What Makes The Ox So Green?

What Makes The Ox So Green?

~A sincere passion for green building.
~Personal experience with being exposed to poor indoor air quality as a child, which lead to to a myriad of health issues, and also their solutions.
~Personal commitment to finding solutions to indoor air quality issues.
~As a result of earlier health issues, became a tai chi, qigong, reiki and meditation practitioner and teacher.
~18 years of experience in working blue-collar jobs and recognizing the health affects of different work materials.
~A sincere desire to protect my own health, and the health of my client, when I am working in their living or working space.
~A sincere commitment to educate clients and other contractors about the health risks involved in most conventional building materials.
~A 6 year commitment to using only zero or low VOC paints.
~Offering the service of using an industrial air filtration unit (particulate matter and vapors), during and/or after a project.
~A commitment to recycling all job-site recyclables.
~A commitment to harvesting all clean-burning wood offcuts from projects and distributing them to people who burn wood to heat their home.
~A commitment to stay current with sustainable living practices, green tech, and green material options.
~A commitment to create effective relationships with other green building professionals.
~A 10 year commitment to whole, organic, and local foods. The Green Ox is a member of the East End Food Co-op and the East End Food Co-op Federal Credit Union.
~Much of the legwork done for my business now happens while I drive our family vehicle, a 2006 Jeep Liberty Diesel, which runs on BioDiesel.
~An upcoming commitment to install an ethanol kit in my pick-up truck, so that I can run on ethanol based fuel.
~The Green Ox shop, and our live/work space uses compact florescent lighting.
~The Green Ox live/work space uses compostable garbage bags for lighter materials.
~My family intensely supports earth-friendly products and services, and we try to support local business as much as possible.
~The Green Ox is a member of Pittsburgh's Green Building Alliance

Upcoming goals for the Green Ox in 2009:
~Offset electricity used in the Green Ox shop and the live/work space with Wind Energy credits.
~Convert the 1994 Mazda pick-up to be able to run on ethanol.
~To complete and accredited Green Builder Certification course.
~Have the family become members of Phipps Conservatory.
~Continue developing the Green Ox Website.