Do the Right Thing.

Since the success of the Eco All Stars group and the latest contest I've been thinking about what else we can do in 2008. We had great fun planning our dream houses with 5 elements and unlimited funds. (Wouldn't it be awesome if we could go out and build them now?)

I'd like to suggest to the Eco All Star group that we start thinking of some actionable things we can start doing within our own communities. After all we aren't writing in a vacuum. The power of our words could and should work toward reality. OK, I know you are working on your business. This project would work in tandem to your business and hopefully compliment it. But what if together we could make an actionable plan and support each other in facilitating it? I'm not sure what I'm talking about exactly.

I'm thinking of the Eco All Stars as a huge team (company) with a lot of power. Our CEO is janeAnne (I'll be Mrs. Kravitz to noisy neighbor.) With all the connections, power and support we have we could actually, physically start a country wide or local project and make a difference.

I'm taking a vacation between Christmas and New Years. I'm going to be thinking about all of this. But if you have ideas I'd love it if you leave a comment below.

Ideas:

1) Eco All Stars networking groups around the country ( something like www.greendrinks.org )

If you haven't read Barbara-Jo's recent post please read this first : Ruling on Auto Emissions. After reading Barbara-Jo's post I opened my e-mail and saw this. I thought I'd share  - after all does it matter whether we are talking about cars or real estate? It is all one planet.

Hi Dena,

"Absurd." ¹... "Disgraceful." ²... "A mockery of law and sound public policy." ³

That's what governors, attorneys general and members of Congress have had to say about the Bush administration's decision to stop California and 17 other states, including Colorado, from adopting global warming pollution-slashing Clean Cars programs.

Even though cars and trucks are one of the largest and fastest-growing sources of global warming pollution... Even though the EPA has granted California permission to go beyond federal standards on 50 previous occasions... Even though California's program would begin a decade earlier and eliminate three times as much carbon pollution as the new federal mileage standards by 2020...

You can register your protest with the EPA here:
http://environmentamerica.org/action/global-warming/epa-waiver?id4=ES

The decision, frankly, stinks, especially coming just hours after the president signed new auto fuel economy standards into law. Observers already are speculating that the fix was in for the auto industry. We're ready to push for whatever action it takes -- including a congressional investigation, legal action and more -- to overturn this wrong-headed decision. But step one is registering our outrage with the Bush administration's EPA and Stephen Johnson, the president's hand-picked administrator.

Tell Administrator Johnson to lead, follow or get out of the way of states that want to help America solve global warming by clicking on the link below:

http://environmentamerica.org/action/global-warming/epa-waiver?id4=ES

Coming just a week after the meeting on climate change in Bali and Al Gore's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, this latest decision is more evidence, as if we needed it, of the Bush administration's head-in-the-sand approach to global warming. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by it, but we don't have to stand for it. Please take action today.

And thank you for all that you've done this past year. Happy holidays to you and yours.

Sincerely,

Matt Garrington
Environment Colorado Field Director
MattG@environmentcolorado.org
http://www.environmentcolorado.org/

P.S. Please forward this message to any friends or family who might be interested by clicking here:
http://environmentamerica.org/action/global-warming/epa-waiver?id4=ES

Sources:
¹ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/washington/20epa.html
² http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-epa20dec20,0,1603760.story?coll=la-home-center
³ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/washington/20epa.html?pagewanted=print

One of my goals is to someday figure out why so many people are golf crazy and maybe start golfing. Maybe it's the Tiger Woods factor, I don't know. But it seems like golf fever is just catching. And I'm told real estate deals get done on a golf course on a regular basis. So when an advertising company called me about sponsoring score cards I thought why not? Last year they promised me, for a price, that my ad with picture would be over the first hole on the score card and that I'd be the only Realtor. Not all turned out as planned. So this year they are promising me 2 years for the price of one and that I will be the only Realtor and be over hole #1.

But I also wanted to follow the green trail. So I investigated our local Pueblo golf course and I learned that they are very ECO green!

Elmwood is part of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP). Parts of this program include :

• Environmental Planning             
• Wildlife and Habitat Management
• Chemical Use Reduction and Safety
• Water Conservation
• Water Quality Management
• Outreach and Education

Elmwood Golf Course is located in the center of Pueblo. And this coming year after a few adjustments I'm sponsoring the score card again. So come play around and keep score!

          Colorado Western Real Estate threw our first annual Celebration December 14th, 2007. AND WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

Decked our Colorado Style with saddles, boots with candles and bottles of refreshments for our guests!

----> Chris and Colleen having WAY to much fun!

<<<<Donna Phillips and the Hendrich Family.

Dena and The Rag Lady Shelley  >>>>>

Dispite the bitter cold outside it was warm in the Federal room!

Sugar Foot, yep that's a 14 stringer >>>>>>

Penny and her son Jason - love the ears!

Dena, Pam and Shelley. And no I don't know what was so funny. What were we drinking? Soda!

Donna, Jason and Lin in the Federal Room. Jason lost his ears  :(

Dancing to Sugar Foot !

In my opinion:

• I can't be an expert in everything and I'm not going to try
• My thoughts have energy
• Science projects in the refrigerator are acceptable unless company is coming
• God does talk to me if I shut up long enough to listen
• Jimmy Buffett has great insight

• Miracles happen all the time, we just don't acknowledge them
• *
• My dogs prefer my grandmothers afghan to my lap
• *
• What's right for me isn't always going to be right for others
• *
• In my heart I'm a vegetarian
• *
• My 10 year old Toyota will make it 500,000 miles before dying and being reincarnated into a more energy efficient car that runs on sunshine

In my opinion:

• A sense of humor is essential for a long life
• Good bacteria eats bad bacteria, and I still don't like yogurt
• People could be happier if they got more sleep
• Chocolate is essential for live
• Silence is the most pleasant sound on earth
• George Carlin under appreciated

• Hurting somebodies feelings is inevitable, forgiveness isn't
• *
• A good vacuum cleaner is worth every penny
• *
• To many people gauge their lives on the amount of possessions they own
• *
• More people read my thoughts than I'm aware of
• *
• Movie theaters turn the sound up to loud

• My father knew that I loved him
• It's not a sin to enjoy Dos Equis Amber
• Police officers must to have a wonderful sense of humor or they would lose their minds
• I touch more peoples lives than I'm aware of
• Sexy is a matter of opinion not press

In my opinion:

• The most beautiful place on Earth exists in my mind everything else is a close second
• Mathousala knew some great jokes
• When my head is in the clouds the view is awesome
• You never know who you are standing in line with
• Living well on a shoe string is still living well

• The IRS will come up with a more simple form, a post card - sign here
• Loving the wrong person isn't a waste of anything
• Laundry can always wait
• The opposite of love is fear
• Even the "baddest people" on earth have mothers

• My neighbors opinions don't matter to me, I'm still going to line dry my laundry
• *
• The prettiest flowers come in the fall
• *
• Burglar alarms eat dog food not electricity
• *
• Large corporations should pay more in taxes even if it does effect their customers
• *
• More isn't better, it's just more

In my opinion:

• The funniest bumper sticker I've ever seen can't be repeated here
• Living in the moment is easy to say and hard to do
• Everybody is entitled to a safe place to lay their head at night
• Sushi is under appreciated ( love you George!)
• Art should be seen with the heart

• You can form meaningful relationships on the net 
• *
• Love is a common denominator
• *
• God doesn't want me to be unhappy

                                                                         Inspirited by Jennifer Steck

When I suggested to janeAnne an experiment in Eco design for the Eco All Stars group I really wanted to know where peoples intentions lay. It's one thing to advise our clients on what we think is right as far as environmental design goes but it's another to put your money where your mouth is.

Imagine we've won the pink Environmental lottery - Yippee! Woo Hoo! WOW! Money is no object and we are going to build own houses. But the rules of the game are that we are limited to 5 elements and an explanation of why we chose them. 

I'm building my ideal house with:

Southern Colorado has approx 330 days a year of sunshine, why not use it to my advantage? Proper design will give me warmth in the winter, protection from the sun in the summer and natural day lighting all year long. With 22" overhangs and the house facing true south with no more than 20-25% windows on the south side I should have a comfortable house all year. Minimal heating and cooling necessary. Passive Solar

P.V's are showing up all over. My lottery house would have enough P.V.'s to afford me more than enough energy to run my house. Enough P.V.'s to return energy to the grid and lower my power bills to zero or even get money back! Say clean energy! A Quick Over View

Element # 3 Solar Hot Water

With all the beautiful weather in Southern Colorado solar hot water just sounds like a no brainier. Inexpensive to build - NO cost to run! Let the Sun Shine!   Water Taps

An all concrete house doesn't sound like a great idea at first. I've been in several concrete top to bottom houses. The concrete holds heat evenly and distributes it slowly back into the house. The concrete only warms up if the sun is hitting it directly, this is where proper design becomes important. With concrete or title floors help keep the house and floors cleaner and keeps allergies down. And yes, it's OK to have a few rugs around. Say Sustainable! Concrete doesn't burn, think about your home owners insurance. Sustainability the other Green movement

Colorado has experienced drought for years on end. Even when it does rain or snow it isn't enough to recover what we have gone threw. So my lottery house would have low maintained, water sensible xero scaping. Decorate with statues and art, expand your mind and meditate. Confessions of a Non Environmentalist

Other factors in my custom built environmentally friendly house:

1) An energy efficient mortgage, oh wait. I WON THE PINK ENVIRONMENTAL LOTTERY!

2) Location is key for some many reasons. One very important reason to consider location was brought out in Stephanie Edwards - Musa post. Location isn't an element but a much thought about factor.

                                             When I do build this house you are all invited over for tea and cookies!

"There are precious few Einsteins among us. Most brillance arises from ordinary people working together in extraordinary ways." Roger von Oech

Green Perfectionism and editorial comment

The green movement has been going for along time now. The recent up surg has been a healthy push forward for the ideas that have been around for awhile. Maybe it's a generational thing, each generation needs to think it's improving the situation - I don't know. It maybe a healthy thing for the environment to push the proverbial envelope.

Have you noticed that no matter what you read, no matter how much research you do there is always a better method or idea on the horizon? For about two years I worked with and helped a local home builder plan a new subsidiary company to one he had started 40 years prior. His educational and intellectual back ground was environmental. Our plan and accomplishment was to develop three or four floor plans that were energy efficient at a moderate price. We would become the big box store, easy shopping for anybody who wanted a green, energy efficient home. The idea was to educate the public while providing an affordable alternative to the run of the mill housing. Sounds like a good idea doesn't?

The model home opened, ads were placed on radio and in print. The affordable energy efficient house for Southern Colorado was open to the public. But no matter how hard we tried to educate and yes, sell these houses we mostly failed.

We failed for a few reasons.

• 1) Real estate sales in general slumped
• 2) The public wasn't interested in a new idea. They wanted square footage for the money not energy efficiency.
• 3) The public thought (and may have known) more than we did about what they wanted.
• 4) The people who were interested in this type home wanted and could afford a custom house

Recently I had occasion to meet a local home builder. She builds I.C.F. homes and on a fluke she had her homes HERS rated. She was amazed at her accidental scores. But unfortunately, due to the current market she no longer builds. During our conversation we both commented on the same thing. Colorado is a very progressive state, forward thinking if you will. People here have been building Earth Ships here for years. Remember Dennis Weavers  recycled can house? But while other states or pockets of areas seem to be thriving on all the "new" technology Coloradans seem to be stagnating. Usually, conversations with somebody hoping to build or a home builder seemed to end up an argument about what is the "best" way to go. Is an organic solution better than a technological one? Passive or Active Solar? ICF or tilt up? On demand hot water or solar tanks? Electric or gas? Solar or geothermal? The ideas and arguments were and still are endless.

I'm finding that all the technology and education going on during this current version of the green movement is stifling people. They are afraid to move forward with their plans because something may change tomorrow. Is the conclusion they make today going to be the right one for tomorrow?

My only conclusion to this issue is to try to keep up with my education, help where I can and proceed forward when I can. The groups on Active Rain like the Eco All Stars are terrific to continue the green education.  

Are we all Green Snobs?

What is the perfect "green" answer?