Green Options

It’s a pleasure to finally begin writing here at Green Options! This time around, I’d like to focus on green building ambitions in the corporate world. I’ve been hearing a lot about Wal-Mart, Intel, etc. But have you heard about what Leviton just did with their headquarters?

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg occasionally writes posts on new, innovative green products (see Five Greenish Products You’ve Seen on TV and Five More Greenish Products You’ve Seen on TV). Rather than try to steal his thunder, this post looks at some basic, simple, green products that can make your everyday life many times greener.

Staying away from the topics of food and transportation, which are probably the biggest daily products you could green, here is a list of products you use everyday.

In an effort to feed two children with the same bottle, the Obama administration has created a rebate program that has potential to affect the average Joe and Jane. The nation has stumbled forward, carrying the weight of the struggling economy on one leg and the weight of energy concerns on the other; but the current administration hopes to change that.

Did you know that if you install a Biomass Stove – wood, pellets, etc. that you can nab a  30% tax credit ($1,500  max) up until 2010? Who knows that homeowners can get a 30% tax break for installing Solar Hot Water Heating until  2016? Maybe the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which was signed into law by President Obama in February 2009 isn’t as complicated as the IRS tax code but does anyone really want to delve into the 400 pages of legislation to figure all the ins and outs about how to qualify for the green tax credits available to homeowners?

In a Cliff’s Notes version of the myriad incentives, rebates, and tax incentives GREENandSAVE has created a Federal Tax Incentive Decoder and condensed the material to 11 bite sized pages. Best of all, this resource does not cost a dime and can be downloaded at: http://www.greenandsave.com/homecheckup/free_federal_tax_incentive_decoder

One quarter billion dollars is a lot. An awful lot. Most people will never even come near that amount of money, but that’s what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Americans saved this past year by switching over to energy efficient homes.

Another post inspired by a HARO request.  This time it was an ask for low or no-cost tools used by small businesses.  I did a quick search for the word “free” in my book and realized there are dozens.  Here are my 19 favorites:

1. Free energy-efficiency information, resources, and technical advice—ENERGY STAR for Small Business provides free information, resources, and technical advice on hundreds of cost-savings practices. Includes a downloadable copy of the free ENERGY STAR for Small Business Guide, “Putting Energy into Profits” and information about ENERGY STAR–labeled products.
2. Free recycling and conservation signs—You can customize, download, and print free recycling and conservation signs at recyclereminders.com.
3. Free control of your IT—If you run a network, software from companies like LocalCooling.com allows the settings on computers to be controlled centrally so you can automatically turn those babies off when no one is using them.
4. Free Green IT for Dummies—HP sponsors a free, downloadable, condensed, limited edition of the Green IT for Dummies guide.
5. Free recycling bins—The Coca-Cola/NRC Recycling Bin Grant Program provides recycling bins to selected grant recipients for the collection of beverage container recyclables in public settings.
6. Free rideshare widget for websites— at GooseNetworks.com.

This Earth Day, it was my mission to take serious steps towards greening my home office. While saving paper was the no-brainer approach, there is no escaping those documents that absolutely need to be printed in any office large or small. So, the next obvious choice is to look at greening your print habits.

Given that I have been using the HP Officejet Pro 8500 for a few weeks now, I am beginning to realize its merits as an ideal printer for small business or home office use. Not just because of its efficiency but also because it is a truly green option as far as printers go.  

The EPA’s going beyond the normal tips about recycling and saving water this year for Earth Day: they’ve launched a partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of America to get young people involved in environmentally-themed community service projects. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program will also be offering “Go Green Nights” to Parent-Teacher Organizations across the country. Check out EPA administrator Lisa Jackson’s discussion with members of the media above.

So you want to take advantage of the sun’s energy somehow but solar photovoltaics just aren’t in the cards? Solar hot water systems may not be as sexy as their electron-producing counterparts, but in most scenarios, you will get more energy bang for your buck—especially if you’re on a budget—because water heating consumes the most energy in a home after space heating and cooling.

After being seen almost exclusively on the rooftops of Jimmy Carter-era homes, solar hot water panels have made substantive advances in recent years, including efficiency improvements, earning some manufacturers the coveted Energy Star label.

Dallas-based Centex Corporation has rolled-out a green line of home development in St. Louis, building new homes with its Centex Energy Advantage designs.

The homes the company has begun building in the St. Louis metro area are considered as much as 40 percent more efficient than the typical 10-year-old home.

In a region of the United States looked upon as flyover land, usually implying it’s behind the times, Centex is claiming to be the first national homebuilder to install energy monitors in every home it builds, going forward.

The other standard features of the Energy Advantage package, as listed by Centex, are: