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Terminal 2’s Koi Pond with brilliant-colored Koi. (Snoopaki, Flickr)

By Debra Atlas

Singapore’s Changi Airport, one of most highly awarded airports in the world, was reclaimed from swampland and from the sea.

In 2010, the Changi Airport Group (CAG) established an environmental management system designed to proactively protect the environment, prevent pollution, and improve environmental performance and regulatory compliance. This program is based around the ISO 14001 standard, and debuted at CAG’s and Clean and Green Singapore “Changi Goes Green” event in November 2010.

In an effort to decrease any negative impact on the environment, the airport has implemented a number of environmentally-friendly practices. These include:

• Energy efficient lighting and motion sensors;
• Double-glazed glass fitted with solar shading films to let natural light into the building which minimizes the need for artificial lighting and air conditioning;
• Recycling concrete aggregates are used to rehabilitate the airport’s aircraft parking area pavements; and
• Storm water captured through rainwater harvesting irrigates plants at the Changi Airport Nursery and landscaped areas.

Water conservation is evident everywhere at Changi Airport. With no watersheds or natural rivers from which to draw water, Singapore uses a product called NEWater, super-treated, recycled former sewage water. NEWater now meets 30% of Singapore’s total water demand. It’s also used for airport fire-fighting, for sanitation, and for cooling air conditioning chillers.

Nature conservation is another important element at Changi. Saplings of the famed Changi tree are placed throughout the airport grounds. The Changi tree was thought to be extinct until a 150-year old tree which had been cut down illegally was discovered to in September 2002.

Visitors are amazed at the diversity of green that fills every terminal in Changi Airport.

The Terminals

Opened in 1981 and later renovated around the concept of a “tropical city,” Terminal One incorporates a cactus garden, complete with a rooftop garden, showcasing over 40 species of cacti and succulents from Asia, Africa and North and South America.

Terminal Two, which received its Green Mark Gold status earlier this year, is awash with flowers and light. The fern garden is landscaped with giant Tasmanian tree ferns (Dicksonia Antarctica), a survivor from the dinosaur age which can live for over 400 years. The fern garden features tropical ferns from the oldest rainforests in the world, including unique ferns like the birds’ nest fern, elephant fern, fish-tail fern, rabbit-foot fern, and staghorn ferns.

The Changi Airport Orchid Garden features spider orchids, Singapore’s famous hybrid butterfly orchids, and moth orchids from the Orchid Island of Taiwan. The garden also has a rare orchid exhibit with a rotating display, and a seasonal display of Singapore’s national flower, the Vanda Miss Joaquim. The surrounding Koi Pond is a rainbow of color with bright orange, red, and yellow koi.

Terminal 2’s charm consists of a sunflower and light garden, with its illuminated walkthrough with bamboo structures on both sides of the pathway, an award-winning “Aura Seating System,” and lighting that creates a magical, light-themed garden by night.

The green jewel of Changi Airport is Terminal 3. Awarded the Green Mark Gold designation in 2009, the newest terminal is about 236 miles long (380,000 meters) spread out over seven levels, three of which are underground.

Its over 900 energy-saving skylights glow with artificial lighting at night, automatically adjusting to allow for optimal soft and uniform daylight during the day. It houses the world’s first butterfly garden in an airport, a tropical butterfly habitat that’s home to over 1,000 butterflies and is complete with flowering plants, lush greenery, and a 20-foot grotto waterfall. Its collection of 200 carnivorous plants covers enough floor space as 50 soccer fields.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6iglrxNrs3g

One of the most amazing aspects of Terminal 3 is the green wall, a five-story-high vertical garden running across the main building. Possibly the largest interior vertical landscape in the world at 45ft high (14 m) and nearly 1,000 ft (300 m) long, it is intertwined with four cascading waterfalls. A 1,000 foot-long (300 m) sculptured sandstone art wall display is located below the living greenery.

Not to be outdone, the Budget Terminal, a single-story terminal serving low-cost airline carriers in Asia, includes a garden with more than 15 species of fragrant trees, shrubs and climbers. One of its “residents” includes the Canaga, one of the most important ingredients in the popular perfume Chanel No. 5.

We at Sierra Club Green Home applaud Changi Airport’s success in translating its commitment to green into a vibrant living reality. It sets the bar for other buildings to aspire to.

For related article, see:
Sustainable Singapore Balances Building and Nature 

© 2012 SCGH, LLC.

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Dawn at Cromwell Valley Park, in Towson, Maryland. (By Roland Oehme)

Blog post by Roland Oehme

Ring in the New Year with gratitude for what this year has given us, and excitement for what the next year holds. Here Sierra Club Green Home writer Roland Oehme shares the top 12 things he is grateful for going into 2012.

12 Green Things I Am Thankful For:

1) My family and friends are the most important things in my life. I am grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend with them this year.

2) My local nature park that I enjoy daily walks in. The simple act of exercising in nature rejuvenates my body and spirit. I think everyone should be able to take walks in forests, meadows, hills, valleys, streams, wetlands, and other natural ecosystems.

3) I enjoy relatively clean air, water, and soil. However, I see this as the minimum of what is acceptable. Much more can be done to clean up my local environment, especially the Chesapeake Bay (the largest estuary in the United States).

4) All of my fellow human beings who are actively engaged in protecting the earth’s animals, environment, and people in order to create a healthier future for all.

5) More and more people are aware of the major impact we have on the global environment be it climate change, radiation leaks, trash, air pollution, soil pollution, or loss of animal and plant diversity. More importantly, more and more people realize that we can turn this around.

6) Many governments are taking concrete action to ensure a cleaner environment. For instance, Denmark, Germany, and Spain are committed to changing their energy supply from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

7) More people are advocating for the regenerative design model, as described by John T. Lyle in Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development and by William McDonough in Cradle to Cradle. Regenerative design allows all life to not just exist but to grow and flourish in a healthy state.

Nature’s beauty inspires and motivates me every day.

9) Many people are learning about and adopting vegan and raw food diets. Adopting a vegan diet has enabled many people, including former President Bill Clinton, to lead a healthier life.

10) Animals’ welfare and protection is important to many people.

11) By choosing a healthy living food diet and lifestyle, I feel healthy and full of energy.

12) That the planet earth is my home.

Roland Oehme is a green and healthy living reporter. Read his blog at www.we-love-rawfood.blogspot.com.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm: Urban farming in the heart of Queens (New York). (By Colin Hughes, Flickr)

By Debra Atlas

If predictions are correct that climate change and rising sea levels will create greater numbers of urban dwellers, the need for greater local food resources will be critical.

Back in World War II, a large percentage of Americans had gardens to help supplement their food. This tradition, which continues today, has spread to the middle of some of our largest urban areas. Volunteers work to transform what many times were vacant lots full of crumbling concrete or overgrown weeds into thriving, colorful, sustainable, agricultural landscapes.

These small farms share common themes:

• Educating local residents—adults and schoolchildren—about how to grow and produce their own food, even when surrounded by the “concrete jungle” where traditionally very little nature is evident;
• Producing and providing fresh, organic food for those in need in the community, including local food banks;
• Using urban farming as a way to promote and hone green job skills; and
• Introducing the community to the idea and importance of growing fresh food as part of a healthy ecosystem.

Urban farms come in all shapes, sizes, and locales. More than 800 urban farms are spread throughout the United States and abroad, in places such as Newark, New Jersey; Chicago; Detroit; St. Louis; Denver; Boston; and Los Angeles. Here are a few stellar urban farms:

One of the more unusual urban farms is the 2011 World Challenge finalist, Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm. Set atop a six-story warehouse in Long Island City, Queens (New York), this 40,000-square-foot farm (almost 1.25 acres) is thought to be the largest rooftop garden in the world. Started in 2010 by four entrepreneurs, the farm grows and sells organic produce to restaurants and delis across Manhattan. They have proven so successful that a second site is being constructed to meet the demand for organic veggies, eggs, and honey. According to co-founder and head farmer Ben Flanner, they have created a model that can be reproduced on other rooftops around the country.

Another model urban farm is Alemany Farm in the southeast part of San Francisco—a decades-old,4.5-acre, organic farm run by volunteers. Growing produce such as tomatoes, peppers, ground cherries, and basil, they promote “ecological-economic development.”

Known as the Motor City, Detroit plans to expand its reputation agriculturally. Incorporating more than 70 acres of underutilized vacant lands and abandoned properties on Detroit’s lower east side, Hantz Farms intends to create the largest urban farm and sell sustainably grown fruits and vegetables.

Another urban farming project embodies community involvement. The Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz, California, cultivates organic produce and flowers while providing homeless men and women and those close to being homeless with job training and transitional services. They teach basic life skills and the principles of economic and ecological sustainability. The Project provides organic fruit, vegetables and flowers for the community through its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program.

These urban farms bring together adults, kids, musicians, artists, and corporations who are committed to creating unique and viable farms for the community, and bringing color and excitement to the urban landscape. These farms are helping to reduce carbon emissions and are providing opportunities and job skills that are helping to train a new generation of farmers in our cities.

Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

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Raking leaves to keep them out of the trash stream. (© Jenifoto406 | Dreamstime.com)

By Robbie Harris

CHICAGO — If you think you have too many leaves to rake, imagine the Chicago Botanic Garden’s leaf pile. Yours may take up some yard space, but theirs takes up thousands of cubic feet!

Then again, Cindy Baker, who manages the garden’s horticultural services, seems to think the more leaves, the better. The Chicago Botanic Garden receives piles from a nearby suburb each week, which Baker refers to as “gold.” She’s not just referring to the color of the leaves either; she’s referring to their ability to produce the best mulch.

There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but free mulch is available almost everywhere, and it does grow on trees (and bushes and shrubs). Leaves combined with a small amount of grass clippings and chipped woody plants are the best thing you can spread around your plants to protect them during the winter. It’s important, however, not to just let the leaves lie where they fall, or to rake them into flower beds.

“The leaves are flat and the water does not penetrate them, so they become a barrier to water and air circulation. They also become a place where diseases can fester underneath that barrier. You don’t want that, because in the spring time you’ll have patchy turf,” explains Baker.

Instead of raking the leaves into piles or stuffing them into plastic bags, it’s best to use a mulching lawn mower. A conventional lawnmower won’t cut the leaves into small enough pieces to make the material.

“The difference between compost and mulch is just the amount that the pile breaks down. If you apply it to the surface [of the soil] at the stage when it’s mulch, it will stick around for about six months and protect your plants over the winter. All the nutrients that are in the mulch will still go into the soil, but more slowly [than compost],” says Baker.

Using the two materials properly keeps plants healthy and cuts down on the need for fertilizer. That’s what makes mulch a green approach to handling garden waste.

Most towns and cities will help you recycle yard waste. You also can find yard waste receivers certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency, receivers who accept leaves and yard waste and then make them into mulch to sell or to give to the public. Making leaves into mulch means a lot of “nega waste” that never went to landfill.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC. 

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A beautiful, snaking greenery lines Powell Street. (Courtesy of San Francisco Planning Department)

By Debra Atlas

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco is famous for many things, not the least of which is being the #1 Green City in the United States. Now the Pavement to Parks program is transforming parking space into public “parklets,”which are mini parks along pedestrian ways constructed from salvaged materials.

In the 1950s, San Francisco city streets were widened to accommodate increased vehicle traffic, forcing the sidewalks down to a mere nine feet wide. Today, streets and right-of-ways make up 25 percent of San Francisco’s total land area. That’s more land than all of the city’s parks combined!

Since the first Park(ing) Day in 2009, San Francisco’s Pavement to Parks program began creating green space carved out of excess public roadways for city dwellers and visitors to enjoy.

“It’s about transforming a sea of asphalt,” says Andres Power, an urban designer at the San Francisco Planning Department.

Launched by then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, the initiative created 12 low-cost “parklets” throughout the city. These unexpected oases use an array of resources that would otherwise have wound up in landfills, including:

• Salvaged storm-felled trees;
• Stainless steel air ducting;
• Dumpsters; and
• Old surplus granite countertops.

The stainless steel air ducting was transformed into giant planters for an array of fruit trees, which are also part of an initiative to create edible landscapes in the city. The dumpsters became planters for a colorful vista of South African plants. Finally, the old surplus granite countertops were fashioned into benches. Parklet designs are meant to be both temporary and easily movable, and include seating, landscaping, and asphalt treatment.

The initiative first created Castro Commons, the Showplace Triangle and Guerrero Park. Not only were these well received by the public, but also the collision rate for the 11 blocks where the San Jose Avenue/Guerrero Street parklet is located decreased by 53 percent since 2004.

These parklets create a space where pedestrians and bikers can relax, play, and enjoy themselves. Beautifying the streets for the people is a trend that will hopefully continue and grow.

Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC. 

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An oregano bouquet. (© Kuzsm | Dreamstime.com)

By Robbie Harris

It’s one thing to admire a plant for its beauty, but another to appreciate it for its taste. With this organic autumn bouquet, you could decorate your table, mine it for your meal, or both. The orange and yellow nasturtiums offer a mouthwatering combination of sweetness with a bitter finish and their bright green round leaves can be used like a dash of pepper.  Whether decorating your plate or being sprinkled on your salad, these well-known edible flowers are also a feast for the eyes.

This edible bouquet includes purple basil, in which the flowers as well as the leaves are edible. In this arrangement, some of leaves have already been removed and are simmering for pesto. You can keep the vase within reach, so if you can pluck up an extra leaf if need be. The water in the vase keeps these edibles fresh for use for up to week. Also pictured here are the tips of a stevia plant. Use them for a sweet break or to dress up dessert.

Growing edible flowers yourself guarantees that what you’re eating or drinking when you use edible flowers is organic. If you decide to buy the plants, sticking to organic ingredients is extremely important. You may have no compunction about buying non-organic flowers for the vase on your table, but don’t extend that to the flowers on your plate. Check to see where you are on the green spectrum.

Photo 107-877 Goes here.Caption:  Cutting the leaves from the purple basil  “Ocimim basilicum Purpurascense) to fill a small vase and eat the clippings.

There are so many edible plants that double as decoration for edible bouquets. They are accents to your home or workspace as well as you plate.  Most are easily grown in almost any garden; the ground’s the limit. You can also plant them in containers if you don’t have the outdoor space to raise these beautiful edibles.

And while your eyes drink in these plants, you can also imbibe a burst of vitamin C from a cup of hibiscus tea. Karen Graber, author of The Cuisine of Puebla studied the flower’s many incarnations.

She writes, “Dried hibiscus flowers, known in Mexico as jamaica (pronounced ‘ha-ma-ike-ah,’ rather than like the name of the Caribbean island country) have long been available in health food stores in the U.S. for making a tea that is high in vitamin C. With the advent of interest in south-of-the-border cuisine, hibiscus flowers are now sold in bulk in most large supermarkets.

Jamaica is usually translated as hibiscus, but more than 300 species of hibiscus are found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and only the edible variety, Hibiscus sabdariffa, is the one used in Mexican cooking. This species is variously known in English as roselle, red sorrel and Jamaica sorrel, which is probably how it came to be known in Mexico as Jamaica (pronounced ham-EYE-kah.)”

Karen Graver’s Recipe for Hibiscus Tea

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried hibiscus flowers
• 8 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar or equivalent amount of sugar substitute

Steps:

• Rinse and drain the hibiscus flowers in a colander.
• Put them in a saucepan with 4 cups of the water and the sugar.
• Stir and bring to a slow boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
• The flowers will have lost their color into the water, which will be a deep red color.
• Let the liquid cool, then strain it into a pitcher.
• Discard the flowers.
• Add the rest of the water and stir.
• Chill thoroughly before serving.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

NEW YORK CITY — Question: What is New York’s largest export? If you thought “former super models” or “starving artists” or even “world’s best pizza,” then you would be incorrect. The correct answer is …

WASTE PAPER. Click on the image above to take the Green City Challenge, and see how you score on this short quiz!

Participants in the 2nd Annual Green City Challenge Race and Family Expo at Union Square Park were quizzed with an array of green questions. They probably were helped by all of the oxygen to their brains from biking. Each time the bicyclists stopped to take a breath at one of the secret challenge sites around lower Manhattan, they had to answer questions to challenge their eco-intelligence.

First-place winners Benay Vynerib and Kyle Bullen of Candle 79 (a much-loved vegan restaurant not far from the race site) knew their sustainability statistics best and aced the challenge.

Not only did they win free memberships to car sharing service Zipcar along wth a $75 dollar credit, but they also left with custom-designed trophies by Lev Radunsky of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The trophies are made from reclaimed spruce and Douglas fir and finished with a plant-based oil. The text is printed in nontoxic ink by a stamp custom made using natural rubber. They can be seen as trophies or as a pair of sustainable bookends, according to Radunsky.

Everyone on the 11 participating teams won gift bags created by Ecobags and filled with products and gift certificates from local businesses such as Happy Baby, Cleanwell, Raw Revolution, From War To Peace, Vitalah, Tropiclean, Primo Health Solutions, Tekserve, and Green Apple Cleaners. The total value of each of these gift bags was estimated at more than $100.

Race organizer Greg Barber said it was a rewarding experience not only for the winners but also for the spectators who came out to cheer them on and who also were given prizes for attending. “It was a perfect day with big crowds, great weather, terrific prizes,” he said, “and everyone loved our vendor table. Plus we educated a lot of people on how to be more sustainable and greener New Yorkers.”

If you take the quiz, or even if you just skip down to check the correct answers, you finally will find out what those New York Pizza boxes are actually made of.

To read more about the race, check out:

NYC Bike Race Is About Being Green, not Fast

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

The Green City Challenge takes place at Union Square Park on Sunday, October 23, 2011 (11 a.m. – 6 p.m.)

By Robbie Harris

NEW YORK — This race is not about who is the swiftest, unless by speed, you mean quick thinking about ways to protect the environment.

The Green City Challenge is a bicycle rally with a mission. On Sunday, October 23, 10 teams (consisting of two cyclists each) will pedal to seven locations throughout Lower Manhattan, stopping at each station to complete a green challenge. They will be quizzed after each contest to see how much they learned. The top three teams will win prizes.

At each stop, teams will collect puzzle pieces with clues directing them to the next challenge site. It is the television show “Amazing Race” meets Sierra Club.

This is the second year of the Green City Challenge and the first in this new location: Union Square in New York City. Organizers are expecting many more spectators than participants. People are welcome to watch the race, peruse the vendors and food tables, play in the children’s pavilion and listen to three panels of speakers on a variety of environmental topics. There will even be a quiz for spectators, who also can win prizes.

Green City Board Member Greg Barber hopes the fun and benefits he has seen from working on this event expand beyond New York City. “I have enjoyed my past two years promoting our Green City Challenge,” he says, “because I believe we are able to educate people about how to be more sustainable and more green in a race that is fun. I hope we can continue to grow and have other boroughs in New York and in other cities embrace our model, to encourage everyone to think and be greener in all that they do.”

This Green City Challenge is free to attend or participate in, and runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

See highlights of last year’s race:

Click here to view the embedded video.

SPONSORS: For more information on sponsorship packages and other opportunities, contact Kerry Gillick Goldberg at kerry@kggpr.com or Harlan Friedman at theharlangroup@gmail.com, or call 516-455-3179.

GENERAL INFORMATION: To learn more about the Green City Challenge, please visit Green City Challenge.

For related article, see:

Race Results: NYC’s Green Challenge

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

By Debra Atlas

The cost of solar panels has fallen 20 percent so far this year, according to a report from Navigant Consulting, making solar more affordable than ever for consumers.

More and more, our on-the-go lifestyles demand having solar power at our fingertips. FTL Solar has its finger on that button.

Designed and manufactured in the United States, FTL Solar’s products utilize a thin, flexible, lightweight solar integrated fabric. Built to tough military standards, these durable chargers come in a variety of styles, sizes, wattages, and power outputs. And they can operate maintenance free for up to ten years.

In 2006, FTL Solar began creating the first solar pavilions and portable solar farms. The solar-producing structures are designed for and used by commercial, military, and disaster relief organizations both in the United States and internationally.

FTL Solar’s personal-sized Powerfold Battery Charger is designed as a fold-out blanket. It delivers power outputs from five to 70 watts and can charge everything from iPods to MP3 players to laptops. In case it is a foggy day, this nifty charger also comes with a USB output as well as a 12-volt, 2.5 millimeter barrel output. This makes it unique in the solar charger market.

FTL Solar’s next sized charger is the PowerMod. These portable, wind- and rain-proof “tented” rooms can offer shelter in a storm while charging construction tools, lights, fans, water purifiers, medical equipment, pumps, and refrigeration units. They also can charge communication equipment centers that contain everything from radios to computers. The PowerMod comes in 300-, 500-, and 1000-watt versions.

As with all FTL Solar’s products, these power-generating structures are quickly and easily installed, disassembled, folded up, and transported.

The beauty of FTL Solar’s larger charging units is that they can provide a sustainable, secure source of renewable power. Able to power everything from small temporary structures that power laptops, cell phones, water purification and sanitation systems to large-scale, state-of-the-art installations, the electrical energy produced by these lightweight, high-density solar panels can be used immediately, stored in batteries, or even sold back to the grid. 

FTL Solar’s charger line includes the Powercase charger, a safe, portable, rechargeable power source for a wide variety of devices. It features a real-time LCD display that provides critical power data such as how much power your device still has available and how long until it runs out. Portable and water-resistant, the Powercase runs on lithium-ion GOTS technology and can power devices off-grid for extended periods. This includes sensors, communication equipment, and computers.

FTL Solar’s line of solar chargers will be available at outdoor retail stores later this year. To find out more about these amazingly useful solar charging units, go to www.ftlsolar.com.

An environmental journalist and blogger, Debra Atlas is reachable through Eco-hub.net/wp or debraatlas@gmail.com. Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.

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MasterShield’s aluminum housing is guaranteed not to crack, chip, or blister. (Courtesy of MasterShield)

By Debra Atlas

As summer blends into fall, the annual clearing of clogged rain gutters looms for most homeowners. A thankless but necessary job, it seems no matter what kind of gutters one has, they are going to require a trip up the ladder.

Someone has finally invented a system that changes all this.

MasterShield Gutter Protection promises to end the whole gutter clogging cycle. The system was created by Alex Higginbotham, inventor of the first self-cleaning gutter guard and numerous other related inventions. Utilizing a surgical-grade, stainless steel, micromesh cloth filter that separates water from all sorts of debris, MasterShield filters water more quickly and fully than standard gutter protection systems.

With its innovative, patented LeafRelease technology, MasterShield’s stepped, nonstick surface does not trap debris like other systems. Its HydroVortex technology siphons water into the gutter faster, working at both flat or vertical angles. Its raised ribs help separate rainwater from debris, helping to dry and blow debris away more quickly than it would on a solid or flat surface. The micro filter completely encloses your gutter, guaranteeing that it stays 100-percent debris free. And because it is self-cleaning, it is maintenance free for life.

Higginbotham’s gutter guard technology—which has been copied, or attempted to be copied by other gutter guard manufacturers—is the only workable gutter guard technology that still is patent protected. According to the inventor, no one has achieved a patent in this field without incorporating his technology into their design. Without Higginbotham’s technology, stainless steel filters simply clog and fail.

See MasterShield gutter guard in action here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

When it comes to MasterShield’s appeal, it spans its many features, including green ones. Its aluminum housing—coated with a baked-on enamel finish that is guaranteed not to crack, chip, or blister—is made with 95 percent recycled content. The product’s stainless steel contains more than 30 percent recycled content.

For homeowners more deeply into green, MasterShield also helps with rainwater reclamation. Homeowners can route the flowing water from the rain gutter downspout directly to rain barrels which can then be used for watering home gardens and landscaping.

Among MasterShield’s other pluses, it works with new or existing gutters, because it blends with the roofline, it is virtually invisible from the ground, and installing it will not void your roof warranty.

MasterShield’s No Clog Warranty, which says the consumer’s gutter will not clog is unique to the industry. If a gutter somehow does clog, the company will replace it or refund the product cost of the MasterShield installed on the consumer’s house. And if there is damage from a clog, the company will refund the consumer’s insurance deductible, up to $1,500.

Several years ago, the Better Business Bureau received complaints about the lack of follow-up, customer service, and issues with the product provided by a company that installed MasterShield. These pertain to an Ohio company and its installation of the original version of the product, said Jennie Klahre, assistant account executive for RLF Communications, speaking on behalf of MasterShield Gutter Protection, a company based in New Jersey.

“It has happened before that [the two companies have] been confused [with each other],” Klahre says. In late 2009, the New Jersey company introduced a new version that overlaps at the roof’s seams, which seems to have solved the original issues.

Also some consumers have had issues with ice formation during the wintertime with their Leafguard gutter shields by MasterShield. Consumers who live in an area that gets plenty of snow should consider that possibility.

See consumer magazine tests and reports on MasterShield gutter guard:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Many MasterShield dealers will match the MasterShield product guarantee with a warranty of their own on their installation costs. And many also provide the industry’s first ever Birds & Bees Nest Guarantee. The warranty is even transferable if a consumer sells his home.

As to aesthetics, MasterShield is available in 14 different colors to match existing shingles or gutters—and consumers can special order it in copper. Manufactured in the United States, MasterShield will fit virtually any style and common-size roofline. The company says it is most effective when pitched with the roof.

Competitively priced, MasterShield can mean peace of mind for homeowners—and an end to that potentially dangerous annual trip up the ladder.

An environmental journalist and blogger, Debra Atlas is reachable through Eco-hub.net or debraatlas@gmail.com. Check out more articles by Debra Atlas.

© 2011 SCGH, LLC.