For now, I thought I would leave a few thoughts regarding the Green Real Estate/Construction and sustainability in general.

• Builders – They need desperate help with their marketing.  Green has become an extremely vague term and becomes more so everyday.  Using the term green will not make you sell.  An email I received recently from a builder had “Extra Bling for the Holidays” as the subject.  Really?  Bling?  *sigh*  No further Comments
• Industry in General – The term green is just, well, it needs to go away.  Green Construction is going to see some legal issues most likely.  If you don’t believe me, just check out the Houston Chronicle article from Christmas Day 2010 with the Attorney doing a Q&A with borderline very wrong information.  It was pretty sad actually.  Most builders that do LEED Homes have very well outlined contracts to help with this.  The side that needs the most help would be the Real Estate side of it.  Perhaps adendums from the Texas Real Estate Commission to help the Realtor community out with this?  I’ve suggested this before as well.
• Consumers -  Well, let’s just say maybe a buyer beware.  Ask a ton of questions.  Information on this blog will forever stay here.  Use it to help you if you want.  Find out what truly makes the home ‘green’.  Ask about offgassing of products,  Energy Efficiency, Insulation and of course certification.  Without the performance testing you truly do not know what you are getting.  For resale purposes the reports help as well.

From a marketing, not real estate standpoint, if you or your company need advice – I’m happy to help.  However, I’m not inclined to work for free so be prepared for a consultation fee.

Cheers to a New Year and New Beginnings.  Posts you may see in the future may be very random regarding things that interest me.  Including something I bought and am waiting to get delivered.  It’s a window weatherization product put out by the Duck company that comes with shrink wrap.  I figured for 8 bucks who could pass it up, right?  But regardless, posts will be no holds barred and fully opinionated.

But in case you haven’t heard, Greenstar Recycling is the new Jersey and Recycling Sponsor of the Houston Dynamo soccer club.

Twitter was buzzing with thoughts on the new jersey. Personally, I’m about to order one because I think it pretty much ROCKS! Unless of course someone would like to send me one. I’ll gladly take the donation. (the new soccer balls are pretty sweet also)

Houston Dynamo mentioned at the press conference that the want their new venue and their club to be the greenest in the Nation. Brian Ching said the new jersey was “Awesome”.

The press conference was mostly all about Houston Dynamo. What was not discussed to great length was Greenstar. It’s no secret if you read the news or are on Twitter that they paid appx. $12.7 Million to sponsor the jerseys and to be the clubs recycling sponsor. What the soccer news has failed to mention is that Greenstar is also, next week in fact, opening the very first Single Stream Recycling Facility in Houston.

The new facility will be appx. 90,000 square feet and cost appx. (if my scribble during the press conference was accurate) $7 Million to build. Those combined is a whole lotta cash and should speak highly of the company’s potential.

According to Matt Delnick, CEO of Greenstar, the new facility means more Green jobs in Houston and a stronger emphasis on Single Stream recycling in the Houston area. He hopes that when fans see the Greenstar logo it will inspire them to focus on sustainability and think about recycling. With recycling being on the books as a plan in the new stadium let’s hope this will be true.

It is also not secret that Houston has a poor recycling rate that is improving with programs such as RecycleBank and strong efforts through not only companies like Greenstar but the City of Houston as well. But I think the emphasis needs to be on the fact that Greenstar does not just do Recycling, they do single stream recycling.

In a blog post that I did in the past, Mike Simmons stated that “People want to do the right thing… When recycling is made easy, people do it”

As opposed to having to separate all of your recyclables into separate bins, everything that is recyclable goes in to one making it easy and less time consuming to do the right thing. Perhaps Greenstar will take advantage of this opportunity in being the recycling partner of Houston Dynamo and be able to not only handle the recycling in the new stadium but to educate the soccer fans on what single stream recycling really means. Maybe be able to show them first hand thus inspiring them to action at home or in their office.

What will happen to the soda, popcorn and beer cups once it leaves the stadium? Where does it go from there?  I am anxious to see how Greenstar Recycling will maximize this newly formed partnership.

It’s an enormous partnership for sustainability in the City of Houston. It will be interesting to see how this impacts the thoughts of random Soccer Fans throughout the Nation over the next couple of years and to see how it not only improves the awareness and importance of recycling in Houston, but the impression that the Nation will have on us as a City. Three Cheers for Houston Dynamo and Greenstar Recycling for having the passion to help make great strides.

For those of you that like video, here is one of the ACTUAL unveiling of the uniform and a video to learn more about Greenstar and what they represent as a Corporation.

When I arrived around 10 am, there had to be over 100 people already there and hard at work planting trees and other plants.  Greenstar employees, community members of all ages combined with families were all joining for the same cause.  What an amazing sight.

In the middle of all the action was the CEO of Greenstar Recycling Mike Simmons with a shovel in hand and hard at work.  I was able to pull him to the side for a moment and ask a few questions.  My initial question to you at the beginning of the post was ‘Can Houston Increase the Recycling Rate by 200%?‘ – I’m now convinced that if we do, Greenstar will have a huge part in the effort. 

First, Greenstar Recycling is a leading single stream recycler in the State of Texas and their offices are based out of Houston.  As you will find in a minute when I talk about my conversation with Mr. Simmons, single stream recycling brings convenience to homeowners and businesses by allowing you to place all recyclables in one container as opposed to separating in to different bins – And for those of you that follow my blog, you know how I feel about our ‘Society of Convenience’.  This seems like a natural solution to our recycling needs and to help it go mainstream.  Greenstar currently handles appx. 2 million tons of recyclables per year and is only focused on sustainability.  Recycling is all they do.  They have no interest in landfills except for reducing how much solid waste is dumped in them.

When I asked Mr. Simmons regarding their involvement with Keep Houston Beautiful and the Esplanade Project he responded “We are a key sponsor for both Keep Houston Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful because we believe that global problems can be solved at a local level.”  He was excited that so many community members and families had shown up in support to plant trees and help make Houstonians proud of their City. 

The next question I had was regarding the significance of single stream recycling.  Did you know that by converting to single stream:

• San Antonio increased recycling by 200%
• Dallas by 300%
• Austin by 60%

The competitor in me says that Houston can do better.  Right?  Mr. Simmons stated that  “People want to do the right thing… When recycling is made easy, people do it”  so Greenstar works closely with Municipalities to help make recycling convenient for residents.  They believe that Texas can be a National leader in Recycling and that single stream recycling is the answer for Houston.

For the readers that chimed in on Facebook, I did indeed ask if they were working to provide recycling options in Galveston, Montgomery County and in the Unincorporated parts of Harris County.  The answer is yes.  They are doing what they can in speaking with communities and municipalities.  But something tells me like anything else, we need to demand it to make it happen quicker.  Let your areas know that we WANT recycling options.  

Do you think that single stream recycling is the answer to Houston’s recycling needs? 

Thank you to Mike Simmons and everyone else from Greenstar that helped in getting these questions answered.  I’m excited to see how Greenstar can help change the recycling landscape in Houston and surrounding areas.

But while you can build the healthiest home on the Planet, we also need to consider not only what products we put in our home from Furniture to Cleaning Supplies – But also the food and nutrition that we feed our Body.

Starting this month the New Construction and Remodeling aspect of the Turning Houston Green newsletter will be going over a 4 part Series on how to create a healthier environment inside the home – And while that is great we realize that there are also people wanting to find out how to have a healthier body to go along with that.

In the end, it all seems to come together.  This is why I am putting together some educational sessions for next year on various topics, including being healthy along with green building/buying and selling so that we can all try to find the answers to these together.

The first confirmed Presentation for 2010 is on February 18th at 6:30 pm with Dr. Chris Zaino.   I have had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Zaino speak on a couple of different topics – One of those being how to maximize your Central Nervous System along with integrating diet to stay healthy.  Here is a short bio for him:

Dr. Chris Zaino has a healthy respect for his body, as testified by his past accomplishments as Mr. America, a National level body building title.  His Chiropractic practice is located in The Woodlands, Texas and has devoted much of his energy and life to the education of Health and Exercise Science, which has lead him to his dedication to educate others in the Maximized Living program.  His practice has a wide variety of methods that go beyond the traditional chiropractic care.  Maximized living Christopher Zaino in The Woodlands offers services for people experiencing Fibromyalgia, Herniated Discs, Arch and Foot pain, and Sports Injuries just to name a few.  He is highly skilled in Dietary Counseling, Pain Relief, Musculoskeletal Manipulation and Rehabilitation treatments.  His ultimate goal is to help all people to reach their “God-given health potential through natural chiropractic care”. 

Here is a link to sign up for the Presentation or you can sign up via Facebook.

For now, a presentation is below by Dr. Zaino on how to stay healthy during the Holidays and maybe even lose weight!  Also, the 2010 Turning Houston Green Survey will be going out on December 8th.  We will be giving away a few items in return for feedback including an Energy Audit and Dr. Zaino’s Alive By Design DVD – A 3 hour discussion on how to be healthier by body, diet and fitness.  If you would like to listen to some of his past presentations, I recommend checking out his Vimeo page.

For the past several years I have used a site called BFads to keep up with it.  This is the same site where I found out about the recent price war that WalMart just started on XBOX 360 – $199 with a $100 FREE Gift Card.   This year I have noticed some good GREEN deals out there.  Just thought I would share them with you.  For the next few weeks I will update this post for the stores and link over to BFads so that you can see what its all about. 

Just keep in mind that through this site they usually only put stores that are National – So feel free to forward this post to your friends and family!!  Oh, and if I miss out on some deals and you want to share them, leave it in the comment section.  If you want to check out what else is out there just go to the main page of the Black Friday Ads Website

Harbor Freight - There is a location on the North side of town that I go to every so often

45 Watt Solar Panel Kit for $159.99

Lowe’s –

Electric Fireplace which can be both Energy Efficient if you unplug it while not in use and provide a Healthier option than a wood fireplace for $399

Several LED Flashlights – But here is one set for $7.97

Sears – I think their sale has started already

Samsung High Efficiency Washer for $722.49 or the set for $999.98

So for Blog Action Day today I am dedicating this post to ALL Real Estate Professionals.  To HECK with Climate Change.  To HECK with ‘Green’.  Let’s forget about it and have an open mind..atleast while you read this.

You see, its not just about Climate Change.  Its about better opportunities.  Its about better building practices.  Regardless of how you feel about Environmental issues this is something that you should strongly consider.

What we do at home, how we build our homes has not only an Environmental impact but an Economic impact as well.  I would like to find a couple of Real Estate Agents around the Country that would like to try a little experiment with me here.  It’s really simple.

ASK your CLIENTS IF THEY CARE.  That’s it.

When we build a greener home or renovate a home to greener standards it does indeed benefit the Environment.  My personal research shows that people do care, they just don’t look at it as being Environmental or ‘Green’.  We don’t think they care about Green because they are asking the question in a different way.

Here are some Direct Cause and Effects that we should consider in our homes and in our Communities.

Recycling and Landfills:  We don’t recycle enough and our landfills are over run with garbage.

• It pollutes our water streams that we as kids USED to play in until they posted signs against it…from pollution.
• Taxes WILL eventually go up for land acquisition for you to put your TRASH
• Carbon Emissions taking trash to and fro.
• Seriously, what good does the trash do for us in a landfill? Give me ONE good thing about it.

More Energy Efficient:  Some peoples Heating and Cooling bills are as much as their house note or rent

• Carbon Emissions are saved, Yes.
• Lower Utility bills?
• More money throughout the month?
• Can afford a larger home if desired?
• What is one BAD thing about Energy Efficiency?

Indoor Air Quality:  Not necessarily something that directly affects Climate Change, however -

• ASK if your clients care.
• When studying Indoor Air Quality, it is directly affected by the Efficiency of the home

So Called Green Features such as Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Solar Panels, etc.  I’m putting these all in to one Category.

• ASK.  You may be surprised.  Every little thing helps the environment but can actually benefit the home buyer as well.

Instead of blurting out that a home (in whiny voice) has solar panels or a tankless hot water heater – Let’s ask. How do you feel about Solar Panels?  This home is 50% more efficient than the next -What do you think about that?

So really, to heck with Climate Change.  To heck with Green.  For now.  Give me a good reason why any of this is bad.  Ask homebuyers if they care about the EFFECT of a Green feature.  Let me know what you find out.

When considering the Life Cycle of any product it has a huge Environmental and Economic impact.  Cradle to Cradle – From the Raw product – Manufacturing – Transportation…and so on.  But, let’s consider as an industry what people really do want.  The only way to know?  Ask the Question.

Have you heard the BIG news?  Tomorrow is Take Your Mug to Work Day sponsored by International Delight.  I am very proud to be working with them on this project in Houston and wanted to bring it to your attention as you will see it in the news.

Over the past couple years down here in Houston we have heard more and more about Recycling, the need to bypass materials from entering the landfills and so on.  Often times what we do not realize are the small things that we can help with.

In fact, a recent study shows that 67% of Americans that go to their local coffeehouse to get their favorite cup of joe admit to throwing their paper cup in to the regular trash instead of recycling it.  All of this, multiplied across the Nation equates to approximately 28 Billion Cups (with a B) or 100 million pounds annually that get sent to the landfill.  This not only affects us Environmentally but Economically as well.

In an effort to raise Awareness International Delight has made tomorrow – October 15th, 2009 – Take Your Mug to Work Day.

Instead of stopping at your local coffeehouse, brew your coffee at home and take it with you in a reusable coffee mug.  They have also taken this opportunity to roll out 3 New favorite Coffeehouse Inspiration flavors.  Caramel Macchiato, Vanilla Latte and White Chocolate Mocha making it easier for you to turn your home in to your own Coffeehouse.

Need an incentive?  If you visit the International Delight website you can enter their contest -  Upload your ‘mugshot’ (you and your favorite mug) for a chance to win a Coffee Pack Prize!  Simple!

While you are their, use their new Coffee Footprint Calculator to see exactly how much YOU could save by brewing your coffee at home.  If you take out one White Chocolate Mocha a week, you can save approximately $160.68 over the year.  How much could you save?

Companies and Offices across the Nation are joining this cause, I hope that you choose to as well.  Let’s save some paper from being sent to the landfill and save some money at the same time.  Oh, while I’m not entering the contest, here is my “MugShot” – So come on Houston!  Get in those Mug Shots!  Feel free to share them here as well!

The Solar Social this year will be at Discovery Green Park Downtown again from 9-11 am and they have over $1500 of giveaways this year for those that attend!

To read about this years tour in the media, read below.

Houston Chronicle
River Oaks Examiner
Houston Business Journal

And there are rumors that Channel 2 will be covering the tour over the next few days!

2009 Solar Tour Guide

Tune in below to hear all about out and review the Chat Archive at the same time.

Coming up Tuesday February 24th will be Windows and Radiant Barrier

Thursday February 26th we will review Water and Lighting Fixtures in Renovation areas such as Pex water lines and varous ways to shave off your electrical bill with Lighting.  You may be surprised how easy it is!   Just click the link on the right sidebar to sign up!  We would love to have you.

And now, For the Recorded session.

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

***

Because of the interest in that on a much lower price range I have decided to do an event regarding the how this Mortgage Product works.

On Saturday, February 7th-  Christine Wilson and I will be hosting a seminar on ‘Financing that Fixer Upper’ ~ This event will not be going over Greening up the Home but just on how to finance a home that needs work of any kind.  If you are just looking to learn more about ‘Greening up the Existing Home’ then I recommend signing up for our Web Seminars.

It will be a Fun and Casual Event.  ‘Not Sales Like’ and not ‘Get Rich Quick Like’  -  Just Fun and Educational.  Throughout the Hour and a Half you can come and go as you please.

We are tying down a Home that will be Under $150,000 to host the event at that is a great example in Real Life to use this kind of Mortgage Product.   With a home in this price range the Mortgage Requirements would be:

• Down Payment as low as 3.25%
• Credit Score as low as 620
• Just about any kind of Repair or Upgrade imaginable

Here are the Event Details:

Location: To Be Determined Still but in Spring, Tx

Date: February 7th 2009

Time:  1-2:30 PM

Who’s Invited: Anyone! Home Buyers, Just Interested, Real Estate Professionals…Anyone!

Use this link to register for the Event

Or if you are on Facebook, Feel Free to Join the Conversation there too!

Christine Wilson with Prime Lending will be there to explain how it all works and we will also try to have some examples from a Contractor with Pricing on what it would cost to ‘Fix Up’ certain parts of the home.

The Location is still to be determined as we are still deciding on the Perfect Home to have it in.  For this reason, an Email Address is required so that you can be notified.

However, at the event your Privacy will be taken in to consideration if desired.

Just come out and Have Fun!!