Archive for the ‘Built Green and Sustainable Living’ Category
sustainable living, zero emissions, Bill Gates, Gates Foundation, zero impact cities, climate change
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Energy conservation, Local news and information on February 17, 2010 at 3:29 pm
It’s funny, last night I was just talking with a neighbor about Bill Gates and how he and Melinda had the power to change the world, making it a better place for all. Previously, The Gates Foundation has focused mostly on health and education. Now Mr. Gates is taking on climate change.
Gates spoke about his commitment to using his massive philanthropic resources (the Gates Foundation is the world’s largest) to make life better for people through public health and poverty alleviation (“vaccines and seeds” as he put it). Then he said something he’s never said before: that is it because he’s committed to improving life for the world’s vulnerable people that he now believes that climate change is the most important challenge on the planet.
His formula for zero emissions was explained:
CO2=P+S+E+C
According to Gates, P is for people, S is for the services needed by the people, energy (E) is what it takes to provide these services, and C is for the CO2, the amount of carbon emitted from the production of the energy to provide these services to the population.
Alex Steffen in his Worldchanging post had an addition to the Gates equation:
What’s more, protecting and healing the biosphere is essential to meeting the climate crisis itself. Logging our forests, over-burdening our oceans, converting land for agriculture and grazing, all these are huge contributors to our climate problem, and restoring the capacities of natural systems to absorb carbon dioxide is a critical part of the solution.
In order to truly succeed, we need to improve the quality of our natural systems at about the same rate at which we’re converting the economy to clean energy. Properly, Gates’ Equation would include a value for nature:
CO2 = P x S x E x C ÷ N
This post is an important one. I like the “global” perspective of the issue. Mr. Steffen believes we need to rethink “our relationship to stuff” and plan more effectively with interactive systems or networks, such as designing zero-impact cities.
Cities are the tools we need for reinventing prosperity. We can build zero-impact cities, and we need to. Any answer to the problem of climate change needs to be as focused on reinventing the future as powering it.
After reading through the post, I skimmed the comment section. Some don’t think zero emissions is possible. Many people will find this all to daunting of a proposition, but it’s a goal worth working towards. Even if it’s not fully achieved, working in the direct of zero emissions is the direction we should be heading towards.
What do you think about zero emissions? I realize this is a very complex issue and I’m only skimming the surface here, but is talk about it realistic? Is it a goal we should strive for in our daily lives?
Postscript:
This morning I read a post on Gates’ talk which comments some of the flaws with Gates’ plan.
The plan may have flaws in its implementation, which others are better equipped to address, but from my vantage point, Gates can play a huge role in raising the awareness for climate change. Perhaps the climate experts should sit down and hash out a plan with Mr. Gates. Having the voice of Bill Gates on your side is huge.
banning cul-de-sacs. new home developments, connectivity, cul-de-sacs, Issaquah, Kirkland, real estate, Redmond, Sammamish, walkability, Woodinville
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Homeowners, real estate, real estate opinion on February 2, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Neighborhood cul-de-sac
There aren’t going to be any more cul-de-sacs in new developments in the State of Virginia. Yes, Virginia will have no more cul-de-sacs. Cul-de-sacs have been banned from new neighborhood developments. Cul-de-sacs are the quintessential icon of the 1980′s-2000′s American suburb.
Here on Seattle’s eastside, new neighborhoods were generally built all over with cul-de-sacs sprinkled throughout. If the neighborhood was a new pocket neighborhood on infill lots in an older part of Kirkland or Redmond, as an example, there might not be room for cul-de-sacs, but if you look everywhere else on the eastside, cul-de-sac neighborhoods were the standard. Woodinville, Sammamish, Issaquah, Snoqualmie, Redmond, and Kirkland all have neighborhoods where cul-de-sacs prevail. Streets with cul-de-sacs were the prized streets to live on, the premium lots, the more expensive lots. Realtors and builders would tout the benefits of living in a cul-de-sac:
- No through traffic
- A place to play
- A place for neighbors to congregate, meet and greet each other at the mailbox.
So why did Viriginia ban cul-de-sacs in future development?
Cul-de-sacs unite the people who live in the cul-de-sac, but separate them from other streets by foot and by car. It’s harder for fire and emergency vehicles to respond quickly when a neighborhood doesn’t consist of through streets. Road maintenance is more expensive with cul-de-sacs instead of through streets.
The New York Times magazine finishes each year with an issue highlighting the great ideas from the past year. The most recent great ideas issue had an article about the cul-de-sac ban in Viriginia. The concept fits with the new sensibility rising in many places as highlighted by the popularity of sites such as walkscore. Walkability and connectivity are this decade’s buzz words for living. Planners are looking more for connectivity, walkability, and better traffic flow for neighborhoods. People are now looking for easy commuting, more connectivity, and more places to walk.
The Sustainable Cities blog highlighted the NYT article and wondered whether the ban on cu-de-sacs is the wave of the future for neighborhoods.
What do you think? Should cul-de-sacs be banned from future neighborhoods? What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages?
Bellevue home sales, Bellevue Real Estate, Issaquah home sales, Issaquah Real Estate, Kirkland Home Sales, Kirkland real estate, Redmond home sales, Redmond real estate, Sammamish home sales, Seattle real estate, Seattle-eastside real estate. selling a home on Seattle’ s eastside, Woodinville home sales, Woodinville real estate
In Bellevue Real Estate, Bellevue, WA, Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Issaquah Real Estate, Issaquah, WA, King County Real Estate, King County, WA, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, WA, Sammamish, WA Real Estate, Seattle real estate, WA real estate, Windermere Real Estate, Woodinville, WA, Woodinville, WA Real Estate, market statistics, real estate on December 15, 2009 at 11:47 am
How did November, 2009 stack up to November, 2008 in your neighborhood?
(Click on the cities below to see real estate trends for the past 5 years. You’ll find the median pricing for each city and whether the number of homes for sale and the number of sales went up or down. The odds of selling a home in each area is a result of the number of homes for sale divided by the actual number of home sales.)
The plateau: Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, and Fall City
The odds of selling a home were 23%.
Median sales price remained the same, $552,500.
The number of homes for sale dropped by 27% and sales were up by 77% from last year.
West Redmond/East Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 17%.
Median sales price remained the same, $479,000.
The number of homes for sale dropped by 18% and sales were up by 9%.
South Bellevue/Issaquah
The odds of selling a home were 20%.
Median price was the same at $685,000.
The number of homes for sale dropped by 21% and sales were up 71%.
Woodinville/Bothell/Kenmore/Duvall/North Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 13.5%.
Median price was the same at $411,750.
The number of homes for sale declined by 16% and sales were up by 29%.
Kirkland
The odds of selling a home were 15%.
Median price was the same at $739,000.
The number of homes for sale declined by 21% and sales were up by 148%.
West Bellevue
The odds of selling a home were 14%.
Median pricing was the same at $996,500.
The number of homes for sale decreased by 22% and sales increased by 68%.
Redmond/Education Hill/ Carnation
The odds of selling a home were 16%
Median pricing was the same at $559,900.
The number of homes for sale decreased by 21% and sales increased by 19%.
Last month I reported an increase in home prices in the Redmond/Education Hill/Carnation area and was surprised since all the other cities had lower median home prices. This month, however, almost all the median home prices in the different Seattle eastside cities remained the same as November, 2008. This is good news as prices may have stabilized. Since the number of homes for sale on Seattle’s eastside stands at the lowest number since March, 2007, it bodes well for Seattle real estate. With the extension of the home buyer tax credit, smaller numbers of homes for sale, low interest rates, real estate activity should be brisk in the first part of the year. For those reasons, if you want to sell your home and move in 2010, do it now, rather than later in 2010.
reducing carbon footprint, savings energy, sustainable holidays, SustainLane, Thanksgiving
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Homeowners, sustainable living on November 25, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Wishing you all the best during this holiday season. Take time to enjoy your family and friends and to be thankful for what you have.
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, take another moment to think about your carbon footprint and how you can help to reduce it during this holiday time.
SustainLane had a great piece with advice on different ways to consider saving energy, reducing your carbon footprint, and going organic on the Thanksgiving holiday. Of course, all of these things could be things you do on a daily basis.
Can you carpool with a family member or friend? Do you know what the Dirty Dozen vegetables and fruit are? The list may surprise you! Apples, one of our most important Washington crops are high on the list of the dirty dozen.
The Thanksgiving holidays are so important to all us in the United States. We treasure the holiday as a wonderful time to reconnect with our family and friends. but it also a great time to conserve, sometimes in simple ways.
Have a great holiday.
cellulose insulation, Eastside, Facebook, Green Inc blog, home insulation, home maintenance, insulating your home, insulation, keeping your home warm, Seattle, Seattle Eastside, Seattle Weather
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, Home maintenance tips, Real Estate Tips, real estate on November 20, 2009 at 1:03 pm
The Seattle-Eastside weather outside is just frightful or should I say just awful. November is always such a “fun time” with rain and wind with this November being no exception. (I love Seattle, but did I tell you I hate November in Seattle?) Weather for the week has been windy, wet, and wild. Everyone is talking about staying warm and dry. Trust me, it’s a big topic on Facebook among my Seattle friends this week.
But is your home helping you to stay warm and dry? Are your heating bills as low as they should be?
Have you checked your home’s insulation and did you do any needed upgrades this fall? If not, this link to the New York Times Green, Inc. blog post about insulation is for you.
Insulation is made from a variety of materials as one type does not fit all. But what type of insulation fits your home and your pocketbook?
Tom Zeller, Jr. writes about all kinds of insulation, including fiberglass, polystyrene, blown cellulose and mineral wool with some tips and links to information on each in the New York Times blog post. If you check out the federal energy website, you can find out more about each type of insulation and what might work for your home.
There’s a video in the link above to Green, Inc in which a manufacture of cellulose insulation is interviewed. Sounds pretty “dry” and boring, but it’s actually pretty interesting. Cellulose insulation is made from phone books, newspapers and other papers. But would insulation made from paper be fire retardant? Watch the video to see a “torching” demonstration.
Then go check out your insulation and your heating bills. Should you be making any improvements?
reducing your carbon footprint, Reusable grocery bags, sustainable living, SustainLane
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Homeowners, not real estate, sustainable living on October 6, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Do you forget to bring your grocery bags with you when you go shopping? I have to work hard to remember to bring them into the store, even thought I must have ten grocery bags sitting in the trunk of my car. It’s easy to forget the bags, but can be easier to remember them with some handy reminders. The following is a post from SustainLane, a website which gives all kinds of great information to reduce your carbon footprint and live a more sustainable lifestyle:
Posted on October 2, 2009 here’s a copy of the full article from SustainLane’s website:
by AngryBeaver
A number of people have stated that they frequently forget to bring their reusable grocery bags into the store with them. Here are some tips to help you remember.
A number of people have stated that they frequently forget to bring their reusable grocery bags into the store with them. Here are some tips to help you remember.
- Keep your bags in your car. Don’t store them in the trunk because you’ll forget that they’re there. Storing them in the back seat pocket is a better option because you’ll be more likely to see them. Keeping a bag slid in between the passenger seat and the center console is another option.
- Most of us write a list of what we need before going to the grocery store. Write “REMEMBER BAGS” at the top of your grocery list each week. Use a pad of paper like in the picture and write this down on every page so you won’t forget.
- Hang a bag on the door knob to your garage or someplace near by. It will serve as a constant visual reminder to bring your bags with you. If you don’t want to hang a grocery bag, create a door tag (similar to a Do Not Disturb Tag) and hang that on the door knob.
- Hang a bag in your pantry. Most people check out their pantry when writing up their grocery list.
- Enlist your children’s help in helping you remember to bring your bags.
Many local stores have programs to encourage you to use reusable grocery bags. Stores like Ukrops and Target offer a 5 cent credit for each reusable bag you use in the store.
___________________________________________
My favorite of the above suggestions is to have a grocery bag by the side of the console in my car. When I see it there, it’ll be much easier to remember.
Can you think of any other ways to remember your grocery bags?
air sealing your home, cutting down on heating bills, going green, Saing money and energy
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Energy conservation, For Homeowners, Home maintenance tips, energy incentives, real estate on August 27, 2009 at 11:10 am
The fourth post in my “Saving Energy/Saving Money Series,” courtesy of the New York Times.
Get ready for fall by air sealing your home. Keeping the cold air out and heat in is another easy way to save money over time. Most of us on Seattle’s eastside don’t live in homes with basements, but doors and windows can be sealed with caulking to prevent heat loss, saving energy. Insulating your attic is another way to save money on your heating bills over time.
Check this video our for tips on air sealing your home to help save energy and money.
Art Rosenfeld, California Energy Commission, energy saving building materials, energy saving roofing materials, roofing, Saving energy, Steven Chu
In 2009 stimulus package, Built Green and Sustainable Living, Energy conservation, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, architecture on August 20, 2009 at 8:15 am
This is the second post in my “Save Money and Energy” series.
What color is your roof? More than likely it’s black or a darker gray. Black composition roofs are hugely popular. Just take a look the next time you’re driving around your eastside neighborhood.
How come few people cover their homes in anything but dark colors in the Seattle area? Today, it’s clearly the style to re- roof in Seattle in a black or dark colored composite material. Twenty-five years ago, the roofing style was cedar shake. Wood, from our beloved cedar trees, echoed the natural resources plentiful in the Northwest, complementing the feel of living here. Composition roofs, popular in the rest of the country, were considered “cheap-looking” at the time.
The style of roofing has evolved over the last few decades in the Seattle area to composition. Cedar shake roofs are more expensive, harder to maintain, less fire retardant, and don’t last as long as certain composition roof materials. It’s been a slow change, but now is very much the norm. Many of the neighborhoods built from the 70′s into the 90′s had Codes and Covenants requiring roofs in a neighborhood to be shake only. The Codes had to be changed to allow the composition roofs. New construction uses composition material almost all the time, which is a clear reflection of the change in acceptable roofing materials.
Can we take it a step further and go to light colored roofs in the Seattle area?
White roof tops are a cool idea to help minimize cooling and heating bills.
Flat roof covered in white material
It’s rare to see a home with a white roof. I have a white roof on my house. I have a flat roofed home. When it was time to re-roof it, we chose to go with the white, simply because it would reflect the heat and help keep the house cooler. Using a light color to cover your home can save you money and energy, according to Felicity Barringer in a recent New York Times article.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a Nobel laureate in physics, has proselytized for cool roofs at home and abroad. “Make it white,” he advised a television audience on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” recently.
Mr. Chu says his hero, Art Rosenfeld, a member of the California Energy Commission. Mr. Rosenfeld has been campaigning for cool roofs since the 1980s, arguing that turning all of the world’s roofs “light” over the next 20 years could save the equivalent of 24 billion metric tons in carbon dioxide emissions.
But a white or light colored roof, can eastsiders go there?
White is not always a buyer’s first choice of color. So suppliers like American Rooftile Coatings have used federal color charts to create “cool” but traditional colors, like cream, sienna and gray, that yield savings, though less than dazzling white roofs do.
If the roughly 5 percent of all roofs that are replaced each year were given cool colors, he said, the country’s transformation would be complete in two decades.
Incentives are offered with the stimulus package:
This link to the Energy Star website will give you some quick information about incentives available for energy star roofing and other materials. It’s still the re-roofing, aka summer season in Seattle, so think about saving some energy with the choices you make in a roofing material.
CFLs, CRAWL, recycling, Saving energy, The Sierra Club
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Energy conservation, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, real estate on August 17, 2009 at 7:55 am
Do you want to save some money and some energy at the same time? I’m doing a series of posts which will give you some good ideas about ways to save both money and energy. This is my first post in a “Save Money and Energy” series.
“Go green with your home?” Is it expensive or is it a way to save money? Tom Zeller from the GreenInc blog of the New York Times did a video on one of the most energy efficient buildings in the country, which happens to be in Manhattan. It’s state of the art, which is impossible for people to replicate, but there are things we all can do to “go green” and save money and energy.
In the video, Tom interviewed Jennifer Schwab from The Sierra Club Green Home website. Jennifer blogs on the Sierra Club GreenHome website.
CRAWL, the anacronym from Jennifer Schwab of the Sierra Club, is an easy way to remember some of the basic things you can do to improve your energy savings.
- C=CFL’s
- R=Recycle
- A=Airseal
- W=Water reduction
- L=Turn lights off.
real estate, sustainable living, cohousing, Seattle PI Real Estate Professionals blog, Cohousing fair, aging in place, Boomer issues
In Boomer issues, Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, Remodeling and style trends, real estate, sustainable living on November 13, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Homes and lifestyles are changing. The dream of the suburban home with a yard, the two (or three) car garage filled with 2 cars still works for some people, but many people are rethinking how they want to live. A lifestyle is emerging all over the country and in the Puget Sound area called cohousing. Cohousing is the new extended family, a community in which people live and work together to maintain the neighborhood. Think sustainable living, smaller carbon footprints, the synergy of community, and you have some of the principles of cohousing.
Want to learn about it? This weekend there’s a cohousing fair in South Seattle where you can learn more about the communities and the cohousing lifestyle. I wrote about the cohousing fair on the Seattle PI Real Estate Professionals Blog. If you click on the link you’ll find out more information about the fair and the communities that exist around Puget Sound.
There are several cohousing communities on the eastside. Clearwater Commons, New Earth Song Cohousing, which is right next door to Songaia Cohousing are all located in Bothell, Washington. New Earth Song has a focus on seniors and helping them to stay in their homes, age-in-place, and not move to communities that are just for seniors.
Cohousing may or may not be for you, but it’s good to know about alternative real estate and living choices. Things are no longer the same, as we all know, and many people are curious about more affordable, greener ways of living. Check it out!
Bellevue, Bellevue Washington, green building, Issaquah Undressed, Mercer Slough Environment Center, Pacific Science Center, sustainable living
In Bellevue, WA, Built Green and Sustainable Living, Energy conservation, For Homeowners, Local news and information on November 7, 2008 at 4:01 pm
The City of Bellevue and The Pacific Science Center have joined forces in Bellevue to create The Mercer Slough Educational Center. Here’s a link to a great article written by Kathleen Cragun on Issaquah Undressed regarding the new eco-friendly center down by the Mercer Slough in central Bellevue. I wasn’t able to make the opening for the center, but think people should know about Bellevue’s commitment to eco-friendly, “green” ideals and the partnership with the Pacific Science Center. Kathleen took some great photos of the center which has some wonderful architecture and eco-friendly designs.
I also found a link to an article written about the metal spans used to build the center.
“The Environmental Education Center uses energy efficient Span-Lok hp metal roofs in Cool Metallic Silver to limit heat island effects, demonstrating how homes can be “green” using metal.”
The center will provide training in “green” techniques for people of all ages. Come on down and visit the center at 1625 118th Ave SE in Bellevue. It’s a hop, skip, and a jump from I-90 and downtown Bellevue.
ASF, green building, Joseph Vance Building, redcuing carbon footprint, SAF tours, Seattle Architecture Foundation, Seattle Architecture Foundation Tours, South Lake Union, sustainable design, sustainable living, sustainable materials, The Terry Thomas, Weber Thompson
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Energy conservation, Real Estate News, Remodeling and style trends, architecture, real estate, sustainable living on October 6, 2008 at 4:31 pm
From the Seattle Architecture Foundation Newsletter:
The Terry Thomas: An Elegant, Environmentally-Correct Approach to Design
When: Friday, October 17
Group 1: 10:00am
Group 2: 11:30am
Cost: $15 advance registration required. No walk-ups accepted. Register online or call the SAF office at
206.667.9184.
Where: Weber Thompson offices in The Terry Thomas. 225 Terry Ave., N., second floor Joseph Vance Building: Historic Building, Modern Green Design
“Seattle Architecture Foundation is partnering with Weber Thompson to present The Terry Thomas: An Elegant, Environmentally-Correct Approach to Design, a one-hour guided tour. The Terry Thomas is a highly sustainable, commercial building located in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Wrapped in windows, it is a building designed along a modern aesthetic with a combination of time-tested strategies from the pre-HVAC era and complimentary new technologies.
…this tour explains how the project reduces its carbon footprint, the workings of the passive cooling system, strategies employed to reduce water usage by 50% and energy usage by 30% and how the building has met its original vision of thoughtful sustainable design and a workplace that contributes to the occupant’s well-being, satisfaction and productivity. “
_____________________________________________________________________________________
When: Tuesday, November 11
Group 10:00am
Group 11:30am
Cost: $15 advance registration required. No walk-ups accepted. Register online or call the SAF office at206.667.9184.
Where: Joseph Vance Building lobby, 1402 Third Avenue
“Elements of the project include restoring the building’s terra cotta façade, original ceilings, terrazzo floors, and operable windows, and updating the facility using sustainable materials, systems, and fixtures. Custom window shades and light shelves help preserve energy and maximize natural light while controlling heat gain and glare.”
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I’m really excited to see The Terry Thomas. This is one of the first buildings to be built in years with no air conditioning! The building is designed to maximize air flow/cooling through the use of sun shades, louvers, light colored roofing, and an interior courtyard. This tour ought to be interesting and filled with valuable information regarding “green building.”
Better Business Bureau Recycling language, carbon footprint, CFLs, compact flourescent light bulbs, Energy conservation, energy incentives, Energy rebates, energy star, heating ducts, Home Depot, King County Green Tools, McLendon's IKEA, Puget Sound Energy, recycle, recycling, save energy, save money, sealing heating ducts, sustainable living
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Debra Sinick, Energy conservation, For Buyers, For Homeowners, For Sellers, energy incentives, energy star, sustainable living on September 26, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I think I’ve become a Sustainable September, energy saving, recycling groupie! I’ve been to four classes in the 
last couple of weeks and have
learned a lot about energy savings, etc. As part of the Sustainable September, I attended the workshop last Saturday which focused on ways to save energy. There are many things one can do to save energy, some are very simple and inexpensive, others are more costly and result in long term benefits. Everyone has to decide what works best for them. But everyone should do at least something to change and reduce his or her carbon footprint.
Here’s some of the information I learned about ways you can save money and energy:
Let’s start with CFL’s, one of the easiest and least expensive ways to save energy and money. Change your light bulbs to CFL’s, compact fluorescent lighting. It’s important to convert your high use areas, the kitchen, the bath, and bedrooms, to CFL’s.
But where do you recycle your CFL’s at no cost?
Are there incentives out there to save energy? YES, and Puget Sound Energy has several available:
- Insulation: up to $1600
- Natural Gas Furnace: $350
- Air Source Heat Pump $200-350
- Tankless Water Heater $150
- Clothes Washers $50-100
- Storage Water Heater $50
- CFL’s Discount $2/$20
Other tips are not to close off rooms and heating vents. I always thought it was practical to close off vents and close doors in unused rooms, but apparently not! It causes the heating system to work harder and less efficiently.
People and heating companies, tend to forget about the heating ducts when installing new heating systems. The sizing and installation of heating ducts is critical to an effective heating system. Heating ducts should be sealed off , but not with duct tape! Mastic is a better way to seal ducts. Aerosol spraying of heating ducts is another way, although more expensive, to seal heating ducts.
Places to contact for more information:
Contact Puget Sound Energy or look at their website. There’s a wealth of information there. Energy advisors can help you save, save, save and give you the most up-to-date information above the rebates mentioned above.
built green, denim insulation, eco-friendly, Ecohaus, go green, green remodeling, Greenworks architecture, ice stone, paper stone, Seattle Tilth, Seattle Tilth Lawn and Garden Care Hotline, Solstice Landscapes NE, Sustainable September
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Sellers, Local news and information, Remodeling and style trends, architecture on September 15, 2008 at 7:24 am
Sustainable September, an event designed to help people “go green,” is happening in Kirkland and on Seattle’s Eastside through the month of September. On Saturday, I attended the first set of classes. Lesa McIntyre from Greenworks Architecture spoke about ways to ”go green.” Lesa McIntyre mentioned a very interesting concept for builders, investors, and home purchasers. As an architect who works with “green principles,” she is able to look at older homes to determine whether the home could be remodeled with “green” principles more effectively than building a new home to “built green” standards. She considers the lot, its sun and wind exposure, and placement of trees in her analysis.
Here’s some of the other information she presented:
- Look at the products under your sink. Throw away all the chemicals.
- Built Green is a great website to learn about rebates for “built green” materials.
- The msds sheet available for products is the materials safety data sheet which will identify any carcinogens. (something new that I learned)
- Learn where building materials come from. This will help determine whether shipping bamboo from China or cork from the east coast has a greater carbon footprint.
- Ecohaus, formerly Environmental Home Center, a store with a plethora of eco-friendly materials and advice is on Northup Way in Bellevue.
- Denim insulation is a great recycled insulating product for homes.
- Ice stone and Paperstone are great countertop materials.
- Marmoleum and cork are eco-friendly flooring products.
- Reclaimed materials, such as timber, are the best option for reducing the carbon footprint of building and remodeling.
- Carpet is one of the least safe products that goes into a home. If you must use carpet, go with 100% wool with a jute (natural) backing. Lesa suggested 100% wool area rugs so they can be easily cleaned.
Tristan Heberlein from Solstice Landscapes NW discussed ecologically friendly landscape design. His three principles for “green” landscaping are:
Feed the Food Chain:
- Add compost at least every 2 years
- Don’t use landscape fabric as it will deplete the soil of necessary nutrients.
- Use medium wood chip mulch.
- Corn gluten is a natural way to minimize the seeds from weeds germinating. The treatment last for up to 6 weeks.
If you wouldn’t put it on your skin, don’t put it on your plantings.
If you build it, they will come:
- If your soil is healthy, it will create food for insects and birds.
- Plant a lot of flowers, salvia, and the autumn joy sedum to attract honey bees.
- Provide circulating water.
- Bird Feeders
- Built rockeries and walls with crevices for insects.
Need good, free advice? Contact Seattle Tilth’s Lawn and Garden Care Hotline at 206-633-0223.
Add new tag, AIA, American Institute of Architects, contest, d, Dwell magazine, green building, green design, modular design, modular homes, sustainable building, sustainable design
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Sellers, Remodeling and style trends, real estate on April 22, 2008 at 3:57 pm
This just in my inbox today: Dwell Magazine’s Green Award, is a contest sponsored by Dwell magazine and the American Institute of Architects. Through June 20th, the sponsors are looking for the best “green” or sustainable projects. According to Dwell’s criteria, projects will be judged on the basis of functionality, originality, sustainability, and cost effectiveness. The prize? $2000 towards a future “green” project.
I’ve been subscribing to Dwell magazine for a few years now and find them to be on the cutting edge in many of their articles on sustainable, affordable home design, materials, and styles. The magazine also has articles about small homes, remodels, furniture, and modular housing. All interesting stuff.
built green, carbon footprint, Craigs List, Earth 911, eco-building, Ecohaus, Healthy Yellow Pages, King County, Northwest Eco Building, Re-store, real estate, recycle, Second use, sustainable, Urban Hardwoods, Windermere
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Sellers, real estate on March 17, 2008 at 1:33 pm
In honor of wearing “the green” on St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d share these resources and sources for built green and sustainable living. I wrote a post a few weeks ago with some suggestions from a Built Green classI took over at Windermere Real Estate taught by Rachel Shindler and Thor Peterson.
The two had assembled a terrific list of books and other sources, some free, in the Seattle area to learn more about sustainable living and building and built green techniques.
FREE Seattle/King County area resources for green building:
Seattle Public Utilities
Sustainable Industries magazine
Natural Choice Directory of Puget Sound
Healthy Yellow Pages
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks
Northwest EcoBuilding Guild
Earth 911
Sources for Built-Green Materials:
Ecohaus, formerly Environmental Home Center
This is a treasure trove of environmental information, products, and materials. You have hit the jackpot if you go here.
Flor Company-
makes carpet tiles which can be put down in unique patterns and is easily replaceable.
Urban Hardwoods:
salvages hardwood trees and turns the wood into “one of a kind” sustainable furniture.
Looking to recycle?
Craig’s List:
Offer it for free on Craig’s List, it will be gone.
Second Use
Restore- will dismantle and reuse stuff. In turn you can get credits to buy some of their materials or a tax credit.
Great reading material:
It’s Easy Being Green by Crissy Trask Gibbs
The Green House by Alana Stang and Christopher Hawthorne
What’s Toxic, What’s Not By Dr. Gary Ginsburg
Naturally Clean Jeff Hollender and Geoff Davis
Low Carbon Diet David Gershon
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Seattle/Eastside, Woodinville, real estate, log homes, Kirkland, Frank Lloyd Wright, Lincoln Logs, Issaquah, Duvall, Carnation
In Bellevue, WA, Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Sellers, King County Real Estate, Remodeling and style trends, Woodinville, WA, real estate on March 10, 2008 at 7:55 am
There’s been a lot of press this past week about the torching of The Street of Dreams homes. My previous post was about this story. People were horrified by this senseless act. When reading other posts about the event, particularly the one on The Seattle P-I Real Estate Professionals blog, I noticed another thread in the blog comments about the tragic event, many people were voicing an opinion against the mega-houses The Street of Dreams shows represent.
I thought this might be a good time to visit a different form of American architecture, log homes.
Log homes evoke the past, a sense of adventure, and the “Wild West.” We think thoughts of Abe Lincoln and Laura Ingalls Wilder. The rustic nature of logs brings people close to the wood in its natural state. For some, it can create the perfect ambiance of a rustic, warm getaway and still be a primary residence. A log home is a great antithesis to today’s hectic lifestyles.
There are a number of log homes all around Seattle’s eastside. Most are in areas such as Union Hill or in cities like Duvall, Carnation, Fall City, Woodinville, and Issaquah. However, there are log homes everywhere. There’s a great log home in my neighborhood in Kirkland, one on Market St., and one on Rose Hill.
One recent issue of Realtor Magazine had a interesting article about log homes. According to the article, log homes were first seen in this country in the 1700′s. Early settlers had to make do with what was available. Without “city” conveniences and lumber mills, the full logs did the trick. Homes were often built without nails since nails were scarce.
Remember Lincoln Logs? My brothers had those when we were kids. Lincoln Logs were toy sets for building log homes. The toy logs had the same notched style construction as the original log homes. When I read the above article, I discovered Frank Lloyd Wright’s son created Lincoln Logs. I wonder what his Dad would have thought!
The Log Council , a member of NAHB, The National Association of Home Builders, is an industry trade group and information resource. Numerous architects and builders specialize in log home design and building. The above linked article will give you a great introduction to the concept of log homes in the 21st century.
built green, eco-terrorism, Seattle/Eastside real estate, Street of Dreams, sustainable materials, WA, Woodinville, Woodinville real estate
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Local news and information, Real Estate News, Woodinville, WA, Woodinville, WA Real Estate, real estate on March 7, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Amazon, Calder, Eastside, hiking fishing, King County, lakes, Microsoft, Mt. Rainier, Olympic National Park, Olympic Sculpture Park, Puget Sound, Seattle, Starbucks, traffic
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Exploring the Eastside, King County, WA, Local news and information, Uncategorized on February 25, 2008 at 10:58 am
What are your top 10 reasons to live in the Seattle or on the Eastside? What are your fave 10? I read a post this morning about the Ten Reasons People Move to Seattle from the BINC blog. Pretty interesting list. I think most of the reasons listed in the post fit either Seattle or the Eastside.
Here’s my list, which embellishes on the ideas posted in the BINC article.
I love the mountains, the lakes, the sound, the islands, the trees, the green, and the fact that the snow is on the mountains, but not in my backyard.
I love being close to 3 important national parks, Mt. Rainier, Olympic National Park, and North Cascades National Park.
I love that I could go hiking,
`
boating,
skiing, walking, running, fishing.
I love the cultural sophistication here. We are not LA, NYC or Chicago, but we have great theater, great art, a wonderful sculpture park,
and wonderful restaurants.
I love the excitement and energy brought to Seattle/Eastside/ King County by the top companies located here, Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks.
I love the culture in which people are starting to pay attention to their carbon footprints and thinking green.
I love the mild weather, even if it is gray in the winter.
I love the summer. I don’t want to be anywhere else.
I love being surrounded by Puget Sound
and Lake Washington.
I love that jaw dropping feeling I get each time I see Mt. Rainier pop out.
The BINC blog comments on the great transportation system, but it’s the system in the heart of Seattle. There is a great bus service all over King County, but traffic is a pretty serious problem, with no clear resolution.
Our location is what drives many of us to live here and the traffic is what drives us a little crazy!
So what’s in your fave 10?
energy star, green building, home building, low flow showerheads, real estate, sustainable materials, Windermere Real Estate
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, For Buyers, For Sellers, Local news and information, Remodeling and style trends, real estate on February 16, 2008 at 8:40 am
Suggestions for reducing your carbon footprint.
The hot topic, the cool color, in today’s real estate is green, built green, sustainable materials, carbon footprint, LEED certification. These are all becoming familiar terms.
On my Kirkland blog, I wrote about a free Built Green seminar at Kirkland City Hall. Ironically, I was already signed up for a “Green Built” class through Windermere Real Estate’s education program that same day. Not only did I learn a great deal at the class, I earned 3 credits for continuing education. Realtors have take continuing education classes.
Since most of you reading this blog are not running out tomorrow to find a built green home or remodel your current home with built green principles, during the class I asked the question:
”What can people do if they aren’t planning a “built green” remodel? What can be done everyday for minimal cost?”
Some suggestions to reduce carbon footprint on a daily basis:
Listen to Eastern cultures and remove your shoes. Shoes are the single biggest home polluter in homes. Shoes bring all kinds of dirt and toxins into a home.
Have a “walk off” mat at the front door that can be hosed down.
Household cleaning products are just as important as building green. Use cleaning products that are natural substances such as baking soda, vinegar, water, citrus and Bon Ami. Bon Ami is a product that has been around for decades. ( those of you over 50 may remember your mother cleaning with this when you were a kid)
Read the labels on cleaning products. If a label says something is harmful if swallowed, think about whether to clean with it.
Use compact fluorescent bulbs. Make sure they’re energy star certified. Recycle these bulbs properly as they contain mercury. (I didn’t know this one)
Put bathroom fans and thermostats on timers.
Weatherstrip the bottom of entrance doors.
Use low flow showerheads.
Go natural and buy wool carpet. Carpet is one of the worst home pollutants. The Carpet and Rug Institute will certify carpets as “green”,however, the carpets are not third party certified.
Solar tubes provide light in dark spaces and are more energy efficient than a skylight.
Is there more you can do to limit your carbon footprint? You bet. This list is just a start. Some of the things are common knowledge and others are not. Feel free to add suggestions. I will do another article listing some great free resources and books on reducing your carbon footprint and built green ideas.
Bellevue, Bellevue Botanical Garden, holiday lights, WA
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Exploring the Eastside, Local news and information on December 17, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Bellevue celebrates the holiday season again with a fabulous lighting display at The Bellevue Botanical Garden. This year the lights have gone “greener”. Many of the displays are using LED lights, rather than incandescent lights. Not only are these lights energy efficient, they are also more vibrant in color. The garden lights are open from 5:30 -9:30 PM through December 31st, so there is still time to enjoy the beautiful display. Check out the spider web and the gorgeous palm trees! The event is free, but parking at the garden is $5.00. There is off-site parking available at Wilburton Park, just down the road.
Here are some more great photos I found on meetup.com taken by John Forsberg.
Below are the photos I took on one cold evening stroll through the garden. Even though it was cold, the light display made it well worth the trip.
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Local news and information on November 9, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Did you know…
• Since 1973, King County’s urban tree canopy has decreased 40%.
• In one year, 100 trees are able to convert 5 tons of CO2 into oxygen.
• One acre of trees can absorb the CO2 produced by driving your car 26,000 miles.
• Just one 80-foot beech tree can remove the CO2 generated by two households in a day.
• Over a 50-year period, one tree provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control.
I learned these all important facts listed above, when I looked at the Live Earth website earlier today.
Tomorrow is your chance to help decrease carbon emissions by volunteering to plant a tree in one of Seattle/Eastside’s parks. Governor Gregoire has declared tomorrow, November 10th, to be the first Carbon Offset Day.
This website will give you all the places where events are happening.
Sign up today.
In Built Green and Sustainable Living, Exploring the Eastside, Local news and information on September 21, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Go see chickens, take a hay ride, meet the farm animals. Enjoy fresh produce and cooking demonstrations with chefs “outstanding in their field” (pun intended), music, and more on Saturday, the 22nd of September. The 9th annual Harvest Celebration Farm Tour will be happening all over King County from 10 AM-4:30 PM.
There are some great small farms which provide wonderful food and produce for some of Seattle and the Eastside’s best restaurants and supermarkets, such as The Herbfarm, Wild Ginger, Seastar, Whole Foods, and PCC Natural Markets. This will be your chance to “get a taste of farm life” and find out about local foods at their source.
At the forefront of this event are several important organizations. One group is the King Conservation District, which is dedicated to supporting farm life. The organization supports sustainable farming, environmental safeguards, and conservation. Washington State University King County Extension is another of the farm tour sponsors and works hard to promote farming in King County. Other groups associated with the tour are the Cascade Harvest Coalition and Puget Sound Fresh.
In Boomer issues, Built Green and Sustainable Living, Local news and information, Remodeling and style trends, real estate on September 14, 2007 at 4:36 pm
All my hot buttons in one place: real estate and financing , emergency preparedness, seniors, and Built Green issues! Wow, good stuff for all to see and learn about. The Master Builder tour of homes began today and covers new construction sites in King and Snohomish Counties. Tour hours are from noon-6 PM each Friday to Sunday from the 14th to the 30th. A number of the popular builders, including Camwest, Burnstead, Murray Franklyn, and Shea homes are involved in the tour. Learn about the latest new construction styles, in addition to learning about Built Green issues, emergency preparedness classes, home warranties, and mortgages. Given the latest in the mortgage industry, the mortgage classes should be hot ones. For a class schedule, check out the Master Builders Tour of Homes Classes
In Built Green and Sustainable Living on July 26, 2007 at 6:08 pm
“Built Green” is pretty exciting stuff especially if you read my last post in which I talked about taking a 100 trees to build one 2000 square foot home. I keep reading about all these great things that will help us all to have a smaller “footprint” on earth and I will continue to add these articles to my blog. There are lots of suggestions made in this article from Realtor Magazine. Some materials presented here are new on the market and some have been around for a while. Some of these items can cost more initially to install, but often will last a lot longer and cost less to use. The added benefit is that these materials will have less of an impact on the environment.
This article mentions copper roofs. I was not aware that copper roofs can last a century! (I know most of you are saying, who cares, I am not going to live that long.) Copper roofs can take all kinds of weather and the material can be recycled. Typical composition roofs have a life span of 20, 30 or 40 years.
Low-E glass, something that has been available for a while, is most cost effective when the winds are blowing in the winter or the summer sun streams in. These windows can have a dramatic impact on cooling and heating bills.
Induction cook tops channel the heat to directly to the pots and therefore, does not heat up a large part of a stove top surface. This is more efficient but also has the added benefit of minimizing burning anyone who accidentally touches the cook top.
Reclaimed wood is becoming increasingly popular in furniture and home building design. I mentioned in my post about The Seattle Street of Dreams that recycled paper was used in one home for counter top. Bamboo and reclaimed wood are also being used for counter top surfaces.
Timber construction is also becoming more popular, think large beam construction. The cost to install timbers is far less than it is to use finished boards from a tree.
Check out the full article to find out about more material and fixtures that are environmentally friendly.
In Built Green and Sustainable Living on July 26, 2007 at 1:46 am
How many trees does it take to build a home? I had no idea that if you build a 2000 square foot home, it would require 26,700 board feet! This number just blew me away. One 20 inch, 42 foot long tree will produce about 260 board feet, a small fraction of what you would need to build one home. So if you are building this 2000 square foot home, it will take 102 trees.
This explains why you see these swaths of trees clear cut on the mountains around here when you take off on an airplane. Take a look the next time you take off from SeaTac. Many of these trees are going to be used to build homes all over the world.
A recent article in the Seattle Times talked about how much wood, concrete, glass, etc. it takes to build a standard home. It amazes me that we have not run out of natural materials thus far. It certainly puts building green way up there for consideration.
In Built Green and Sustainable Living on June 9, 2007 at 7:06 pm
At my monthly networking meeting, Forum XXII, we heard from the Seattle Master Builder’s Association about the Built Green program.
http://www.builtgreen.net/index.html
The website had a lot of terrific information about sources for “built green” materials, architects, builders, remodelers, and building standards. “Built green” is our new real estate buzzword. There is a growing emphasis on environmentally friendly building and the use of sustainable materials. Our listings in the Multiple Listing Service will soon be able to reflect the “built green” status of a home. If a home is listed as “built green”, the builders will have had to follow certain standards to achieve this status. “Built green” homes can range from a 2 star to a 5 star level. If a home is built to the 4 or 5 star standard, which has stringent requirements, all of the construction and materials must be independently verified. Certificates are issued to homes that meet these standards. In the future, home buyers will be able to search on line for “built green” homes.
Of the 10,000 new construction homes built in King County last year, only 15-18 were certified as the star 5 “built green” homes, the most stringent level of “built green” homes. Most of these homes were built by a builder in Seattle, Michele Rose.
Most homes categorized as “built green” are built to the 3 star level. Quite a few homes in Issaquah Highlands meet this standard. The Dwelling Company built a number of “built green” homes in the Highlands.
Some of the other builders mentioned who have built some “green” homes were Bennett Homes, http://www.bennetthomes.com/. Bennett Homes is known for “built green” homes in Suncadia, on the other side of the Cascades. Other local builders range from some of the larger builders, such as Camwest, http://www.camwest.com/ and Chaffey Homes, http://www.chaffeyhomes.com/, to high end custom builders such as Bender Chaffey, http://www.benderchaffey.com/.
Some thoughts about building green:
Materials can be somewhat more expensive for “built green” homes, however, the cost savings for energy efficiency usually more than compensates for the initial building cost. Check out this website on federal tax credits for energy conservation:
http://www.dsire.org/
Other thoughts:
If you start from the get-go when building a home, it is far cheaper to build green than to start doing some add-ons,
Hardwood floors and other hard surfaces, such as tile. stay cleaner than carpet. It was recommended that main living area be finished with hard surfaces because many people wear shoes throughout their home. Shoes bring in all kinds of contaminents.
Ventilation has become so tight the air in homes can become stale and is not fresh.
The gasses from glues used during standard construction can be emitted for up to 30 years after construction.
These thoughts sure make one want to think of a healthy home!
In Built Green and Sustainable Living on April 22, 2007 at 12:55 am
As everyone knows, tomorrow, the 22nd of April, is Earth Day. It seems as if for a lot of years people ignored Earth Day. I remember it being quite a big deal when Earth Day began in the 1970′s. Now there is a renewed interest and awareness which seems to have begun with Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth. The awarenenss level with global warming, pollution, etc. has increased dramatically.
I came across this website called www.41 pounds.org. Apparently, the average junk mail we each receive every year comes out to 41 pounds. Imagine the amount of waste that is created! Even if the junk mail is recycled, there is energy used to create the paper, print the mailings, send the mail, and to recycle this junk.
So if 100 of us contact this website and asked to be removed from “junk” mail lists, we could potentially save 4100 lbs of mail! Over two tons of junk!
http://www.41pounds.org/
For more about Earth Day, you can check out:
http://www.earthday.net/
Anyone up for the challenge?
Eastside Real Estate Buzz
