My Green Sonoma - For a Healthier Lifestyle and More Sustainable World

West Coast Green http://www.westcoastgreen.com/ is coming to San Francisco and promises to be THE event of the year for green building and education.

Steve Ramos of Envirovue, located in Petaluma, CA www.envirovue.com performs energy checkups, mold testing and infrared scans of properties to detect electrical and/or moisture problems in a home.  (He's also the guy you see on HGTV's "The House Detective".

These are optional inspections that can be chosen separately or combined with his standard home inspection.  Steve uses specialized equipment that allows him to see where most traditional home inspectors can't. 

The energy checkup will identify opportunities for you to save money and reduce your carbon emissions by reducing the amount of energy you consume.  Recommendations may include sealing ductwork, tuning up or upgrading your furnace, weatherstripping and more.

Mold testing will help you determine whether your home has a mold problem.  Steve takes air samples and sends them to a laboratory for an official report of the results.

Infrared scans enable Steve to see potential electrical problems and moisture intrusion problems in a home.  His scans have come in handy for my clients on a number of occasions.

I love this book!  Its chock full of ideas you can implement today that will substantially reduce your individual contribution to Global Warming.  The book is set up like a diet plan (something we all know how to start) and walks through a whole host of simple solutions.

The book is easy to read, well organized and increases your awareness of how interconnected consumption of resources is with carbon emissions.  The best news of all is that reducing carbon emissions will likely save you money.

The book is available at most major bookstores.  Check it out!

Thinking about making green choices for your next home remodeling project, purchase, or sale, but not sure where to look because everyone now says they are Green?  Build It Green to the rescue!  This is a fabulous  organization based in Berkeley that has greatly influenced the green construction industry in the Bay Area, (not to mention globally) .  This organization is a great place to locate professionals that have received specialized training in Green Building.  Build it Green has a directory of Certified Green Building Professionals, a group of experienced professionals who have received rigorous training in Green Building materials, techniques that provide a healthier living environment, reduce energy and water consumption and use sustainable materials.  You can access the list of certified professionals by clicking here.  (By the way, I'm on the list in the Real Estate section).

Build it Green is also an excellent resource for your Green Building questions.  Check out their Ask and Expert via email or telephone.  They are very good about responding in a timely fashion.

PG&E has launched an innovative voluntary program that provide customers with the option to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions associated with their energy use.

To make participating customers climate neutral, PG&E may enter into greenhouse gas emission reduction contracts where the reductions occur over time into the future.

As part of the program's launch, the company opened a competitive process to solicit offers for California-based offset projects that meet stringent criteria and protocols developed by the California Climate Action Registry.

Customers can sign up by visiting www.pge.com/climatesmart.  The cost for residential users is less than $10 per month.

Formaldehyde is a volatile organic compound (VOC) found in adhesives of many products.  It is known it irritate eyes and the upper respiratory tract.  In your home formaldehyde emitting materials may include:

• Pressed wood products, particleboard, MDF (Medium density fiberboard) and engineered wood products
• Flooring underlayment, carpet and glues
• Cabinets
• Vinyl flooring and glues
• Wall coverings
• Fiberglass Insulation

The type of formaldehyde that is more predominantly found inside of a home is Urea formaldehyde.  This is a cheap, abundant chemical used for its bonding strength and stiffness qualities

Build it Green's Recommendations for decreasing formaldehyde in the home include:

• Using only formaldehyde free MDF
• Eliminating all MDF made with urea-formaldehyde used inside the home
• Seal particleboard with 2 coats of low or no-VOC latex paint applied on all sides of a panel 

 Source:  Build it Green, Berkley California