Tag: New Orleans

Energy Efficiency Audit In New Orleans

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Rising energy costs and growing concerns about climate change has made homeowners to look for cost-effective ways of saving money on their household bills. Building energy efficient homes and improving energy efficiency in our homes can increase their value. Even smallest changes can yield the biggest results. A number of homeowners have started educating themselves on how to make their home more and more energy efficient.
The first step in making your home energy efficient is by conducting energy efficiency audit. Home energy audits are easy to carry out and useful in identify areas for home improvement. In this the focus is on areas of lowest energy efficiency, such as un-insulated lofts, single glazed windows, open fireplaces and energy ‘eating’ appliances and improving your home’s air tightness.
Assigning home energy audit to a certified energy advisor such as Eco Star Foam is a necessary to ensure that the most cost-effective improvements are undertaken. Basic areas which energy auditor from Eco star foam will test in your home are:
Blower-Door testing.
Weatherization Programs.
Thermal Imaging Video of Home.
Duct-Blasting Test.
Furnace Flute Testing.
Moisture Reading.
Eco Star Foams energy auditors after completion of audit provide you with a full written report of the auditors findings and solutions to increase your homes energy efficiency. Energy audit has its own benefits and some of the most prominent of them being:
Make your home more comfortable and at the same time using less energy.
Prevent wear and tear on your heating and A/C equipments.
Lowering your energy bill.
Reducing airborne contaminants.
Immense help in saving energy.
North Americans people are increasingly looking at ways to improve the energy-efficiency of their homes as making substantial improvements in energy efficiency. This will save house owners money in the long run. Eco star foam provides services in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mississippi and other regions.

Asbestos Lawsuits in Louisiana

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In towns and cities throughout the United States, asbestos lawsuits are increasingly prolific as individuals exposed to asbestos twenty and thirty years ago are today developing and dying from mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a rare and extremely lethal form of cancer, in which malignant cells are found in the protective sac covering most of the bodys internal organs. Mesothelioma, which is caused by exposure to asbestos, takes up to three decades to strike its victims. Those with the greatest risk of developing mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles, or have been exposed to asbestos dust and fiber in other ways.

Today, a growing number of mesothelioma lawsuits have succeeded in recovering hundreds of millions in compensation for the tens of thousands of mesothelioma victims. Compensation is paid by the companies that make these asbestos products, and enables victims to cover their medical expenses and to be compensated for their pain and suffering.

A current center of concern for asbestos victims is New Orleans. In the post-Katrina era, New Orleans and the entire state of Louisiana is undergoing a boom in construction a business infamous for its use of asbestos products. Post-storm rehabilitations of homes, the related large-scale demolitions, and even just the ubiquitous roofing jobs currently underway are exposing thousands of people to asbestos. Despite these dangers, however, Congress is considering a Bill that would prevent someone who becomes ill with cancer as a result of post-Katrina asbestos exposure from getting financial relief.

The introduction of the Bill is being motivated by calls for tort reform among asbestos-related industries. Financially crippled by increasingly high rewards to asbestos victims, these industries want a cap on their liability. They cite a recent asbestos lawsuit in Louisiana, in which homeowners who purchased asbestos-contaminated fill dirt sued the contractor who sold them the soil, as well as the oil company where the dirt had been removed. Although none of the plaintiffs have yet become sick, a jury awarded them compensatory and punitive damages due to their fear of harm (rather than actual harm). The verdict was upheld by a Louisiana appeals court, which ruled that any exposure to a harmful substance, no matter how slight, justifies a lawsuit.

The new Bill, set for debate by Congress in February, would halt asbestos lawsuits. The Bill is seeking to protect companies with asbestos liability from further lawsuits by paying into a government administered trust fund, which would screen claimants through established medical criteria. Victims would be awarded compensation based on the severity of their illness. The Bill specifically states that the fund would not cover victims of environmental and neighborhood exposure, with the prime example being post-Katrina victims in New Orleans and across Louisiana. The Bill is widely opposed by the medical community, as well as by labor unions and citizens rights activists, particularly in the state of Louisiana.