Northern Virginia Green Real EstateA blog by Nate Shaw, Northern Virginia's Green Real Estate Agent. Information on how to fight global warming, live a more green lifestyle, green homes and remodeling, recycling, and the local Washington DC area, and national, real estate market and economy.The Housing Rescue Bill- July 29, 2008 Over the last two weeks, both the House and the Senate passed the much talked about Housing Bill. President Bush has vowed to sign the bill once he receives it. The bullet points below detail some of the parts of the bill to make it a bit more clear as to why is it being touted by the government as a silver bullet for the nation's housing problems. $300 Billion to help 400,000 borrowers refinancehttp://www.novagreenagent.com/blog/2008/07/housing-rescue-bill.html Wind Me Up!- July 25, 2008 It is always handy to have a flashlight and radio around the house in case of storms and power outages. However, having them around and ready for use also means having fresh batteries around too. But, batteries can be expensive and are very toxic to the environment if not disposed of properly. According to Environment, Health and Safety Online, every year, each American throws away about eighthttp://www.novagreenagent.com/blog/2008/07/wind-me-up.html Fighting Climate Change with Your Dollar- July 22, 2008 There are many ways to help stop climate change. The most common way is to swap light bulbs, cut energy use, buy a hybrid or make other personal lifestyle changes that cut your carbon emissions. Making those personal lifestyle changes can make a big difference and also save you money. However, there is another personal change that you can make that not as many people talk about, and that ishttp://www.novagreenagent.com/blog/2008/07/fighting-climate-change-with-your.html Gore Outlays a Bold Challenge- July 18, 2008 "We're borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that's got to change." - Al Gore The above quote is from the speech Al Gore delivered on Thursday at the DAR convention hall in downtown Washington, DC, which I had the honor to attend. True to Gore's style, his speech was neither flashy nor witty, but packed full of greathttp://www.novagreenagent.com/blog/2008/07/gore-outlays-bold-challenge.html Cut the Grass and Your Emissions- July 10, 2008 Not many people like cutting the grass. It is hot, sweaty and laborious work that you have to do over and over again during the summer months and even into fall. However, as much as you may not like mowing your yard, the earth dislikes it even more, especially if you use a gas powered lawn mower. Until 1995, the emissions of gas powered lawn equipment was not regulated. This means that most gashttp://www.novagreenagent.com/blog/2008/07/cutting-grass-and-your-emissions.html Program Your Thermostat and Save- July 10, 2008 This summer has been fairly hot and I have often found myself either wishing that I did not have to remember to turn the thermostat up when my family and I leave the house or turn it down a little to cool the house off before bedtime. In our previous house, we had a programmable thermostat, where we could set the temperature for 5 different times of the day, each day of the week. In addition tohttp://www.novagreenagent.com/blog/2008/07/program-your-thermostat-and-save.html |