After I wrote the post about whether or not I should do a green bathroom remodel, I thought I should at least look at the products to see if they were affordable.  I was shocked to find a store in my neighborhood that sells green building materials. 

Green Home Experts is a new business in Oak Park Illinois that specializes in, well, green home stuff.  The store is owned by this awesome chick named Maria whose had the idea to open a store where people like me can go to find anything green they need.  I only went there for the recycled glass and ceramic tile and the bamboo counter tops so I was shocked to find that they had a whole section devoted to organic gardening, and a whole section devoted to cleaning supplies.  They also had lots of organic and natural bedding and baby products.  What I loved about the store is that they had such a nice selection of the products they carried.  For example, in my area Whole Foods tends to have the largest selection of green cleaning products like Meyers.  I had always been under the impression that Whole Foods carried the entire Meyers product line until I went to Green Home Experts.  They had way more of this stuff!  I can tell I’ll be spending a lot of time (and money) at this store.  Besides selling good products I love seeing young people who have the guts to start their own business, especially when it’s something more non-traditional like green products.  It’s risky - I love that!

Maria runs the store herself and she is very knowledgeable, and equally important, she’s really nice.  So, if you are in the Chicagoland area, be sure to pay her a visit at Green Home Experts. 

Do you have a store that specializes in green home products like this in your area?  I’d love to hear about it so leave us a comment to tell us where it is. 

More from Wordless Wednesday

After I posted about potentially canning my un-green bathroom remodel and using the money budgeted for it to purchase solar panels I looked for information on solar tax credits to help me decide if I could afford them. 

Solar water heater and solar panel tax credits expire December 31, 2008.  Apparently there is a bill to extend them which has passed the House but not the Senate.  Come on, fellas!  I need more time! 

If you are feeling the pressure to rush out and get solar panels like me, checkout the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE).  Click on your state to see a comprehensive list of green incentives.

Here’s another great site with a tool that will estimate the cost of a solar installation as well as what it will save you and how well your area can utilize solar energy.  I contacted my electric company to get the total kilowatts I used over the last 12 months, along with the my average bill for Summer, Spring, Winter and Fall so that I could find out what a proper system would cost me (and save me).

Here’s what they recommended for my house based on the information I input into their estimator.

Since 2008 was to be the year I’d buy a Hybrid, I’ve been doing some research to find out more about Hybrid tax credits.  It turns out that the Toyota Prius tax credit no longer exists.  I’m pretty bummed about it. 

When a new Hybrid hits the street, only a certain number of credits are allowed.  So, the Prius I was hoping to downsize to will not be saving my tax dollars because it’s been around too long.  Even though there are new Hybrids being released that will still qualify for the tax credit, I’m just not sure I trust these newbies enough.

The Toyota Prius (and Honda Insight) has been around longer than any other mainstream Hybrid car.  I fashion myself a risk taker, but truth be told, I’m much more comfortable buying from a manufacturer who has pioneered a new technology, especially when I’m spending over $20,000.  I’m never the one with the first of anything because I want to give a company time to fix their first-generation problems.  There are always first-generation problems.

Maybe it’s not realistic but I think we ought to get tax credits on every alternatively fueled car produced until all the gas guzzlers (like my Mitsubishi Diamante) are off the road, or until they discover a Jeannie who can wish us up some oil for cheap.

Here’s a table that shows the tax credit we can expect depending on the model of Hybrid we are driving or buying when we file our taxes next year.

 courtesy of irs.gov

So, what would you do, take the loss of the tax credit and buy the Prius, anyway, or take a chance on one of the manufacturers that are just now getting around to developing Hybrids?  And if you have a Hybrid that you love or hate, leave a comment and tell us about it.  It may help those of us who are shopping for Hybrids make a decision.

Here’s a great article with a summary of all the 2008 green tax credits.  Stay tuned for “Don’t Take My Green Tax Incentives! Part II - Solar Power.”

photo courtesy of immaculatebaking.com

Ever been seduced by packaging?  That’s what happened to me when I saw these chocolate chip cookies by Immaculate Baking Company at my local Whole Foods.  It was the fun artwork and the “cookies with a cause” slogan that got me.   

I’ll get right to the point.  These are the best prepackaged cookies I’ve ever tasted.  And I’ve had a lot of cookies in my lifetime.  The refrigerated package contains cookie dough cut into 24 round pieces.  All you do is slap them on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 12 minutes.  I made a few of these yesterday and served them warm from the oven with a cold glass of milk.  Judging from the way my guy was carrying on as he ate them (moaning, oohing, aahing), they were a huge hit.

Check out the list of ingredients.  It’s nice to see things I can actually pronounce. 

Organic unbleached wheat flour, organic light brown sugar, organic palm fruit oil, semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, dextrose, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), vanilla), organic naturally evaporated cane sugar, whole eggs, salt, pure vanilla, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).

About the company

In 1995 Scott Blackwell bought a couple of ovens at a Food Lion action and started baking in his garage.  You can read all about the growth of the company here.  The philosophy of the company is Bake well, be creative, have fun and give back.  They give back by promoting kids and art through their Soul Food Fund and also founded the Folk Artist’s Foundation to increase awareness of Folk Art.

The cookies are a little more expensive than the mainstream refrigerated cookie dough (about $5.00 for the pack of 24) but I’m happy to pay a little extra to promote a socially conscious company who does a great job at a delicious organic cookie.  I can’t wait to try all the other flavors.  

Have you had these cookies?  What’d you think of them?

courtesy of brighterplanet.com

Brighter Planet is an Environmental Startup Company in Vermont that is working on practical solutions to climate change.  Instead of preaching that we should all recycle our bathroom waste (gross!) they are looking for ways we persnickety Americans can fight climate change, well, without really trying too hard.

Their main product is a Bank of America credit card bearing the Brighter Planet logo.  And instead of earning frequent flyer miles (remind me to tell you how much pollution air planes produce), your purchases earn points towards the purchase of carbon offsets.  By George I think they’ve got it!  That is brilliant!  I love to shop.  I love to earn free stuff by shopping.  And I want to help the environment.  If I can do all that by shopping, I’m so going shopping tomorrow!

Here’s how the credit card works

• Earn 1 EarthSmart point for every $1 spent in net retail purchases.
• Points are automatically redeemed monthly to help fund renewable energy projects.
• Every 1,000 points will fund an estimated 1 ton of carbon offsets.
• Every 1,000 points is roughly equivalent to taking a car off the road for 2,000 miles, or powering and heating/cooling your home for a month.

How’d I learn about Brighter Planet?  Well I read this guy’s blog called No Impact Man who mentioned that we should read and support a site called 350.org (getting the word out that scientists say we need to get our carbon count to around 350 ppm to be safe.  We’re at 387 now) so I did.  After I registered, I got this cool badge for my blog (see right margin) and later the great folks over at Brighter Planet (they sponsor 350.org) sent me a nice certificate saying how much carbon my blog had offset which made me feel something like a rock star.

Later when I contacted Brighter Planet asking if they’d participate in a charity blog-off their CEO promptly wrote and emailed a very cool guest post which you can read here.

So, in summary, I think this company is worth supporting.  I hope you’ll join me in doing so.  And if you are one of those i-only-pay-cash-for-my-crap people, well, pass the company on to somebody else who isn’t as financially astute as you. 

Disclaimer: This is not my green bathroom, unfortunately

photo courtesy of sunset.com

It sure is a lot easier to talk and write about going green than it is to actually do it, sometimes.  For the most part, I know what I should do, eat, buy, and so forth.  But what’s a woman to do when there is a gross ugly bathroom to be remodeled?  Picture this.

I live in a smallish (rather uglyish) 3 bedroom 50’s ranch house.  We have one bathroom.  One very old raggedy bathroom in the entire house.  The floor is rotted and it simply must be fixed.  Here are my 3 options…

1. Gut bathroom and expand to accommodate a jacuzzi tub and separate shower using inexpensive materials.  unGreen
2. Update existing bathroom using sustainable materials where possible and keeping size of bathroom as is but replacing tub, vanity, walls, floor.  Greener
3. Fix floor and walls that are damaged and leave the rest as is.  Use the greenest materials possible for floors and walls and spend the remainder of the bathroom remodel budget on other green improvements like new windows or gasp solar panels.  Greenest

Which one is the right  one?  Option 3, I suppose.  Which one do I fantasize about at the end of a long stressful day at work?  I’ll let you guess. 

This is going to be tough.  I need your help!  Please, tell me what to do.

From weather.com

How concerned are you about global warming?

Very concerned - 33.0%

Somewhat concerned - 17.3%

Not very concerned - 11.1%

I’m not convinced it’s true - 38.4%

According to an informal survey from weather.com (results above) it seems that the majority of people still don’t believe in global warming. The scope of the climate change problem is such that we need the majority of the world to understand it and make the important changes necessary to preserve the planet. If we don’t, I think the new American Dream might look something like this.

Housing

The modern day dream house is less than 1500 square feet. Solar panels provide electricity and it has the best insulation, windows and energy efficient appliances that money can buy. It costs over one million dollars. Larger houses are less expensive and are usually sold to low-middle to lower income families.

Employment

Unemployment rate is 15%. The most highly sought after jobs for the middle class are in retail at stores located within a 2 mile radius of home.

Transportation

Most people utilize public transportation. Cities without adequate public transportation become severely impoverished and eventually cease to exist. Higher income families own one car that is hydrogen powered. Large SUV’s and other fuel wasting vehicles are inexpensive and typically owned by low-middle to low income families. Gasoline is $20 per gallon and gasoline theivory is the most common non-violent crime committed.

Food

All home owners have gardens where they grow most of their produce. There is a water shortage. Health officials now only recommend 5 cups of water per day.

I realize this is an exaggerated description but I’m trying to illustrate a point. The U.S. is responsible for 40% of the pollution that is causing the climate to change. We are also notorious for ignoring warning signs until they reach epic proportions. Exactly what are we waiting for? So, what do you think? Is my description above a possibility, or do you think I’m off my rocker?

I’m sure you’ve heard that Honda released it’s new FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle in Japan today.  They also announced the first 3 U.S. dealerships that will sell these hot new cars.  All in California near hydrogen refueling stations. 

The Good

• Only emits water.
• 72 miles/kg-H2 (this is about the same as 74 miles per gallon of gas - wow!)

The Not-so-good

• They are only available to a select few by lease ($600 per month)

The first: Film producer Ron Yerxa, Author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest; business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon; actress Laura Harris; and Jon Spallino, already the world’s first retail fuel cell vehicle customer, who has been leasing the current generation FCX since 2005.

• When is the last time you saw a hydrogen station? There are currently only 70 operational in the U.S. and Canada.  Check out this site to see where your nearest hydrogen fuel station is. 

Chevrolet is also releasing the hydrogen fuel cell Equinox so maybe this is a new car trend that we can look forward to. 

So, should I go ahead and buy that Prius I was planning for later this year or should I keep driving the old Mitsu until hydrogen cells are available to the regular folk like me? 

More about the Honda FCX Clarity

More about the Chevrolet Equinox

photo courtesy of Gibbs Family Farm

Have you ever shopped for organic fruits and vegetables?  They are usually pretty darn expensive if you can even find them at your neighborhood grocery.  My local chain grocery store (Jewel) doesn’t even sell organic produce - I can only find them at Whole Foods.  I think if it were a viable option, we’d all prefer buying organic fruits and vegetables.  After all, who really wants to eat food that’s been doused with pesticide?

Community Supported Agriculture farms (CSA) are farms that sell shares of their crop to families and then deliver seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis to a pickup location in the community.  Some CSA’s require that you contribute money and labor to the farm but most of them just farm the land themselves using the revenue from the sale of the food to support it.

The great thing about these CSA farms is that most of them use organic farming methods so it’s like buying organic Whole Foods type produce except the food doesn’t travel a gazillion miles to your table.  This helps the environment by reducing emissions from the car/truck and saving on fuel etc.

CSA’s usually offer large and small shares.  The price of the shares varies depending on the farm itself.  My local CSA shares are priced $550 for a small share and $650 for a large share.  That’s only $23-$27 per week so it’s also very affordable.  Another cool thing about this is that they deliver whatever is in season at any given time so you never know what you’re going to get, it’s sort of like a surprise grocery delivery.

If you are concerned about being able to cook and eat a full or even half share of produce each week, think about splitting a share (or 1/2 share) with a friend or two.  And if you are still not even ready for that, think about finding a CSA in your area and stopping by their delivery location to buy some of their extras. I don’t have my own share (I grow a lot of my produce myself) but I usually go by on Saturday mornings to pick up a big bag of fresh organic salad greens for $2.00.  You can’t beat that!

Here’s a great website that’ll help you find a CSA in your area.  My local CSA started delivering this weekend so you may have a hard time finding one with available shares this late in the season, but it’s worth a shot.

I’d love to hear from some people that get produce from a CSA.  Got any great stories to tell us?  What’s the quality of the produce like?  Leave a comment - it may encourage somebody to support a CSA.