So I’ve been working on a TON of green projects lately that has taken my time away from blogging. But I need to!

I have been working on a few different websites, so for one if anyone has a green business and needs a website please get in touch with me. Anyways, here’s the one that I’ve been working on lately that I want to tell you about. It’s a real estate company that specializes in sustainable real estate! Eco-Realty International specializes in how to green your home for sale, buy a greener home, and is a complete consultant in these areas as well as an expert for buying and selling a green sustainable home.

Exciting, huh? Nancy Riehle is the broker, and she got started by investing in a home here in Spartanburg, SC that was in need of repair. Their repair option? Make it green! They put in Icynene spray foam insulation, used a tankless hot water heater, recycled/able carpet from Milliken, bamboo flooring, concrete countertops, geo-thermal heat pump, I mean everything, and the house sold for $100k MORE than any other house on the street! She had over 200 people at the open house! Green is in baby!

So, now she along with her agents would like to help others do the same thing. Maybe not as large of a return, but it will definitely help your home sell.

Besides, buying and living in a green home is the healthy, wealthy, and wise choice to make!

See: Eco-Realty International

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The grocery business is another example of an industry that could significantly cut costs by switching their appliances over to greener systems.

GreenChill, a partnership being established by the EPA, is encouraging supermarkets to switch their refrigeration units over to ones that are both healthier for the environment and more energy efficient for the businesses.

Many supermarket chains are already working with the EPA in this effort, which is still in preparatory stages, such as Publix. See more information on what Publix is doing to support sustainability by clicking on this link. They have reportedly cut energy usage in existing stores by 7 percent and in new stores by 23 percent!

They’re going the extra mile when it comes to green ideas even beyond advanced refrigeration units, by having opened their GreenWise stores which are a one-stop shop for organic foods.

Back to GreenChill– it’s estimated by the EPA the grocery business could save $12 million per year by converting to this initiative! That’s a lot of moo-lah!

That’s 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

The equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road per year.

Coolant leakage is also a problem with current systems, with DuPont quoted as saying that as much as 20% of the coolant in the refrigerant systems being leaked. That’s a huge ozone/health hazard, since many of the systems in place still have HCFCs in them!

So let’s support the stores that are taking the initiative to care about our health (because this contributes to the indoor air quality of the stores we’re shopping in) and energy consumption.

Note: Wal-Mart, as large as they are, are  NOT part of the initiative.

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by: Berne Broudy
http://backpacker.com/cut_your_carbon_in_half/nature/11030

You can make a difference. Experts say there are hundreds of simple yet meaningful ways to reduce your CO₂ output at home, in the office, in the car, and even on the trail. Start here—with our guide to 101 easy, effective, and often cost-saving solutions.

Key:
# equals pounds of CO₂ saved per year.
$$$$ = Save
$ = Spend

Home and office
1. Use a power strip for your computer, monitor, fax, copier, TV, DVD player, iPod, and cell-phone chargers, and switch it off when those devices aren’t in use. Most electronics draw power even when they’re off, including empty chargers in standby mode. 2,000, $$$$

2. Change your light bulbs. Swap out incandescents with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). 120 per bulb, $$$$

3. Turn off incandescent lights when leaving a room for even just a few minutes. If you use CFLs, turn them off if you leave for 15 minutes. 89, $$$$

4. Cancel catalogs and remove yourself from junk-mail lists. 15, $$$
Read the rest of this entry »

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So far, you’re saving on your hot water bill and your light bill, what can we do next…

>> Remember, these are the easy of the simple of the things you can do. Passing these next seven days will put you well on your way to a greener, healthier home and way of life. But it’s by far only a start.

Total Cost: $10

We all have appliances. Lots and lots of appliances. Some big, some small, but they all use power and energy.

Today’s Simple Green step is quite simple to do, but will require your constant thought to make it happen.

We spoke before about running your dishwasher and clothes dryer only when full, which are two very highly used appliances in your home. Let’s talk about a couple others.

First, there’s your heat and air conditioning. When it’s cold it’s cold, and I’m not asking you not to run your heat all together. Or your A/C. But aren’t there perhaps times that you run your systems when you really don’t have to? Or maybe run them more than you need to?

Say for instance, you get up at 7am, get ready for work and leave the house at 7:45am. You come home at 6pm, eat dinner do all that good stuff, and are usually in bed by around 10-11pm. You have “used” your home for about 5-6 hours of the 24 hours in a day. Were you running the same constant temperature the entire time? A big way to save on your heating and cooling bills is to cut the thermostat down when you’re not in the house (at work, at play, where ever) and down when you go to bed at night. A big way you can do this easily is to buy a programmable thermostat to replace your current one, if it’s not programmable. See the Energy Star page about them. Go here to This Old House to learn how to simply install one. And you can buy one from Lowes here for only $29.

Programmable thermostats:

• are more convenient and accurate than manual thermostats and improve your home’s comfort
• contain no mercury
• save energy and save money on utility bills — when used properly, about $150/year
• are better for the environment, since using less energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production

And what about your computer. Do you leave it running all the time, even when you’re not using it? Whether at work or at home, computers are an often used item but can be a big energy hog. Computers today are equipped with this neat little feature called “hibernate.” Yes, like a bear, your computer can curl up and keep it’s current state by storing everything on from your memory onto your hard drive so it doesn’t get lost. That way, your computer can shut off, then when you want it back on, it’s like you didn’t miss a beat!

Turn your computer off when you’re not going to use it. If you’ll be away from it longer than 30 minutes, it’s a waste of energy. And don’t forget your monitor. Even though most monitors go to “sleep” after a while, they are still using energy during that time.

And how about your TV. Did you know that your TV is still using lots of juice even after you turn it off? A great solution to your stereo, TV, and other electronics using power while you’re not even using them is to plug them all into a surge protector, and then hitting the kill switch on it! That way, all you have to do is flip one switch and your stuff has juice again, but it didn’t run up your power bill in the meantime.

And your dryer– do you run it when it’s completely full? Ok, this is one place where you really shouldn’t, because your dryer isn’t going to get them dry and you’ll end up running it a second time. And make sure your lint filter is clean every time. Give some room for warm air to help dry your clothes while they’re in there. Also, you don’t have to put everything in the dryer, why not hang it on a clothesline? They’ll have that fresh air scent without using a dryer sheet, and you’ll have used zero energy to get them dry.

Think about how often you use your appliances, and then how often you really need to use them, and scale back accordingly. Using the tips above will get you on your way to saving lots of energy and money on your power bill, as appliances make up a big chunk of everyone’s power bill. I think that goes without saying.

So day three’s over, let’s recap:

• Careful on when you use heat and A/C
• Get a programmable thermostat
• Turn your computer and monitor to hibernate when not in use
• Plug your electronics into a surge protector you can hit kill when not in use
• Hang your clothes out to dry

You’ve spent around thirty bucks and will save WAY more money than that on your energy bill over the course of a year. Keep watching for Greener day 4!

Day One’s Cost: $29
Time: 30 minutes on thermostat
Level of Difficulty: Novice

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This is a very very important video for anyone who’s on this site to watch.

Why is recycling and zero waste and being careful about how the products you buy affect those who make them and buying from local stores instead of big box stores and buying organic foods and being wary of toxins and achieving sustainability period important?

This movie brings some scary but true facts to the table. It outlines our process that is most prevelant here in the U.S. that is so destructive to our world. Greed has carried us thus far and it has ruined our lives. But we’re too busy to notice it or worry about it. We’ve let it into our homes. But we can make the change.

Following the simple steps to green available on this site will help tremendously, but they are essentially designed to lead you down the road to life-altering sustainability awareness.

We’re playing on the green buzzword in hopes you’ll realize it’s much more than that. That it’s absolutely essential to our survival.

Watch the movie here.

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Day one was super easy, you didn’t have to spend any money or any extra time. How quick was your shower? This is something I’m still working on, and I’ve put a clock where I can see it from the shower to help.

Day two is going to be just as easy.

>> Remember, these are the easy of the simple of the things you can do. Passing these next seven days will put you well on your way to a greener, healthier home and way of life. But it’s by far only a start.

Total Cost: $0

Let’s talk about lighting. Yes, you know what I’m going to say– compact fluorescents. Well, we’ll start there anyways, since you brought it up. Here’s the power difference between CFLs and regular incandescent:

So you can see, to get the same amount of light you will only be using less than 1/4th of the power in a CFL. Plus, during the summer months, those incandescent bulbs are just adding tons of heat to your home. 95% of the energy goes to heating the bulb. By just replacing five incandescent bulbs to CFLs, five of your most used lights, you will save about $60/year in energy costs. So they pay for themselves in two months! Plus, they last way longer.

A 5-pack of CFLs can be had at Ace Hardware for $10.

If every U.S. household replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent bulb, it would save enough energy to light about 3 million homes for a year and save more than $650 million in annual energy costs. Think it's important now?

Another important factor in lighting is cutting the lights off when you’re not using them. It sounds so silly to tell yourself, cut off the light when leaving the room– but do it!

An even bigger part is making efficient use of our windows. Did you know that during the winter, you can help heat your home with the windows on the south side of your home? That’s because they get the most sunlight. So leave the blinds open on that side of your house (sun rises in the east, sets in the west, so you can get your bearings). During the summer, close the blinds where the sun is glaring in to prevent the heat of the sun fighting your AC system.

You also want to open those blinds to let in natural light. During the day, instead of using the overhead light, open the blinds. How many times could you have just done that instead of turning on a lamp or overhead light?

That’s all for day two! Let’s recap today’s money/energy saving tips:

• Buy a 5-pack of CFL bulbs
• Cut off the lights every time you leave the room
• Use blinds and curtains to your advantage
• Let in natural light

You’ve spent $10 that will make you $60 maybe even before the end of the year. Are we smart or what?? Keep it tuned here tomorrow for Simple Day 3 to a Greener Lifestyle.

Day One’s Cost: $10
Time: 10 minutes installing bulbs
Level of Difficulty: You’ve done it already

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These next seven days are going to be easy ways to go green and save money. So if that’s what you’re looking to do, not change your lifestyle or remodel you house or spend lots of dough or hire a contractor, this is the series for you.

To start off the week, I’m going to give you something easy easy simple to do.

>> Remember, these are the easy of the simple of the things you can do. Passing these next seven days will put you well on your way to a greener, healthier home and way of life. But it’s by far only a start.

Total cost: $0

Ok, let’s get started! Today, I want you to start by taking a shorter shower. The average home uses 15% of it’s energy in heating water. Taking a 5-minute shower instead of lolli-gagging and taking a 20-minute shower will improve your power bill big time, and the amount of water you use, which is another benefit for the environment. Seen the droughts on the news lately???

Now, you could go all out and take a cold shower, but the title is Simple 7 days, and taking a cold shower isn’t very simple.

The other way to save water heating energy is to only turn on the dishwasher when it’s full. Tonight, instead of turning on that dishwasher right away, peek in there and see if you could add some items before turning it on. Again, you’re saving water on top of your water heating bill.

Same goes for washing clothes. Only here, you can cut out hot water all together. Using cold water for laundry saves on average $63 a year. And there are detergents specially formulated for cold water that get your clothes the same amount of clean.

While you’re over switching your washer to cold/cold, turn that hot water heater down some. What do you have it on now, hot? It should be set to warm, which is somewhere between 120-140 degrees. Can’t tell? Hold a thermometer under your sink and see what it reads– anywhere over 120 degrees is too hot.

That’s all for day one! See– simple, quick, and didn’t cost you a penny. Let’s recap:

• Take a shorter shower
• Turn on the dishwasher only when full
• Wash clothes in cold water instead of hot
• Turn the temp on your hot water heater down

Do this, and I guarantee you’ll see the results on next month’s power bill, and water bill. Keep it tuned here tomorrow for Simple Day 2 to a Greener Lifestyle.

Day One’s Cost: $0
Time: saved 15 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Super-Easy

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So, many have the impression about going green that it’s:

• Too expensive
• A change of lifestyle
• Weird tree-huggerish
• Difficult to implement
• Not worth the trouble

when the opposite of all the above could be true!

Yes, you can make going green all those things (except not worth the trouble), but it doesn’t have to be!

This site is all about how simple it is to go green. Because going green can be simple, can be cheap to do and easy to implement without coming off as a hippie or changing your lifestyle.

In the following days and week, I will be building for you the simple 7 days to a greener lifestyle.

7 days of simple tips you can follow in different areas of your life to become more eco-friendly, and reduce your carbon footprint.

I’m enlisting you to be green.

So if you’re ready to start, the series begins Sunday, March 9th 2008 right here on the SimpleGreenBlog.com.

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As everyone knows, California has stricter laws governing emissions than the country as a whole. And as an effect, 12 other states have adopted their stricter emissions laws.

Now, California is requesting they be able to make their standards even stricter. What they’re proposing is to cut greenhouse gases by one third by the year 2016– “double the reductions that would be achieved by the new fuel economy standards contained in last year’s energy bill, the best the federal government has been able to do so far.”

So what’s the hold up on allowing California to do so? Well, you see, what had happened was…

Even though the Bush administration is now admitting that, well, there might be something to this whole greenhouse gas thing, they are still stuck on not doing anything about it. Why do we keep getting stumped by the fed?

Read the article from NY Times here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/0…

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