All this stuff we hear about living green. There are so many things that we can do that are easy. Here’s a behind-the-scenes tube about our stuff.

Why watch it? Well, from its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. (description from dotSUB.com)

Fidelity National Title is the most recent title insurance company to offer customers an eco-friendly alternative to traditional paper-based closings. According to a recent announcement by account manager Desiree Baker, they are providing the following earth-friendly solutions:

1. An online application utilizing e-signatures (original notarized documents will always need to be hard copies).
2. Online document storage to eliminate the need for paper. New software helps transaction coordinators streamline and automate their workflow.
3. Paper document conversion into PDF files that can be delivered to any email address.
4. Online view of property disclosure details that can be accessed by internal and external users.
5. Single property listing websites to eliminate the waste associated with property fliers. The vast majority of buyers now search online.

A paperless system seems like an easy solution to reducing the reams of paper used in a typical real estate transaction, but it’s been a long time coming. Congratulations to Fidelity for making it possible.

Lots of resolutions have been made. I’m sure many have been broken already. Me? I’m starting the New Year with a clean desk.

How can clutter not be a green issue? As part of our home or work environment, it affects our mental, physical, emotional and even spiritual health.

Some people are able to keep a home so neat that it looks staged. On the other side, I’ve seen some of the worst types of clutter in homes. Hallways that are stacked with papers and who-knows-what leaving a path like a narrow rural road that barely allows one car at a time. Shelves overflowing, beds with almost enough space to sleep in, insects living in molding piles of newspapers — it’s hard to imaging how bad it can get.

Some experts consider compulsive hoarding to be a mental illness in its own right, although its not yet formally recognized by psychiatrists. Where it effects quality of life, the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization may be of help.

For the rest of us, it’s still a behavioral issue. And systems help. Our California Closets system was very helpful for our family in organizing our clothes. When we have a new overflow problem we know it’s time to donate. Real Simple has regular monthly features with organizing products and cleaning ideas. Just don’t print or cut out the articles and start a new stack of to-dos.

And if you need help, get it. Professional Organizers and Feng Shui consultants thrive on our capacity to collect and our need to reduce clutter. Clutterboy in Los Altos, CA, has some fun “clutter conquest” stories if you need inspiration.

For me, having items in their place means I can find the documents I need when I need them. Being able to find my gym bag or running shoes leaves me fewer reasons to avoid exercise.

My next decluttering project is the garage.

It’s always interesting to see what green features are highlighted in a Build It Green certified home or development. In Nevada’s Incline Creek Estates, a gated community of 58 single family homes, the emphasis is on smart home technology, Coza™ insulation and Trex™ decking.

Of course, the golf courses and ski resorts featured, as are the tennis facility, fitness/recreation center, indoor pool, nearby private beaches, hiking, mountain biking, and nature trails. Is this because folks wanting a green dwelling value personal health and the great outdoors? Not necessarily, but it does reflect the lifestyle interest of Tahoe’s North Shore buyer. (If it sounds like your lifestyle, contact Terry Moore.)

Smart home technology makes sense for a second home. Heating and ventilation can be managed remotely through a AMX control system and pre-programmed settings to control energy costs. Touch panels control multiple zones of distributed audio, video, and lighting.

Featuring Coza™ insulation is no surprise. It’s snow country after all, and energy costs have been on the rise. This stuff’s made from recycled paper fiber and chemically treated for permanent fire and mold resistance. Coza insulation is safe to hold in your hands. It provides solid blanket of energy efficiency and protection for walls and attics. Added insulation of the interior walls and between the floors provide a quiet and acoustically pleasant environment.

Trex™ decking was a surprise at first. After all, wood finishes are a feature of Tahoe architecture. Even the home models’ names are trees: Pinon Pine, Rosewood, and Manzanita.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve recommended Trex products because they doesn’t rot, splinter or warp, and resist mold. Trex’s made from recycled materials, a mixture of shredded plastic bags and sawdust to produce a durable wood-like product. The process was invented by organic chemist, Roger Wittenberg.

And there’s the connection. Wittenberg is the majority investor in Incline Creek Estates. He says, “The shift in energy cost and the need to reduce the burning of fossil fuel is real, and we intend to build projects that are energy efficient and at the same time do not interfere with a normal life style”.

Thanks Roger. We need more people like you.

Copyright © 2007. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ValueAndComfort.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Here are the Top Seven things a mortgage company can do, on their dime, to reduce your global ecological footprint and reduce your home’s carbon emissions:

1.  Free rating or assessment of how green your home is and how it can be improved. Examples of rating systems include California’s Build It Green, Built Green of Colorado and Washington, and the residential LEED certification. See if your local Green Building Program has a rating system.

2.   Provide additional incentives or loan discounts for green home improvement.

3.   Purchase carbon-offsets on your behalf, through CarbonFund, The Institute of Ecosystem Studies, TerraPass, or other organization.

4.   Plant trees. Lots of them.

5.   Contribute part of profits to environmental or real estate reform

6.   Help you monitor your global ecological footprint. You may need a conversion calculator.

7.   Take the pledge lead by example by being a sustainable, carbon-neutral business.

Thanks to Tomek Rondio of MortgageGreen for his input for this post.

Copyright © 2007. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ValueAndComfort.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

Concrete replaced by Rubber

Many cities throughout the country are moving toward greener practices and policies. With so many choices available, it’s getting easy to pick the products and practices to support. The companies have difficult part — the need to get their innovative products known to the marketplace. While talking to Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens Committee member Gail Slocum, she was intrigued by my mention of alternative sidewalks.

Recently named “Best of America” by the editors of Reader’s Digest magazine, and getting a spot on NBC Nightly News and numerous other media mentions, Rubbersidewalks is getting known.

I saw Rubbersidewalks installed near the San Jose Convention Center, then found that the company developed their line of red “bricks” specifically for Boston’s Freedom Trail.

I certainly applaud the creativity of turning landfill garbage into a useful product. Cities will breath a sigh of relief at the drop in slip-and-fall claims from buckling concrete. They’ll also like the long term cost savings compared to concrete. Arborists and urban forest supporters will appreciate the harmony between rubber sidewalk and trees. Me? I like that the rubber is easier on my feet.

For the home and garden, there are environmentally-friendly paving alternatives. These may be recycled stone, or products made from rubber or plastic. As I said, there are lots of choices available.

Copyright © 2007. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ValueAndComfort.com then the material has been stolen without permission*. Violators will be reported.

*except that I did post a copy on ActiveRain before being informed that it was not appropriate to copy even my own posts.

When it comes to climate change, most schools get a failing grade.

But first, let’s look at the big picture, which shows a growing interest in building greener schools. Sixty schools across the U.S. have been certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, and 360 more are waiting to have applications approved.

There is a movement towards greener practices, too. Residence halls and dorm rooms are sporting energy-efficient mini-fridges and low-flow shower heads, among other eco-products for the generation used to sorting trash.

Locally, the Bay Area Green Business Program lists only four schools in Santa Clara County that they’ve certified as “Green.” San Mateo County started it’s program during the latter half of 2007 and is not yet certifying schools.

Stanford University is no surprise on the list. Stanford Dining received the first Acterra Award for Sustainability. They were a runner up in Grist’s 15 Green Colleges and Universities. They’ve embarked on a fascinating multidisciplinary Initiative on the Environment and Sustainablility. Lots of cool stuff going on at Stanford.

Palo Alto hosts two green schools: Castilleja, a private girls middle and high school on Bryant Street, and Gunn High School on Arastradero Road. The only elementary school is Sunnyvale’s Cumberland.

I guess as parents and teachers influence the schools, more environmental awareness will pass through the school. Then, the kids will be teaching us how to take better care of the planet we’ll be leaving them.

With all the interest in green homes, it’s not often one comes on the market. That changed yesterday, with a beautiful, century-old Craftsman now for sale at 120 Waverley Street in Palo Alto. This home blends the character of an old home with modern comfort and conveniences.

A Palo Alto firm Topos Architects remodeled this home following LEED Residential standards. They claim that, had the rating been available when the home was completed, it would have qualified for a LEED Gold rating.

How does this home qualify as being so green? Much of the existing building material was re-used within the remodel. Recycling efforts for the unusable material far exceeded Palo Alto’s requirements to minimize landfill.

Energy efficient design exceeds the California Energy Commission standards (Title 24) by 3%, reducing the owner’s energy consumption and utility costs. This is enhanced by passive solar design and tracked through an innovative Agilewaves resource monitor, making it a smart house as well.

Building components that create the energy efficient envelope include highly rated windows, exterior doors, and insulation. Interior energy savers include the furnace, air conditioner, ventilation fan, water heater, toilets, and lighting with a lighting control system. Energy Star rated appliances (refrigerator, clothes washer, and dishwasher) add the finishing touches.

If you’re ready to move into a green home, the $3.15 million price tag is a good value for the neighborhood. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, there’s a tear-down in a nearby neighborhood for almost $2 mil. You can still have your green dream home – it will just take longer to move in.

I see gray piles of crushed concrete as I’m driving by construction sites, looking like gigantic abandoned sandbox projects. We’re likely to see more of these piles as green concepts permeate the building industry.

According to the Concrete Network, recycling concrete from demolition project can result in considerable savings since it saves the costs of transporting concrete to the landfill (as much as $ .25 per ton/mile), and eliminates the cost of disposal (as high as $100 per ton). This savings to the contractor also results in greater environmental benefits, such as protecting natural resources, fewer pollutants from the transport of materials and reduced impact on our landfills.

Palo Alto’s “construction and demolition” program requires 90% of concrete and other inert solids be diverted. Santa Clara requires 50% to be recycled. San Jose, most of the cities within San Mateo county (and the County itself), and nine cities in Alameda county have also implemented these reuse and recycle programs.

Recycling of concrete is a relatively simple process. It involves breaking, removing, and crushing existing concrete into a material with a specified size and quality. The goal of a green remodeler is to use as much onsite as possible, says Iris Harrell of Harrell Remodeling.

Concrete Technology gives five applications of unprocessed recycled concrete, then five different applications after processing, including new concrete. So concrete really can be recycled into more concrete!

The photo is at 3270 West Bayshore as seen from 101. Other concrete piles can be seen at 899 Charleston and at Page Mill and Park. All are in Palo Alto.

I admit it. We save wine corks. They’re a reminder of good wines and good company. We hate to throw them away, but really, how many trivets can you make?

Enter an innovative wine cork recycling project by Yemm & Hart. Send your wine corks to their ongoing collection as they experiment with converting them into cork floor tiles. This would extend the life of this natural resource for decades more, while keeping the material out of our landfills. Yemm & Hart currently recycles tires, plastic detergent bottles, and PVC plastics into commercial and residential materials.

Producing cork for wine bottles is already a sustainable practice. The bark is harvested in a way similar to sheering a sheep, allowing the trees to thrive. Cork oak forests provide a diverse ecosystem for plants and animals as well as serving as a barrier to the encroachment of the Sahara desert into Europe. All parts of the cork are used, so nothing is wasted until it gets to our table.

Plastic corks and screw top caps are threatening the cork producers and forests. So, drink wine stoppered with real corks, and then ship them off. Yemm & Hart accepts natural corks from anyone, consumer or retailer.

Wine Cork Recycling
Yemm & Hart Ltd
610 South Chamber Dr
Fredericktown MO 63645

Thanks to Kirsten Flynn of Sustainable Home for bringing the program to my notice, and The Green Guide post.