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.

There is the healthier side of green and eating organic, there is the Stewardship side of ‘Green’ where we should do stuff because it’s just the right thing to do such as Recycle and keeping things out of the landfill.

But I think that we may be on the edge of the Local side of ‘Green’ getting some awareness as well.  In Houston specifically we are seeing an upswing in people supporting local businesses and Farmer’s Markets to not only help the local economy but it also helps to reduce Carbon Emissions from not shipping items from overseas or even from out of state.

There are other benefits to the Local side of green that sometimes I personally believe get swept under the rug.  How about Jobs?

I have written before how Real Estate can make or break a local economy and can a major player in creating jobs and I don’t just mean by the actual construction of homes.  What would happen if we were to raise awareness, and grow the idea, of Traditional Neighborhood Developments?

Simply stating, the Community is where you will find everything.  You live there, can work there, walk to everything…but you use existing land and sometimes existing buildings to create the neighborhood. 

How could this help?  In many areas across the Nation there are certain communities that simply do not have jobs for people.  There are not enough businesses, not enough growth and so on.   Some people have the ability to commute to another area but that takes money because of transportation..It’s like Global Outsourcing on a Local Level.

Let’s consider a development that has all of it there.  The ability for this to help Hyper-Local economies meaning down to the Community itself is truly unbelievable.  Just take a look at how popular Master Planned Communities are around Houston such as The Woodlands, Kingwood and Cinco Ranch.  Shopping, pharmacies, groceries, medical facilities are all nearby and most have continued to thrive even in a down economy.

I’m wondering why we can’t do this on a much smaller scale in Houston.  Let’s take an area that could use the jobs, job training and local businesses and see how it could benefit:

• Jobs for the community residents instead of ‘outsourcing’ the jobs from another community.  Keep it local if at all possible.
• Revitalizing and Renewing areas that need updated homes for the actual residents of the Community – Not homes that out price the residents from staying within the Community
• Job Training for those whose previous job is now obsolete
• Grocery Store for example that could provide jobs, put some money in to the economy and be nearby for residents
• The lots that the City of Houston often sells for $1 to developers could be donated and converted to a local garden – Excess could be sold in Farmers Markets as another source of income for the Community
• Other retail stores such as Cell Phone, Cable, etc. to help create more jobs
• Transit within the Community itself so people do not have to use Metro that can take hours to get from point A to Point B – or simply restructure Metro to support Hyper-Local areas
• Maybe even transit for a neighboring area for residents with jobs in say…for example…the medical center
• Recycling facilities – Money can be made on that as well

Now, I’m not talking about…let’s say…Rice Village.  People travel for miles to visit that shopping area.  I’m talking about a much smaller scale than that.  I’m talking about a living, breathing, local, small community. 

Well, that’s it for now.  Just thought I would share some of my random thoughts on this beautiful Sunday morning.   What are your thoughts?  Would something like this EVER work in Houston?

Reassuring two–legged neighbors

Appearances count in small urban spaces or tightly regulated neighborhoods. Consider a compost bin, as opposed to pile, if you live close to others. Sturdy plastic bins with lids are commercially available at Green Culture – Gardener’s Supply and here locally at Green Builders Source. If the price seems high, remember that by the time it produces about 10 bags of high-quality compost, it has paid for itself. Do-it-yourself-ers can find plans for a variety of compost containers at this resource.

If your chosen compost container is itself likely to be considered a visual blight, construct a very neat screen fence around the area. Cover fresh kitchen scraps, so that they will not attract the attention of neighbors or other animals. In time, more people will come to see a compost area as no more unattractive than a laundry room or potting shed.

Discouraging four-legged neighbors

Tell anxious folks that you discourage animals from hanging out in your compost by making it both inaccessible and unattractive to animals.
To inhibit easy access, use a container with a lid, such as the above-mentioned commercial bins. Enclose other types of bins with heavy gauge-galvanized wire on the bottom and sides. Locate the compost in a high-traffic area, ideally near the kitchen door, so that wildlife have no privacy there.

What keeps a rodent from chewing right into the bin? Low payoff for his effort. Don’t add dairy products, meat, or grease to the pile. These high-fat items entice animals and also slow the composting process down. Keep a hand trowel by the bin to scratch the fresh scraps into the mix or cover them with leaves to discourage flies. If you feel the compost still attracts animals, make the menu more boring. Leave out the fruit, pits, and nuts. Garden cuttings and low calorie fare such as wilted lettuce will be fine. The warmth of a pile can appeal to animals in the winter. Keeping the pile moist and periodically turning it discourages their nesting, while speeding the rate of decomposition.

Keeping a pile healthy and productive.

For every amount of wet “green” material like grass clippings, banana peels and collapsed eggplants, add several times more than that amount of dry “brown” materials like leaves, straw, or shredded newspaper. The dry materials keep the pile from getting sour and smelling bad. This can be harder in the summer, when dry leaves are scarce but watermelon rinds are plentiful. Try to save bags of autumn leaves for use during the summer, or use the confetti in your shredder. While the pile needs to be wet down to start the decomposition, too much rainwater can make it go sour, so again, a lid is needed. If the pile just won’t rot because it is too dry, it should be soaked again and
turned with a garden fork.

Next month we will share tips for setting up and harvesting your compost.

Enjoy!

Mary Carol Edwards is a landscape designer and owner of Luminous Ground Design. She specializes in landscapes which unite the environment and architecture, and support natural ecology. She considers a landscape a success if it can do all that and be fun, elegant, and creative, too.

The past couple weeks I have been amazed at how many wonderful Green Twitter folk from right here in Houston are tweeting their hearts out and sharing some fantastic information and I thought I would share some of them with you.  If you know of some others that I missed, please let me know and I can add them to the list.  I LOVE meeting new tweeps.

Many of these are companies that I was not even aware existed and was really excited to find out about them.  Hope you find them interesting as well!

@MaryFrancesB
@SpotOnSeo
@NotTrashHouston
@RecycleMatch
@HoustonGBRC
@HTownSolarTour
@HoustonGreenScn
@Blockcast
@EGBHouston
@USGBCHouston
@GulfCoastGreen
@GreenHoustonTx
@KeepItGreenMaid
@GreenTheBlock
@TaigaCompany
@GreenFitNFrugal
@RecyclingRic
@EcoSocials
@EcoStarHomes

I picked my jaw up off of the floor this morning when I first read about EarthQuest on Facebook via @kenbrand – The Theme Park named EarthQuest has its own Facebook group and Fan Page already even though construction probably has not even started.  The Group states that it will be appx. 500 acres – Another news release states that it will be at US 59 and Romans Forest Dr.  Those of you familiar with the area know that means its on the East side of Montgomery County in/near Kingwood.  Some of the news publications that I read date back to 2007 and I wonder if I am the last person in Houston to know about it.

Anyhow, The way it is worded on the FB group page immediately made me think that somehow the vision behind this was to be somewhat Eco Friendly.  Looking at the pictures however made my Greenwash meter start dinging. So I began my research.  A news article from Houston Business Journal did indeed use the words Eco Friendly.

Why did this concern me? Consider the amount of power it would take to run a Theme Park of this size and when you look at the Aerial Renderings the huge amount of water that is shown.

For the sake of not infringing on potential copyright I am linking to the pictures.  The end of the post will have some of the links to news publications and discussion forums in which I researched.

Picture 1

Picture 2

Wow.  What would really make this amazing in my mind would be to supplement the power with Solar or other Renewable Energy and for the park to use Rain Water Capture and ReUse.  My interest was peaked even more as my irritation with Greenwash is high right now.

I will not get in to everything that I read, I will leave that for you if you are interested as the park initially was thought to be DinoPark and the vision is now so much larger than that.   Article after article starting from 2007 through September of 2009 said about the same thing and led to dead ends.  Here is some of what I read.  **Updated – Link at bottom of post to Chamber of Commerce**

• “At the center of the park, said Lessem, will be the EarthQuest Institute, a $100 million research and educational center comprising 58 acres.” via FB Group
• “House Bill 4015, signed on July 12, will provide the equity to leverage investment in the dinosaur theme park project by creating a special tax zone in the area and facilitating bond financing.” via HBJ article
• “The park will be divided into sections— one devoted to sky, one to water, one to land, and one to prehistory, which will be called Pangaea” via IAAPA

Let’s hunt out the site itself for the Theme Park.  Searching for the Developer – there was nothing on their site about it but did run across EarthQuest Adventures which had no information and HoustonDinoPark who state clearly that they are not affiliated with the park but have detailed information where they discuss more of the vision under FAQ.

• “The EarthQuest Institute will also house research facilities where “green” technologies will be developed, tested and introduced.”
• “Across US 59, there will be a “technology transfer center” which will offer office space for businesses supporting “green” technology and construction.”
• “Located next to the EarthQuest Institute Museum will be a hotel and convention center. There will be an emphasis on a “green” partnership program which seeks to minimize the hotel’s impact on the planet.”

And then my Favorite Part of it:

• “…will be for residential use. There will be both multi-family and single family structures, and all will boast the most energy efficient and eco-friendly construction products…..where scientist can study different aspects the master planned community of the future.”

So now, I am pretty exited about it.  This could be huge for the Economy on the North Side of town as there supposedly are proposed Resorts, Night Clubs, etc.  This could be great for tourism.  And it could be great for green building in Houston.

But still, there appears to be no SET facts.  As of September HCN states that they are still discussing Tax Rates in the area. Yet other sites say that it is proposed to open Late 2011 or 2012.

Does anyone have information on the true GREEN vision behind this park? I would love to know.

What is your opinion on all of it? You may want to read the articles first.  Please share your opinion in the comments below.

I have signed up for information but don’t know when that will be. EarthQuest Institute

Online Sources:

HCN Online

HBJ Article

Discussion Forum

IAAPA – Half way down page

HoustonDinoPark – Not affiliated with developer

DinoDon – Referred to in news publications

Chamber of Commerce – More interesting links and appears to be the most updated site.

Probably one of the most popular ‘green’ upgrades that homeowners in Houston do every year is changing out their single pane windows with double pane for Energy Efficiency and to make the home quieter and healthier. Changing out your windows is also a great way to set your home apart from others when you go to sell. Home buyers are starting to look at Energy Efficient upgrades to help make their decisions on what home to buy. According to the Cost vs. Value reports, double pane windows have brought in over 72% return on investment for several years now in the Houston area. That means that if you sell your home within 12 months of installation, you will recuperate appx. 72% of that money.

The Tax Credit now for changing out the windows of you home is now 30% of the cost of the windows with a cap of $1500. Sounds great right!? Well, I suspect that there will be some angry homeowners when they go to file there taxes next year.

While this is a great tax credit if you take a look at what windows actually qualify, there are very few. I actually went to a big box store here in the North Houston area and not a single window in the store qualified. I also looked through their catalogs and did not find any that qualified.

After realizing exactly how strict the standards are to qualify for the Tax Credit, I went to local Window expert Bob Birner with Renewal by Andersen to help explain it. If you are a homeowner in Houston wanting to change out your windows, listen in to what Bob has to say.

Here is the podcast, also available on ITunes:

To register for a future Webinar, just use the link on the right sidebar – ‘Register for Webinar’ – We have all of the Registration links posted THROUGH February and then there will be a short break because Michael is running off to get Married!  (But shhh, I didn’t tell you)  :0) We all wish him and his lovely Bride to be all the best!

The recorded session here is a little over 48 minutes but well worth the listen.  If you are having a hard time following, I recommend you also follow the Chat Archive as well.  You can find it here –>>  Chat Archive

For a reminder, here is a breakdown of the future sessions and again – Use the link to the right to register.  We hope to see you in the coming weeks!

• Feb. 4th from 7p-8p         Insulation
• Feb. 21st from 11-12       HVAC (Heating and Cooling)
• Feb. 25th from 7p-8p       Radiant Barrier and Windows
• March 14th from 11-12    To Be Determined
• March 28th from 11-12    Water Conservation Fixtures and Delivery Systems
• April 1st from 7p-8p        Indoor Air Quality
• April 11th from 11-12      Durability
• April 15th from 7p-8p      Top 10 Practices and Green Guidelines

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

***

I was trying to find a place to Recycle Carpet.   I had heard previously that certain manufacturers would do it, but only certain kinds. I was on a hunt.

Finally, I ran across this company:

Name: Southeast Carpet & Recycling
Street: 5926 South Loop East
Houston, tx 77033-1018
Phone: (713) 734-3775

That was all of the information I could find.    Couldn’t really find a website other than one that was a directory. It kind of peaked my interest, so I decided to call.

I said:

‘I ran across your information online and it says you do carpet and recycling. Do you recycle the carpet?‘

The response was:

“YES! We recycle carpet AND padding.”

Wow! Ok. I explained why I was calling and that someone would be in touch with them and as I was about to hang up the Gentleman said:

“Oh, and we will PAY 4 cents per pound on any padding to be recycled”

Oh my. Wow again!  Now, that’s not a whole lot but if you take in to consideration how nasty and grungy carpet padding can be that has been down for years and years…that could add up.   BUT more than anything, it’s an incentive! That would likely pay for the gas to drop it off atleast!

So who else is out there around town that has a program like this?  Besides the City of Houston and Un-Incorporated County Recycling Centers are there ANY that you are aware of?  Are there any that offer some pretty neat incentives like PAYING for what you turn in?

What a great concept.  I’m hoping that some of my readers can help make a larger list here.  I would be happy to create another page that includes Recycling Options in and around Houston.

Well, that depends.  On an existing homes, ALWAYS a homeowner should consider making their home as energy efficient as possible FIRST before they consider purchasing solar panels.  Why?  Because they can be rather costly, let’s first make sure that we getting the meter outside going a little bit slower so we maximize our investment of solar.

If you are wanting to know how to ‘green’ up your home and make it more Energy Efficient before you go solar, I recommend signing up for our FREE Webinars

Wen you are building a home, and it is going to be really Energy Efficient, you can really maximize the output from solar.

How much power does it take? How many panels?  Well, the wasted electricity is really when you are not at home.  Your home is still pulling power from various items such as computers, refrigerator, etc.  To turn the meter backwards, it does NOT mean you have to get your home ‘Off the Grid’.

So, here we have it.  If you need proof of the meter really turning backwards, here ya go!  Oh, and there is a little more information in there also.  :0)  It’s kind of cheesy and me goofing off a little bit with the meters, but I think it’s effective.

As people, we are funny sometimes.  We are skeptical about things, and rightfully so.  Let’s take for example you were looking at Energy Efficient products.  If we placed two Electrical Products side by side that had labels on them showing how much electricity they used per year and they were about the same.  However, one had an Energy Star label, and the other didn’t.  Which one would you choose?

Most people in the market for an Energy Efficient product would likely take the Energy Star one.  Even if it cost a little bit more.  Why?  It’s that skepticism.  It’s knowing the meaning behind Energy Star.  It’s …. Real!  Or atleast that is the perception.

There has been quite a bit of discussion lately about whether or not Builders and Homeowners choosing to build Green should pay the cost to get a LEED Certification, or any other Certification for that matter.  After all, we can realistically build a home to the Greenest of Green and not have any Certification what so ever.  That is very true.

However, the one thing that my clients in the past have asked when looking at a home that is “Built Green’ according to any advertisement is:

“What makes it Green?”

Well, sometimes the builder doesn’t know…sometimes the home is just Energy Efficient…Every once in a while the home is pretty Darn Green once you sit down and visit with the builder!

So, let’s take a look at that Energy Star example again.  If we were looking at homes on the MLS that are stated as being Green, yet one home has no Reasons WHY it is GREEN-  But the other one is projected to be or is LEED Certified- Has an Environments for Living label, or what have you..

Do you feel that home would be set apart from the rest?

Absolutely! In just a Year and a Half we have gone from a Very small percentage of people even hearing the term Green Building, to a rather large percentage of people being curious and wanting to do the right thing…but maybe not knowing how.

Along with this has brought out a lot of ‘Greenwashing’ or ‘Hopping on the Green Train’

Now more than ever as we start to filter through what REALLY is Green, we need these Certifications.  Just as Builders and other Contractors are looking for Greenseal or Energy Star rated products- Consumers NEED to see a Certification on their Home.  There is that skepticism of ‘Is it really green?’

Builders, if there is an opportunity for a Certification or 3rd Party Verification on the Home- I say take it.  Spend the money and Pump UP the marketing behind it.  As Green gets Washed and Diluted, Certifications will be worth their weight in Gold when it comes down to separating one home from another.