Give Your Home More Curb Appeal... Go Green

Riding my bike through town today I noticed that there are many homes for sale. I started to think about what sells a house these days and how greening-up the home is a definitely a key differentiator.

Prepare your home for sale with some of these environmentally-friendly ideas:

• Since some parts of the country will require an energy audit before one closes on a sale; get one if necessary.
• Install a programmable thermostat.
• Some of us need to de-clutter. Doing so makes a room feel larger so get rid of the junk you have stored. Avoid simply dumping the items and instead look for ways to renew, reuse or recycle them. For example, a friend had many canning jars in her basement that she brought to new life by decorating them with nice old ribbon. She gave the beautiful storage jars away as gifts.
• Other folks need to perk up areas of their home. Instead of buying new things, look for gently used, good quality things to give the room some new life.
• If things are broken, repair or re-cover it vs. buying something new.
• Throw a few new coats of low or no VOC paint on the walls. This will cut down on toxic gases inside the home which is another selling point.
• One of the easiest ways to improve your home's green appearance is to replace all incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). You can re-lamp all lights in your home. Doing so will also be visual reminder to prospective homebuyers of your efforts to incorporate energy savings into your home.
• Replace the showerhead with a water-efficient model and install water-saving aerators on all of your faucets.
• Grab a wrench and fix that leaky faucet.
• If the house is in need of new appliances, look for Energy Star appliances.

After all these efforts, make sure the changes you've made are visually obvious by putting the energy-efficiency upgrades in all listing materials.

Some folks even display their utility bills to show potential buyers how their home has become more efficient.

Tread Lighter adding green marketability to your home,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Green Goes Universal

Sometimes do you feel like you are alone on this journey to tread lighter?

I know I do. Ok, maybe not alone but it feels a bit under-populated. Thus, I was pleased to see that the execs at NBC are pushing some pro-environmental messages. On five of its prime-time shows, they will be threading in 'go greener' ideas in their scripts.

Sustainable practices are happening behind the scenes as well such as removing water bottles in favor of water filters and using chemical-free cleaning products. Some shows are renting hybrid vehicles to transport its actors and crew members as part of the third year of the company's 'Green Is Universal' campaign.

News and information programs will be reporting on environmental issues, plus environmental themes were added to the scripts of many of NBC's hot shows such as “30 Rock”, The Biggest Loser", “The Office", “Heroes", and “Community".

It is good to see many of the topics we discuss week in and week out and act on daily on main stream TV. Things like recycling, buying organic produce and using renewable vs. disposable products.

The US is moving forward to make sustainable practices mainstream. In other countries they are a bit further down the path then we are. In Ireland, for example, the government imposed a 15 cent per bag tax at check out lines. It resulted in a 90% drop in use of plastic bags and brought $10 million the first year, ear marked for environmental initiatives.

As some aim for serious deep energy retrofits (seeking to reduce an existing home's energy usage by 50-90%) and others just begin the journey, we will all be knee deep in it sooner rather than later. The universal green theme will be old school. It will be natural to have super insulation, tight air barriers, humidity controls and careful ventilation to reduce our home's energy usage. Everyone will be renewing, reusing and recycling.

I am looking forward to those times.

Tread Lighter,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Stop Reading This and Go To The Bathroom

I usually don't say this but stop reading this and go into your bathroom. Grab a bag and empty all your cosmetics, toiletries, personal care products inside and then come back to your computer with the bag and read on.

I say this because I went to a talk on safety and personal care products and the information so was so surprising; I have to share it with you. Even those already treading lighter have more to learn.

The same ingredients that are strongly suspected of causing illnesses are sickening Mother Nature. So what can we do? Buy less of them and use them more sparingly.

As always, you don't want to be greenwashed so don't trust the claims on the packaging, read the ingredients! Believe it or not they find lead in lipsticks, cancer causing chemicals in baby products, and a host of toxic chemicals in nail polish, polish removers and artificial nail products. Plus, cleaners with bleach create dioxin, a known carcinogen.

It is flu season and hand "cleansers" are being sold everywhere. Be aware that these contain Triclosan and Triclocarban, which are EPA registered pesticides. This cant be good for you or the earth.

Since fragrance is considered a trade secret, and companies don't have to list the often dozens or even hundreds of synthetic chemical compounds it contains, you may want to reconsider products with fragrance as well.

The good news is that there are two valuable websites that can help you determine what products in your bathroom are safer than others. One is all about safe cosmetics. Then there is the cosmetic database where you can search for a product, ingredient, or company in your quest to find safe cosmetics and personal care products

Since 60% of the products you put on your body get absorbed, you can only imagine what it is doing to our water systems and the nature around us. Protect yourselves, your family and Mother Nature.

Tread Lighter,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Washing My Hands of Non-environmentally Friendly Bathroom

I now realize why the kids are always in our bathroom. Theirs is most definitely one of the most neglected parts of our home.

A true upgrade is on our “to do” list, but for now I am thinking about ways I can make it more eco-friendly with minimal time and investment.

I started with the shower curtain. I am not sure what it is made of since there is no tag but I am assuming since its about 5 years old that it probably was made with PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Vinyl shower curtains like this one can leach out over 108 chemicals in the first 28 days of use, and continue to off gas for a long time. Hot water only enhances the possibility of the chemicals being inhaled and absorbed by our skin. Not only are the PVC shower curtains not so healthy for us, they are not biodegradable. PVC is very difficult to recycle and usually ends up in a landfill. Not to mention the air and ground water pollution from the factories making products containing PVC.

So what to use instead? There are hemp shower curtains, which are especially good for dry climates (the dryer, the less mold). Another alternative is a washable, tight weave, cloth curtain. Finally, there are liners and shower curtains made with EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate).

Other easy, inexpensive ways to make the bathroom more eco friendly is to use green cleaning products, as well as green body, hair and other personal care products. Basically if there are words you don't know or can't really pronounce on the packaging, they aren't so great for you or the environment so choose something a little bit closer to nature like Burt's Bees products. Look for bathroom tissue made from 100% recycled paper with a minimum 80% post-consumer content.

Organic or hemp organic towels are another good option if you are in the market for new towels and make sure the bathroom is lit with energy efficient lighting.

Luckily there are ways of making the bathroom more eco-friendly without spending a dime. Saving water while showering, shaving and brushing your teeth will even save you a few!

Bigger ticket items include installing a low-flow shower head, a low-flow faucet aerator, and a dual-flush toilet. Need to know how? Manage my home can tell you. This might cost a bit up front, but you will save thousands of gallons of water, and money, each year. Folks also retrofit their current toilets to make them dual flush.

Washing my hands of non environmentally friendly bathroom,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Drive More Efficiently. Its good for your wallet and the planet

As we mentioned earlier in the week, the type of vehicle you drive is key to treading lighter. However, so is the way you drive and maintain your car.

You probably already know that flooring the gas pedal not only wastes gas and leads to drastically higher pollution rates, but have you considered some of these driving tips from greenercars.org?:

• Combine trips. Warmed-up engines and catalysts generate much less air pollution, so combining several short trips into one can make a big difference.
• Take a load off. I used to carry a stroller around in the back of the car but no more. Carrying around extra pounds reduces fuel usage.
• Change the oil. Ask the service station if they recycle used oil, or if you do it yourself, take your old oil to a place that recycles.
• If your vehicle has it, use overdrive gear at cruising speeds. When driving a manual transmission, shift up as soon as possible. Running in a higher gear decreases the rpm and will decrease fuel use and engine wear.
• Try using the vents and opening windows to cool off before you turn on the air conditioner.
• Keep your tires properly inflated.
• Buy low-rolling-resistance (LRR) replacement tires.
• At the pump, stop after the click. Don't overfill the gas because spilled gasoline evaporates to aggravate smog formation and can leak into groundwater.
• Look for local gas stations that have vapor-recovery nozzles (those black, accordion-looking plastic devices attached to the nozzle).
• Park in the shade in summer to keep your car cool and minimize evaporation of fuel.
• If you have a garage, use it as much as possible to keep your car warm in winter and cool in summer.
• Consider other commuting options as well to cut pollution, reduce traffic congestion and conserve energy.

Tread lighter,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

How Energy Efficient Is Your Car?

What is your car's energy impact score? There is a website called Fuel Economy.gov that is maintained jointly by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The site provides accurate MPG information. Here you can find fuel economy estimates, energy and environmental impact ratings, and other useful information such as vehicle tax incentives.

If you are in the market for a new car and would like to tread lighter you should also spend some time on greenercars.org. Here you can find the greenest cars of 2009. The Green Cars.org Green Book® also lists the greenest vehicles in each size class. The searchable database allows you to review every vehicle they have scored in the last 9 years through an online subscription. With 13,200 options, take your time searching and building a custom list to find the greenest vehicle that works for you and your lifestyle.

Since almost all models are available in different configurations (i.e. engine, transmission, and other options), look for models that meet emissions standards or even consider ones that run on alternative fuels.

A green option is to buy a fuel efficient pre-owned. You can find ratings for cars between 2000 and 2008 on line here as well, but information on earlier models is in hardcopy only.

Greenercars.org is part of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), an independent, non-profit research group dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of protecting the environment and strengthening the economy.

On Thursday, look for tips for driving green right here. If you have some green tips of your own, we would love to hear them.

Tread lighter in a new or pre-owned green car,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Made in ...

Being born in Japan and having lived there most of her childhood, a friend of mine thought a tattoo that said “Made In Japan” would fit her to a T. She has still yet to do it but it is always a hot topic. I always say I am glad she was imported into the States, otherwise we may have never met.

So many things in my life have been imported and are now comfortably part of my day to day life here in the US, just like my friend.

Where are most of the items in your home from? Consider everything from the shirt on your back to the pen in your hand, you can find out where the product was made.

Why is the country of origin even important you ask? Well, the farther a product has to come to reach a consumer's home, office, or factory; the larger it's carbon footprint. To continue our tread lighter journey, and lower our CO2 emissions, we should stick with buying products that are produced locally.

The tricky part of it all is that not everything with a 'Made In USA' label has all parts from the US. The FTC says that manufacturers or marketers of automobiles and textile, wool, and fur products need competent and reliable evidence to back up the claim that its product is "all or virtually all" made in the U.S.

However, there is no law that requires most other products sold in the U.S. to be marked or labeled 'Made in USA' or have any other disclosure about their amount of U.S. content.

Some products will give a bit of their tale by simply listing they are 'imported'. To get a bit more specific you may notice for example, a US company that has designed a product but sent the blueprint to a factory in Korea for manufacturing. That label would says "Designed in USA — Made in Korea”. Or perhaps the box your lawn mower was composed of all domestic parts except for the cable sheathing, flywheel, wheel rims and air filter (15 to 20 percent foreign content). It will most likely have an "Assembled in USA" or 'Built in the USA' labeling.

Thus, we must stop, read, think and perhaps do a bit of research before buying a product. Look for products with parts and labor done close to home so it doesn't have to have an around the world journey and rack up those frequent carbon points.

Tread Lighter with a smaller carbon footprint,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Make Your Own 'San Francisco Gold'

Last week, San Francisco, CA became the first US city to require all residence and businesses to compost. It is part of Mayor Gavin Newsom's impressive goal to reduce waste and have the city send nothing to landfills or incinerators by 2020.

San Francisco is already diverting over 72% of its waste from landfills thanks to rigorous recycling efforts. Consumers and businesses will now have three different bins: one for recycling, one for trash and one for compost.

Not only are they encouraging composting, but San Fran has set other great green examples as well including a ban on plastic shopping bags in some establishments, and on the purchase of single servings of bottled water.

Anyway, back to the composting. The Department of the Environment and collectors are working to consult folks on properly disposing of their organic garbage waste. In addition, they are providing container labels, signage, educational materials and other compost assistance.

Many locals already compost a great deal, but this new law will encourage the others to do so as well. If they don't, they can expect penalties starting next year of anywhere from $100 to $1,000.

The food refuse will be turned into compost which will then be sold to Bay Area farms and vineyards. The city is definitely highlighting how easy and effective it is to compost.

If you are looking to create some of this hot "San Francisco gold," A.K.A. compost, check out some tips here. You will be returning carbon to the soil, cutting down on methane emissions from landfill, and have nutrient rich compost for your garden.

Tread Lighter composting,
-Phyllis, Green Expert

What Are You Doing Saturday?

This Saturday is the International Day of Climate Action. Join people like yourself all over the world to take a stand for a safe climate future. It will be the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet's history.

Since the number 350 is the target amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, people across the globe will be creatively promoting this number. You will see incredible creative actions across the globe including mountain climbers on our highest peaks, underwater demonstrations in island nations threatened by sea level rise, star athletes, rallies in cities, and smaller community events such as folks ringing steeple bells 350 times, donating 350 books, doing a 350 mile relay, created a mural depicting the number 350 and more. They are all doing it to raise awareness of the need for urgent action. And you can too.

Scientists like Dr. James Hansen, of NASA, have been researching global warming and have come to the conclusion that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.

The folks at 350.org say that the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is 390 ppm. They say that it is way too high, and it's why ice is melting, drought is spreading, forests are dying. To bring that number down, they suggest we stop putting more carbon into the atmosphere. They are suggesting a very fast transition to sun and wind and other renewable forms of power. The goal is to return us to safe levels.

There are a variety of ways to decrease our carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Many things we can do in our homes and in our daily lives. Some things will happen at the workplace or with new technologies. However, a great mover will be world wide political endeavors.

At the UN Climate Negotiations in Copenhangen, the world's nations will meet to agree on a new climate treaty. With everyone's support on October 24th we can show them the importance of this treaty and negotiate a treaty to cut global warming pollution.

There are exciting things happening on Saturday in your neighborhood. Click here to find out the details.

Tread Lighter to reach 350
-Phyllis, Green Expert

Have A Green Halloween

I was thrilled when the art teacher in the local school system encouraged the students to make some, or all, of their costumes this year. This is a great way to renew and reuse the old costumes, clothes, props, and other recycled materials we have around the house. Not only does the unique costume the kids create reduce the demands on natural resources and landfill space, we are avoiding a store bought costume that may be made with conventional toxic dyes that pollute waterways, and petroleum-based products that require oil drilling. With this assignment, I knew we were off to a green Halloween.

Here are a few other tips to make your Halloween Green.

• Not feeling the creativity from your closet? Borrow from friends and family or pick something up at a second hand store.
• Look for non-toxic and washable face paints to go along with your costume.
• Decorate an old basket or pillowcase and use it as a place to stash Halloween treats as you wander the neighborhood.
• Light up your porch and pathway with solar powered lights this year or use it as a good reason to switch to a CFL bulb, if you haven't already done so.
• Fill the candy bowl with a treat that is not only better for the kids, but for the planet as well. Another option is to skip the candy altogether and hand out eco friendly small toys, pencils, or soy crayons.
• Once the kids have devoured their treats, have them save the wrappers for a fun post-holiday craft project. Friends glued the old wrappers on to a frame and put in a picture from Halloween night.
• Decorate the house with pumpkins, gourds or corn husks which can be composted at the end of the season. Reuse old props, plus, colorful decorations the kids create from recycled materials.
• What do you do with the pumpkin once Halloween is over? You can chop it up and put it in your — or a neighbor/town — compost pile. If you didn't carve into it and its looking pretty healthy you can cut it up and make anything from pumpkin muffins to soup. If you don't want to eat it, you can leave it in a far corner of the yard for the local animals to eat. Skip this one if you are a city dweller.

Tread Lighter with a green Halloween,
-Phyllis,Green Expert