Mike Hogan, MBA, EcoBroker

Just a quick tip for saving water...

I know its been a while since I last posted... I've been incredibly busy with my latest Green Reno. I'll post pics soon of the progress.

I wanted to pass on a tip I learned recently. I've been doing a lot of research on plumbing fixtures that help us conserve water. And it's funny...the greener the toilet...the more expensive it is. It's actually kind of frustrating

So here's a way to make your own water conserving toilet... open the tank of your normal 1.6 G flush toilet. Fill a 2 liter soda bottle with water and place it in the tank. Voila...you now have reduced your water usage from 1.6G per flush to 1.0G per flush. You may have to adjust how much water you have in the 2 liter to get your flush right. But this is alot cheaper than spending $600 for a new water conserving toilet.

This is just another example of how it doesn't take money to save money...

Disposing of your CFLs

As a follow-up to my last post, CFLs....The Newest Environmental Hazard?, I wanted to let you know of a few options for safely disposing of your CFLs(Compact Florescent Light Bulbs).

Option 1: Contact your local trash service- they may have an option for you to dispose of your CFLs at little or no cost.

Option 2:Earth 911. This is a great website for all your recycling questions. At the top of the page- type in what you want to recycle and your zip code and the site will let you know everywhere near you that accepts recycling for your product.

Option 3:Probably the easiest option is Home Depot. Most Home Depot locations now accept used CFLs for recycling. Home Depot is the largest US retailer to launch a CFL recycling program.

Church Hill is the Richmond's center of casual hipness and historic relevance. And now your pups have a place to go to enjoy it also. The Church Hill Dog Park just opened in the lower section of Chimbarazo Park. The great thing about this project is that it was the labor of love of several Church Hill neighbors.

Most "Church Hiller's" really dont have alot of yard for dogs to run and play. It's almost sad to see dogs confined to 12x24 backyards. And dogs never have really been welcome in the area's historic parks. So now your canine friends have a place to chill and hang out with their friends...they even have fake fire hydrants.

Though not a resident, I do love the 'hill. Adding the Dog Park just added to the amazing sense of community pride already prevalent.

Even if you don't have pups- the park is quickly growing into the spot to be seen on the 'hill. Come out- enjoy the views, the neighbors and of course the dogs.

EarthCraft Virginia is a certification program for single family and multifamily properties. The program is similar to the LEED certification but its more specific to residential real estate. The program has been wildly successful in Atlanta, Ga and EarthCraft Virginia is hoping to replicate that success here. If you haven't heard of EarthCraft I recommend you check out their website.

Recently I was looking around for a certification program for my GREEN renovation projects. There are so many investors out there hawking their rehabs as GREEN just because they installed a few CFLs. I want my projects to stand out and be recognized for the healthy indoor air quality, energy efficiency and sustainable building practices that we bring to the table with each project. LEED obviously is a popular choice...however I think EarthCraft is a little more relevant for what we do.

I talked with Sean Shanley, EarthCraft Virginia's Director of Residential Operations. He informed me that EarthCraft has Renovation Certification program in pilot stage right now. They are taking pilot cases on a case by case basis and hope to have the full program rolled out in the next few months.

The program will be similar to EarthCraft's current new home program in that a minimum number of points must be achieved, as well as a certain level of energy efficiency. When your project is accepted, EarthCraft will work with you to determine what renovations you are making. You'll receive a checklist for various ways to achieve points. Once completed, EarthCraft will come inspect the changes and award points accordingly.

This really is a great way to make your renovations stand out among a field of greenwashed crap.

The City of Richmond, Virginia's Department of Urban Forestry and Grounds Management has created a great Adopt-A-Tree program that I think could benefit urban areas throughout the country. For a $50 tax-deductible donation you can adopt a tree to be planted by the city. Additionally participants agree to water the tree for the first two years.

Included in the $50 donation is a "Treegator"installed by the contractor. A "Treegator is essentially a drip irrigation system in a bag. Designed specifically for trees, it slowly delivers water directly to a trees' root system over an extended period of time; allowing for deep water saturation with no runoff or evaporation.

I learned about this program after some research into why the city had tagged several trees for removal. In urban areas trees offer shade, food for animals and birds(something severely lacking in many cities) and of course free oxygen. So I had to question why the city would be removing well established trees. I was somewhat relieved to find out the trees were indeed being replaced through the Adopt-A-Tree program.

This is a great program- if your urban leaders are not doing this- I would push for it. If only 10% of the major urban localities across the country would institute a program like this- imagine how many new trees we could plant. Think big...