The Principles of Spring
This is the season of renewal, clearing, and growth. The term Spring Cleaning takes on a whole new meaning when thinking about incorporating building biology principles into our homes. We open windows, clear space, dig in the garden, and inch closer to nature both indoors and out.
Here at BBI, we continue to expand the edges of the field: new research resulting in new courses, seminars, and certifications, addressing new technologies and their impacts on the built environment and our health and well-being.
But we counter this heady work with a return to basic principles. Clean air and water, restorative sleep, low EMF exposure, and choosing natural materials where we can. Oftentimes, the old ideas are the best. So, I encourage you to join me in making a Spring Resolution (they’re not just for New Years) to make one change in your home that will bring it into closer harmony with natural principles. Here are some ideas:
- Resolve to open the windows every day. (This is the one I’ve chosen.)
- Identify a single product in your home that might be contributing to an overload of your Rain Barrel and eliminate it.
- If you aren’t already treating your water, think about what might make the biggest impact. A shower filter or point of source RO Filter?
- Turn off your Wi-Fi at night for two weeks and see how that affects your sleep.
I’m sure you can think of plenty of other ideas that will point us back to the broader principles of building biology. Choose one and see how it improves your well-being.
Before I close this, I’m so happy to share that we are debuting a new online course this month. Safer Smart Phone Usage was written by engineer and EMF consultant Jeromy Johnson. For professional consultants, it offers advice and concrete steps on advising your clients how to use smart phones more safely, even if you have great EMR sensitivities. He introduces an ultra-low-EMF method for wiring a smartphone using a DC-powered fiber optic kit, which eliminates not only RF exposure but also the AC electric fields and electromagnetic interference (EMI) that standard wired connections can introduce. And for the general public, it offers ways to utilize smart phones – a necessity in today’s connected world – thoughtfully, in order to minimize the potential harms and exposures inherent in RF-transmitting devices.
Wishing you all a joyous Spring of renewal!
Erik Rosen
Executive Director
Building Biology Institute