On the second day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the third day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Seven beauty ingredients to avoid,
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Eight Seven homemade ornaments,
Seven beauty ingredients to avoid,
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Nine ways to go organic on a budget,
Eight homemade ornaments,
Seven beauty ingredients to avoid,
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the 10th day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Ten tips for a natural lifestyle,
Nine ways to go organic on a budget,
Eight homemade ornaments,
Seven beauty ingredients to avoid,
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the 11th day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Eleven natural holiday cards,
Ten tips for a natural lifestyle,
Nine ways to go organic on a budget,
Eight homemade ornaments,
Seven beauty ingredients to avoid,
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

On the 12th day of green Christmas (or non-denominational winter holiday of your choosing),
my true love e-mailed to me
Twelve ideas for stretching a tank of gas,
Eleven natural holiday cards,
Ten tips for a natural lifestyle,
Nine ways to go organic on a budget,
Eight homemade ornaments,
Seven beauty ingredients to avoid,
Six frugal and green gift ideas,
Five vegan cookies,
Four aromatherapy mood menders,
Three strings of LED lights,
Two reusable shopping bags,
And an eco-friendly Christmas tree.

By Jana Ballinger

While LED string lights use much less electricity, reduce pollution from power plants and last longer, they stay cooler. And though they cost more than traditional strings of lights up front, the electricity savings easily make up the cost difference within a season or two. Green Home claims claim that LED lights are about 60 times as energy efficient as their conventional counterparts.

Environmental Defense also maintains a good site, complete with a link of retail outlets that vend LED holiday lights.

As of 11/3, Washoe County is only a couple hundred pledges behind Volusia County, Florida in a national competition to conserve energy. Please help us win the competition by signing the pledge and getting your friends and neighbors to sign up by November 30th. Our goal is to capture the $5,000 first place prize to make energy conservation improvements.
We have less than thirty days to go and only 350 more pledges to win! If you haven’t taken the conservation pledge please visit www.greencounties.org/changetheworld.
Also, send this message to your friends, special interest groups, and families. Other than the prize of $5,000, we will receive national recognition and the satisfaction of beating Florida!

Thank you all for your support!

In a slower real estate market, homebuilders are especially sensitive to incentives that catch potential buyers’ interest. Buyers have been showing up at new home open houses where the homes feature solar power. Part of the response is curiosity; part of it is a growing desire to decrease energy costs in their new homes.

Retrofitting a home with solar power equipment is costly, of course, even though it holds out the eventual promise of paying for itself (often in roughly 20 years) and providing the homeowner with the pleasure of selling electricity back to the local utilities.  In many cases, the cost of purchasing of solar power equipment is reduced by local, state and federal energy-saving programs.

The possibility of buying a new home that is fully equipped for solar power, though, lessens the sense that the buyer is paying a premium for the equipment. Some builders are using the equipment as much as they use incentives like free landscaping—and buyers are responding with great interest.

The colourful (and biodegradeable) trashbags come in numerous colours, such as pink with white polka dots, blue with silver polka dots, glow in the dark, etc.  In an effort to draw attention to people and their trashy habit, the artist asked residents and businesses to sponsor their block by buying the trashbags for $10 each ($20 if you opted for the limited edition pink with gold polka dot bags) and decorate their block with piles of colourful garbage bags.

Over in Tokyo, Rabbit-kun aims to inspire a more responsible attitude toward waste by providing a cute and stylish way for people to carry their trash home after a day outdoors. Whether it’s a picnic in the park, a hike in the mountains, or a day at the beach — or any place without public trash cans — Rabbit-kun is charming enough that you might actually enjoy carting your garbage all the way home.

Another bag, which features a life-sized illustration (by Lily Franky) of trash-loving Oscar the Grouch, was designed in collaboration with Sesame Street as part of an environmental awareness campaign for children. For now, these bags are being distributed free of charge at select outdoor events, as well as to volunteer cleanup groups and schools.

To buy your own “any color you like” bags, go to the artists site at http://anycoloryoulike.biz/arp/.

Here are some more sources for bags, not pink, but biodegrable!

http://www.ecoproducts.com/Home/home_bio…

http://www.kokogm.com/Green_Market/Biode…

http://www.biodegradablestore.com/pp/bag…

http://www.greenhome.com/products/housek…

http://www.groworganic.com/item_GP310_Bi…

http://www.fiorijanitorial.com/c-44-bags…

1. Use reusable shopping bags. I know they have a few varieties at Trader Joes, including an insulated one. Keep them in my car and remember to carry them with me into the grocery stores.

2. Cut back on the driving – walk or bike more, consolidate trips and errands so that you can drive less, and investigate telecommuting and public transportation opportunities – even carpooling or taking public transportation one day a week can make a difference. I carpooled this last summer for a while from Carson to Reno, it saved a lot on gas (and that was when it was over $4) and I made some new friends!

3. Drive smarter to help reduce the amount of fuel that you use when you do drive. Proper maintenance on your car can make driving safe, use less fuel, and make your car last longer. So I guess that means cleaning my trunk which is full to the brim with boxes of books.

4. Replace old appliances with more energy efficient ones, including Energy Star certified appliances. OK, this one is not necessarily budget friendly, but it’s on the to-do list!

5. Buy locally grown and organic produce – look for local farmer’s markets and stands, organic sections in your grocery store, locally grown produce signs and labels, and natural food and coop stores in your area. You’ll eat healthier plus you’ll benefit your local economy with food choices from local growers.

6. Recycle – learn about local recycling programs. You can find local recycling centers in the United States at  Earth911.com. Most neighborhoods in the Reno/Carson/Tahoe area offer recycling with your Waste Management.

7. Donate unused and reusable items to your local thrift shops or other places that can use them. Give others the chance to use those clothes that no longer fit you, those toys your children no longer play with, those strollers and cribs that you no longer need, those books that you’ve read and won’t look at again, and many other items around your house that you may have stored away and won’t use again. Yikes, I guess I have to attack my garage.

8. Get informed about, and use recycled paper products for your home and for your office. Dickson has committed to using only recycled paper products in all of its offices.

9. Use green and non-toxic cleaners for your house, your clothes, and your car.

10. Learn about and participate in community conservation and cleanup projects. Check out your city sites: Reno, Sparks, Carson City, South Lake, North Lake, Truckee.

11. Adopt a park or outdoor place to keep clean.

12. Start a garden, even if its just growing your own herbs for your apartment, and learn how to compost. Find out if you city has a community garden.

13. Insulate your home hot water heater - save money and energy.

14. Fix leaky water fixtures and investigate low flow toilets and showerheads.

15. Replace water system filters your home as recommended. The water pressure in your home will be stronger, and the water you drink will be safer.

16. Replace light bulbs with more energy efficient and longer lasting bulbs such as compact fluorescent light bulbs or LED light bulbs. And learn how to properly dispose of them.

17. Stop receiving junk mail using a free service like Catalog Choice, and paid services such as Green Dimes or 41pounds.org.

18. Use less water. You can do things like take shorter showers, turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth, and watch how much water you use when washing dishes, but you might want to measure your water footprint first. And read this CNN article on Measuring your Water Footprint to learn why this is so important.

19. Conduct a home energy audit

20. Calculate your Carbon footprint. 

21. Unplug or use power strips that can be turned off for appliances and electronic devices such as computers, chargers, printers, televisions, cable set top boxes, microwave ovens, and coffee makers, to avoid energy vampires.

22. Learn about local, regional, national, and global environmental issues, and participate through donations, advocacy, volunteer efforts, and employment.

Any others that you would suggest?

For a standard residence, lighting and appliances (i.e. washers, dryers, refrigerators, stoves and dishwashers) account for roughly 45% of a homes energy cost. With this in mind it’s easy to see that this cost represents a substantial portion of your homes operating cost. So the question really becomes: How can we keep this number as low as possible?

Now obviously, we could clean our clothes in a wash tub and cook our meals in a fire pit in the backyard (most Reno/Sparks HOA’s would probably have a coronary). However, that may not be conducive to our lifestyles. So essentially, we need to use more efficient appliances. But how do you tell what is good and what is bad?

Fortunately, the Federal Government requires that “Energyguide” labels be place on all new appliances

1. Refers to the estimated energy consumption for the model you are looking at as it relates to other like units.

2. Refers to the estimated annual cost to operate this appliance. The cost per kilowatt hour used is based on a national average. Your local utility bill will have the exact cost. In order to calculate your yearly cost, simply multiply the KWh/year (#1) by your local KWh per hour cost.

You may also wish to be on the lookout for “Energy Star” products. As a general rule these products are 15-20% more efficient than standard appliances:

For a list of “Energy Star” products see: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product

Initial cost for Energy Star may be higher than the standard brand. However, the average lifespan of a home appliance is 10 to 15 years; as such, you can easily recoup the higher initial cost in a short period of time.

What constitutes a green real estate practice? Everything from energy efficient windows and recycled building materials to sustainable landscaping and a home’s air quality.

Investing in green training, education, and making a commitment to green practices within the company, Dickson Realty believes it can serve as a resource on green living environments for its real estate clients.

Green education from the inside out
In order to help clients better understand and benefit from green practices, Dickson started in house. In January of 2008 Dickson rolled out an environmental “go green” plan. A core committee of five was entrusted with implementing the program.

Each of the ten corporate offices began with a checklist of action items that incorporated reducing office waste, using reusable materials and recycling whenever possible

Dickson also distributes an internal E-newsletter (saving paper waste!) each month with environmental information pertinent to real estate. A green tip is sent to each office manager to discuss at their sales meetings.

Realtor “greening”
EcoBrokers are licensed realtors who have received training and certification in order to take advantage of and encourage energy efficiency and sustainable design in real estate properties. Dickson currently has four of Nevada’s seven certified EcoBrokers on their team. Craig Schriber, Trudy Brussard, Carolyn Schweber, and Curt Sanders are Dickson’s EcoBroker certified realtors.

Spreading the green around
Dickson’s goal is to serve as the ultimate green resource for buyers and sellers. Throughout 2008, they will continue to build their EcoBroker staff, as well as create a list of green vendors, green building materials and remodeling options, eco-friendly homes and green mortgage information

Better health, sustainability and higher profits are just some of the benefits green real estate practices offer.

Dickson Green and Energy Masters are helping homeowners create more comfortable, safe, healthy, and energy efficient living environments with a free class on home performance improvement

Mary Winston of Energy Masters will teach the class at Dickson’s Caughlin Ranch office at 1030 Caughlin Crossing in Reno May 6 and 14 at 6:30 pm. Participants will learn ways to make their homes healthy, comfortable and economical.

Those interested in attending this free, home “greening” class can register at green@dicksonrealty.com or by calling Trudy Brussard at 775.284.3024

Dickson Green is a new division of Dickson Realty promoting healthy, sustainable real estate practices and green living through certified Dickson EcoBrokers.