What's the Impact of Paying Bills Online? : TreeHugger has a great article
that shows exactly how much energy you can save and how it will affect
your local environment. Gone are the days when we can say, " Oh,
my little contribution doesn't matter in the overview of environmental
change. Each of us has an impact and we can each change our world
one bill-day at a time.
I went to the Payitgreen.org site and used their green calculator to
see how much I am saving by going online to pay my bills.
In one year, I will save 7# of paper, 65 gallons of water, 3.3 gallons
of gasoline, and 146# of greenhouse gases. WOW!!
This amount of greenhouse gases is equivalent to 144 miles not driven
in my car, 2 trees planted( and grown for 10 years), & 20 square feet
of forest preserved from deforestation, according to Payitgreen.org.
I had no idea my little effort would make such a dent in our environment.
I've paid most of my bills online for quite a while. Won't you join the
online gang and make your effort at greening our environment a little
bit better?
Now, if I can just get the junk mail stopped........!!
Grand Rapids Ada Real Estate ~ Westbrook Realty
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
I assume we are all trying to do our best at saving the environment and
doing our small part in protecting our planet, but sometimes the obvious
is overlooked.
I am a bibliophile (a.k.a. book-aholic) I love books. I collect books,
I read books. Books area large part of my life. Do I buy books? Yes,
but I usually do the "green " thing and borrow the latest best seller
from my local library.
Once I have read a novel, I usually don't reread it. So why waste the
paper, trees, and space to own books for a short period of time.
This has never made sense to me when I could go to the public
library and request anything I could desire to read. I go online in
my jammies and when my requested book comes into my local branch,
they notify me!
Your local public library also has movies on DVDs and books on CD's
and books on tape. All for free. And by using your local library, you
are making a small effort to improve the environment.
So do the "green thing" with your reading. Visit your local library.
Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI
Copyright 2009 All rights reserved
Cascade Township Public Library Photo by Bonnie Westbrook
I heard about this project on NPR. I was intrigued. I went on-line and found it:
This project is mapping and chronicling the growth cycle of certain common
wildflowers, trees, and shrubs throughout the United States to see if global
warming or cooling patterns are emerging. There are plant identification
guides and plenty of information for you to identify common plants in your
area and report their budding, flowering, seeding, and growth cycle completion.
One of the plants they are following is the common dandelion. By looking at
the Project BudBurst map, you can see that they are blooming in the southern
states already. The common lilac is also on the list, so you don't have to be
a botanist to report for your area.
I will be watching my backyard but I could sign up to monitor a nature reserve
or local park. There are lots of interactive projects for educators and children.
If you are interested in gardening or plants, this is an interesting way to see what
is happening in our environment on a national scale.
Westbrook Realty ~ Grand Rapids Real Estate
Copyright 2009 all rights reserved
Lilac photo by Bonnie Westbrook
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The Terry Westbrook Real Estate team -assisting clients in real estate in the Greater Grand Rapids MI market. We offer relocation, free home searches for buyers, & extensive internet marketing to sell
Bonnie: Have been a residential Interior Designer for over 25 years. I really enjoy working with clients to enhance their home's beauty and their enjoyment of it. I have joined my husband, Terry Westbrook, and his real estate team to concentrate on marketing and home staging. My many years of experience in the Interior Design field can help clients realize the home of their dreams or assist them stage a home for a quick sale. Blogging is a new role for me and I am looking forward to sharing how wonderful the West Michigan area is to call home.
TERRY knows what it takes to attain success. As a leading real estate professional in Grand Rapids for over 35 years, he has forged a solid reputation based on integrity and quality service. He takes time to get to know his clients and has formed lifelong relationships. In short, he gives his personal best to anything he does. His approach to real estate is actually quite simple, but his years of local knowledge, experience and straightforward advice are what truly distinguish him from the competition. He understands the ins and outs of the building process and knows how to improve the marketability of your home when it comes time to showcase it. We use a team approach to give you the best advantage when buying or selling a home in the Grand Rapids area. Terry's Bio
Home Staging: Many homeowners need help converting their home from the place they live to a marketable commodity. If they can make this leap in their minds, I can help them in accomplishing their goal. I can also assist home buyers with furniture placement, color selection, and I have many excellent contractors, sources and workmen to get that new home looking just like you hoped it would.
On a personal note: Our family of two children, are grown and have their own children, which means we have 2 delightful grandsons to spoil and enjoy, Evan & Jeffy. We take off to see them every chance we get.
Ada, Michigan is a delightful picturesque community adjacent to Grand Rapids. It has a small town atmosphere with big city amenities minutes away. Prestigious Forest Hills Schools, safe neighborhoods, and quality built homes are some of the reasons people choose to live here.
The historic covered bridge which is located in the downtown area on the beautiful Thornapple River just before it enters the majestic Grand River. Great restaurants and shopping are moments away from this park. The rolling hills, heavily wooded areas, and award winning school system in Ada make it an ideal place to live and work.
Cascade, Michigan is a suburb on the southeastern side of Grand Rapids, Michigan. An area of quality, upscale homes, a wandering river, rolling hills, and the Forest Hills school system make this a very desirable place to live in the greater Grand Rapids area.
Caledonia, Michigan was listed as Money magazines' 100 best places to live in 2006. It is a small community with a newer, large school system southeast of greater Grand Rapids. It has many newer suburban homes and developments which continue to draw new citizens to the area and has seen tremendous population growth in the past few years.
East Grand Rapids, Michigan is an established city with predominantly older homes, a downtown area adjacent to Reeds Lake, and an award winning school system centrally located.
A very cohesive city with friendly neighborhoods, quality housing, and many big city amenities with a small town feel. Children can walk to the neighborhood schools, or just bike over and get an ice cream cone at the local shop. Safety and quality of life are high on the list of why people choose East Grand Rapids as the place to live.
Forest Hills, Michigan is not a city but a community school system which encompasses Ada, Cascade, Grand Rapids Township, and parts of Kentwood. It is a prestigious, award winning, well funded school system with great community involvement.
Kentwood, Michigan is a suburban community southeast of Grand Rapids., It is well established and has seen record growth inthe last 30 years. It has a large and well regarded school system, lots of local neighborhoods, and suburban shops and restaurants.
Lowell, Michigan is a charming historic city built on the Flat River. It is a bustling community with businesses, an active arts community, a thriving public school system, and many community features.
Rockford, Michigan is a quaint small town with a larger rural suburban area around it that has seen record growth and has built a world class school system with lots of technical emphasis.
Terry is a very dedicated realtor! Our family can not say enough good about him. He was patient, persistent, creative and very knowledgeable in the selling of our home.
Our home was on the market during the time when homes in Michigan were not selling. We had an old farm house with acreage on a very busy road__ not an easy home to sell even in good economic times. With Terry's persistence and dedication we fortunately were able to sell our house. Terry even persisted on working coming right out of surgery. He completed the buy/sell agreement for our home a day after he was discharged out of the hospital. What dedication!!!
Our family would highly recommend Terry for selling or buying a home. He developed a personal relationship not only with my husband and I but also with our two teenage sons. What a wonderful realtor to have during a "stressfull" time for our family. Thank you so much Terry for all you did for us!!
Mary Beth, Mike, Kenzie & Dalton
I have to thank you for the super job you did getting me so well settled. It could have been a very traumatic time but everything moved as " smooth as glass. " Your preparation was awesome, too. I sold real estate for only 2 years and I wasn't near you in the work you did for me. You sold my house and have me so well tucked in the new one in about one month! Has to be a record. Thank you and Bonnie, too for everythng. I can recommend you very happily -
Loretta M.
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