related books were also planned. So with one author already on board to research and write the death book, I hired Jonathan Rinzler to help edit the new nonfiction. That same year, we made a five-book deal with Ballantine to publish the new imprint nonfiction titles. The plan was to develop these books together with our publishing partner while continuing with our regular licensed projects. Each nonfiction book would have one author to both do the research and write.

Starting with one or two Star Wars titles per year in the late 1980s, the Lucasfilm publishing program had been built up so by the early 2000's we were publishing between 100 and 200 mostly Star Wars books, magazines and comic titles per year. When it became clear the new nonfiction was going to take a lot more time than anticipated, I left Licensing in August 2003 to join JAK Films and manage the new imprint as a department of one. Over time I realized most authors who are good with words are not that good with numbers and the one author-one book approach wasn't producing the desired results. Eventually, the arrangement with Ballantine was dissolved as unworkable and JAK Films moved forward packaging and publishing each title individually. That resulted in the very fine team at Simon & Schuster becoming the Cause of Death book's publisher and contributing the really great book design.

Cause of Death: A Perfect Little Guide to What Kills Us by Lucy Autrey Wilson, Jack Mingo and Erin Barrett, a new book from George Lucas Books and Simon & Schuster is on shelves in bookstores nationwide.