My Green Sonoma

Wow! Now this is a great find for people looking for something unique and very Sonoma County for their building project.  Regardless of whether your project is large or small, functional or decorative, Heritage Salvage is a place you must visit.

From reclaimed glass blocks and old growth redwood, to red wine soaked oak boards and handpainted recycled chicken nesting boxes, you are sure to find just the thing to make your project unique and just plain cool.   Located at 1473 Petaluma Blvd South, in Petaluma.  http://www.heritagesalvage.com/ 

Check it out!

I love my Honda Civic NGV (Natural Gas Vehicle that runs on compressed natural gas) BUT want to make the reader aware of some shortcomings, and delays that should be taken into account when making a decision about purchasing one of these vehicles.  The bottom line is that the infrastructure is not yet in place for mainstream sales of this vehicle.

I believe that car dealerships should be required to disclose this information to the buyer before they sign a purchase agreement...but they aren't required and they don't disclose, so as a consumer you need to be informed.

1.  The dealer estimate of 3 week to install the Phil unit is significantly underestimated.  Plan on waiting 10-12 weeks.  Also plan on waiting 4-6 weeks for your card from PG&E rather than the 7 day estimate given by the dealer.  

2.  The Phil installation itself is not as simple as the dealer and manufacturer would have you believe.  I strongly advise you to check with your city or county permit department regarding their requirements before you purchase the vehicle.  After waiting 11 weeks, my installation date finally arrived, only to learn on the date of installation that Sonoma County recently added new requirements that the dealer was not aware of that more than doubled the cost of installation (Bay area costs are now approximately $1,800 to $2,000 for a fairly straightforward installation).  Sonoma's new requirements:

• a dedicated electrical line be installed, and
• a 4 inch post be installed 4 inches away from the unit to prevent objects from accidentally striking the unit.

These are good safety requirements and I support them but finding those extra 8 inches was a bit of a problem as the post interferes with the walkway I need to get out of the car, and will probably be the source of more than 1 door ding in the future.  I believe that the dealer should disclose and strongly advise buyers to check with their permit department and installer regarding requirements and costs.  If they were selling real estate and not cars the law would require them to disclose this information.

3. While you are waiting for installation, or if you aren't planning to purchase a Phil unit, count on several anxious weeks of fuel gauge monitoring and planning fuel stops into your daily routes.  Since many stations don't have the equipment to pump at higher PSIs, the little 8 gallon tank is really an even smaller 5 gallon tank...that's only 150 miles before you have to refill the tank. 

4.  As an NGV owner, don't expect much from the Honda Care program.  Out of curiosity I called them to find out how they would handle NGV customers that ran out of gas.    They did not have a procedure at the time of the call and promised to call me back.  I'm happy to report that, about 4 weeks after I called, I actually did get a call back.  Unfortunately their solution to the problem is to tow the vehicle to the nearest Honda dealer.  Since the Dealers don't have filling stations at their facilities I'm not really sure what that accomplishes.

All the above said, there may be good news on the horizon.  Rumor has it that the state of California has approved a retroactive rebate of $3,000 to anyone who purchased an NGV vehicle.  This rebate is said to be retroactive to purchases that took place as early as May of this year ... we'll see!

Many hugs and heartfelt respect and appreciation for our volunteers who overcame hazardous conditions to carry, food, clothing, shelter and smiles to the remote community of Lurinchinca, Peru following the devastating earthquakes of August 2007.  To view a slideshow go to www.socohomegroup.com/perurelief. 

Just learned about this fantastic business that provides Green Cleaning Services in Sonoma County.  Here's a clipping from their website www.crystalclearhome.net.

"Crystal Clear Home offers an eco-friendly cleaning service that supports a safe, non-toxic environment in your home or office by using only all-natural cleaning products. The cleaning service is 100% guaranteed, and discounts and incentives are offered to customers throughout the year. Clients have the opportunity to rate their cleaners, who then earn perks such as bonuses and spa treatments.

Offices are cleaned with the same care and attention our client’s homes receive, and substantial discounts are available when you sign a contract with us for six months or longer, pre-pay or set up automatic payments. Your employees will be impressed by how fresh and clean their workplace is when you use the services of Crystal Clear's Professional division."

Crystal Clear Home also offers home organization services, environmentally-responsible home decorating and feng shui consultations.

I've just returned from a trip to the United Kingdom.  While over there I noticed that grocery stores and many restaurants label their food products informing their customers that the product is GMO free.  We don't yet have a mandate requiring such labeling in this country.

I learned recently that more than 70% of the food products sold in our country contain genetically modified ingredients.  If our food products are not labeled then as consumers we are not allowed to make a choice about what we choose to feed to our families.  I am hopeful that this will change soon.

In the meantime, some retailers such as Trader Joes, have made a commitment to their customers to sell gmo free products.  Another option is  to start buying local organic products and confirm with the grower that the products are gmo free.  (see my blog post on local farm stands in Sonoma County).  Finally, consider picking up the following book:  The Organic Guide to Sonoma, Napa, and Mendocino Counties which is an excellent and informative resource guide.