This is an absolute must-watch video.

Charlottesville folks – What are the best local food options you have found/used?

Search for local food options in Albemarle at Buy Fresh Buy Local; Search for local food options in Charlottesville.

Personally, I like reading the Green Scene blog at C-Ville.

Some options to learn about eating and cooking in Charlottesville:

- The Food Geek
- Notes from C-ville
- Bella Eats
- Charlottesville’s Local Food Hub
- Charlottesville Blogs’ Food and Farming category
- Life in Sugar Hollow

Update 7 March 2010: I was in Café Milano (closing soon unfortunately) and saw a flyer for C’Ville FoodScapes -

We believe that if more people knew the simple joys of plucking a perfect, vine-ripened tomato, or of pulling up a beautiful orange carrot out of the earth, more people would garden. But in our fast paced lives, we seldom have the time to devote to planning and maintaining a garden, and these moments of happiness never come to pass.

We believe that in a world where we are acutely aware of the impact we are having on our environment, growing some portion of our own food is the responsible decision. How much longer can we afford – financially and environmentally – to ship fruits and vegetables around the globe when we could take action into our own hands? We all need to start thinking globally by acting locally: and you can’t get much more local than your own backyard.

We believe that fresh, wholesome, healthy food is a right, not a privilege that varies by race or income level. That is why we set up our Garden Grant program. We want to ensure that those who are less fortunate than ourselves do not continue to be marginalized and forgotten. What good is being progressive if it does not help everyone progress?

We believe that businesses function optimally when they are owned by those who work for them – we take pride in and responsibility for that which we can call our own. C’ville Foodscapes strives to serve as a representative for cooperatively run, worker-owned enterprises everywhere. Membership is voluntary, and each member has equal say in the decision-making process.

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Part 5 of – see bottom for links to each post in the series. This post was actually a work-in-progress from several weeks ago, but the conversation on the radio spurred me to finish it.

From TallWall (thanks to @G2Architecture):

Myth 2: Green consumers’ main motivation when reducing their energy use is to save the planet.

When asked the most important reason to reduce energy consumption, 73% chose “to reduce my bills/control costs” and only 26% chose “to lessen my impact on the environment.”

Duh.

Green Homes = Common Sense (2007)

When given the option to build green, will Buyers take it? (2008)

Proof There is a Market for Recycling in Charlottesville (and Albemarle) (2009)

As I said in a comment in 2008 on the Going Green to Save Green story:

I think his perspective is probably representative of the vast majority of consumers. My clients generally don’t necessarily care about their carbon footprints, but do care about saving money.If saving money means green, so be it.

10 Strategies to Increase the Energy Efficiency of Your Homes

Politically, as part of the Cap and Trade/Tax bill:
From Fast Company in October 2009:

Vice President Joe Biden and the government’s Middle Class Task Force unveiled a report this week that aims to make homes more energy efficient. Dubbed “Recovery Through Retrofit,” the report offers suggestions on how to use existing Recovery Act funding to create a home energy efficiency retrofit industry. An ambitious goal, to be sure, but is it plausible?

While by no means a comprehensive list, some of the green homes in Charlottesville can be found in the following neighborhoods:

- Belvedere
- Old Trail
- Westhall
- Wickham Pond
- Avon Park
- Poplar Glen
- Montgomery Ridge

The Code of the Commonwealth of Virginia allows for:

A. Energy-efficient buildings, not including the real estate or land on which they are located, are hereby declared to be a separate class of property and shall constitute a classification for local taxation separate from other classifications of real property. The governing body of any county, city, or town may, by ordinance, levy a tax on the value of such buildings at a different rate from that of tax levied on other real property. The rate of tax imposed by any county, city, or town on such buildings shall not exceed that applicable to the general class of real property.

B. For purposes of this section, an energy-efficient building is any building that exceeds the energy efficiency standards prescribed in the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code by 30 percent. Energy-efficient building certification for purposes of this subsection shall be determined by any qualified architect, professional engineer, or licensed contractor who is not related to the taxpayer and who shall certify to the taxpayer that he or she has qualifications to provide the certification.

—

Part 1- Quick Update on the Charlottesville Real Estate Market
Part 2 – Short sales and Foreclosures in Charlottesville
Part 3 – Homebuyer tax credit in 2010 – Who’s Eligible?
Part 4 – Strategic Defaults in Charlottesville – What will 2010 look like?
Part 5 – Green building trends in Charlottesville

Podcast of the full hour show and transcript.

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From the desk of either “a good service provided by the local government” or “Charlottesville and Albemarle cooperate without great argument” …

From the County of Albemarle:

Trees will be recycled into free mulch for the public

It’s almost that time of year again!

As in the past, the Albemarle County Parks & Recreation Dept will host its annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program beginning December 26, 2009 through January 16, 2010. The Christmas Tree Recycling Program collects discarded Christmas trees which are chipped into mulch and then offered to the public at no cost. This program has been in operation since 1988 and recycles over 3000 trees each year; which in turn yields over 144 cubic yards of mulch. Not only does this recycling program provide citizens a place to dispose of a potentially large and cumbersome item, it also reduces the impact on our landfill.

By combining forces with the Charlottesville Curb Side Pick-Up Program, the two programs collected over 5600 trees last year, yielding approximately 268 cubic yards of mulch. According to the City Public Works Department, their curbside pick up will be the week of January 11th, 2010. Trees must be at the curbside by 7am. Shortly after the City’s curbside pick up, the County and City Parks & Recreation crews will team up to chip the estimated 2600 trees at Darden Towe Park.

As a reminder, this program is for Christmas trees only, please no yard waste. Both the County & City programs require that all decorations, stands and nails be removed from the Christmas trees. Free mulch will be available to citizen by February 1, 2009, at Darden Towe Park.

The County will operate seven sites daily, 7am till dark.

The sites are as follows:

- Chris Greene Lake in Earlysville

- Crozet Park

- Darden Towe Park

- Greenwood Community Center *

- Rivanna Solid Waste Authority Recycling Center on McIntire Road (*note: Sunday hours are 12noon – 5pm)

- Scottsville Community Center

- Walnut Creek Park

The recycling location on McIntire Road may be congested; please consider Darden Towe Park as an alternate location that is less congested and is suited better for large loads and contract haulers.

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I sold a house in the City of Charlottesville to some great clients last year. Now he’s selling his car. Which is awesome, and very green.

is living and working downtown, so no need for a second car – someone buy it! http://bit.ly/8DhpH6      

That they’re living in the City and are able (and willing – that’s part of it, too!) to sell their car.

Incidentally, the current issue of National Association of Realtors’ On Common Ground (not yet online) is all about walkability, transit, smart (read: intelligent, not the bastardized/politicized “smart”) growth featuring Walkscore and a few quotes from yours truly.

Search for homes in Charlottesville with high Walkscores.

Search for homes in Crozet with high Walkscores. (coincidentally, I house I’m marketing comes up first … and the Walkscore is in reality much higher due to some missing restaurants and coffee shops in Crozet)

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Andrew at C-Ville points out Ten steps to a greener Charlottesville.

The two real estate-specfic tips:

4 HANG IT OUTSIDE

Who doesn’t love to see a neighbor’s knickers adrift in the wind?

Lots of folks, apparently: Fifty million American homes are banned from hanging clotheslines on their property.


Project Laundry List, a clothesline advocacy group, lists the Rosemont Homeowners Association in Ivy, as one local region where the use of clotheslines is banned. That’s likely just one among many.

…
10 WALK TO SCHOOL

It used to be that kids walked to school, no questions asked. They often did so uphill, both ways. As childhood obesity rates skyrocket, hoofing it is increasingly regarded as a heroic effort in a region where new development tends to leave kids further from schools, and closer to the candy store. All of this in a world that grows less safe with each passing day.

… solar panels, clotheslines, flagpoles (#Barfoot) … what’s next?

The City of Charlottesville has quite a few homes for sale with high Walkscores:

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It’s amazing to look at how fast the recycling economy has moved in the past eighteen months. First, Albemarle County had no curbside recycling, while the City offered it as part of property taxes. Then, we had (and still have) at least one curbside recycling option. And now, thanks to the Vanderlinde Recycling facility, no-sorting, curbside recycling is an option for many, many more people in Charlottesville and Albemarle

1 – Most people aren’t going to “go green” unless they can justify the “green” decision economically first. “Can I save $20 a month? And it’s green?”

2 – This is a dead simple way to recycle.

3 – No more sorting!

4 – Only one truck rather than two; that’s green, right?

5 – If the City of Charlottesville is looking for the best and most efficient way to spend taxpayers’ money, should they investigate sending trash and recycling to the Vanderlinde recycling facility?

6 – Why is the RWSA still continuing their lawsuit against Vanderlinde? More at the HooK.

I received the following letter from Time Disposal last week:*

Great news everyone….. we will now be taking recycling out of the regular trash. No need to sort items… We will be taking all of the trash to the new Van Der Linde recycling center- now Stream Line Trash & Recycling!!

Starting on November 23, 2009, we will be offering this service for everyone. If you already have our recycle bin and still want to use it…. That will be fine. If you’d like us to take away the recycle bin just contact us by email under comments at www.timedisposalinc.com and we will recycle those as well for you.

Please feel free to contact the Van Der Linde facility regarding questions or comments or you can call them directly by dialing 877-981-0891 or by visiting the website at www.vanderlinderecycling.com. Check out their website or take a tour of the facility and find out why we’ve chosen to do the right thing.

No need to sign up for this service it’s already included.

All aluminum, glass, plastics (all), all cardboard, newspapers, junk mail, magazines, catalogs, steel and tin cans and styrofoam will all be taken from your regular trash right out of the garbage no need to sort items – this is Stream Line Trash & Recycling at it’s best. For more information please visit our website at www.timedisposalinc.com or call us by dialing (434) 977-3339.

There will be no need for two separate trucks. Just like always to ensure that your items will not be missed please put them our the night before.

Let us provide Stream Line Trash & Recycling to your friends and neighbors. Tell your friends & neighbors… This could be worth a $10.00 referral fee offered to all of our customers. Have someone sign with Time Disposal Trash & Recycling service and get $10.00 off your next bill. It’s that easy… Now spread the word!!

We’re bringing a welcome change to our environment- one trash truck at a time! It’s time.. for Time Disposal.

As always… “When in doubt… put your trash out”

Thanks,

Boyd McCauley
Owner, Time Disposal Trash Service

* I’m not getting compensated for this post, but think that if we can more efficiently recycle, why not? Additionally, if you switch to Time Disposal, I’d be pretty stupid if I didn’t ask you to mention this post to get me $10 off my own bill.

Update 30 November 2009: Courtesy of the Daily Progress -

Dixon Trash Disposal now provides single stream recycling thanks to van der Linde Recycling’s Green Machine This system allows more than 90 percent of garbage to be recycled without the resident sorting recyclables into separate commodities. Dixon Trash Disposal is a family-owned and -operated business providing curbside collection and recycling to Charlottesville and surrounding counties.

Update 2 December 2009: Thanks to a reader, I saw that Vanderlinde has a page dedicated to calling out the trash companies not recycling with them.

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You might have seen the occasional Zipcar in Charlottesville – usually they’re from the DC Metropolitan area. But now it seems that Charlottesville has their own Zipcars – 6 of ‘em in fact.

It was good of UVA to have sorted out a deal with Zipcar; the Daily Progress article says the minimum age to rent is 18 and Zipcar’s site says it’s 21.

Thanks to the Daily Progress for the heads-up.

Funny; I had hoped for Zipcars in 2005 when I read this Cavalier Daily article<:

Representatives from Zipcar, a rental car service, and officials from the University’s Department of Parking and Transportation currently are communicating on a plan to bring Zipcar to the University.

Lamentably, being a Realtor in Charlottesville does not (yet) allow itself for a Zipcar + bicycle only existence.

But … if you combine a Zipcar + a bicycle + a home in Charlottesville with a relatively high Walkscore …

You might just be onto something.

Photo courtesy.

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You may remember a story a few months ago in which I discussed recycling options in Charlottesville and Albemarle. It used to be that there were no options, then there was one and now there are a few.

Three years ago I ran a poll questioning the market for curbside recycling in Albemarle.

The City of Charlottesville provides recycling for free* and charges to pick up trash:

Individual trash stickers for 13-gallon and 32-gallon trash bags are available in the City Hall Lobby and at many convenience and grocery stores in the Charlottesville area.

If you want proof that there’s a market for recycling in Albemarle, look at this picture. The green trash cans are provided by the firm that provides curbside recycling; blue by the one who doesn’t. 90 days ago, these cans were all blue.

People want to recycle; it just has to be convenient to get the masses to adopt.

Then read about the absurd lawsuit by the local government mob waste authority trying to put the kibosh on the company that provides the destination for curbside, un-sorted recycling.

There’s surely more to the story, but at what point does government realize that they are obsolete?

Either way, it seems that the market is showing that given the choice, people will recycle in Charlottesville and Albemarle.

* free in that people pay taxes.
** I’d think a paid journalist might want to follow up on this story; talk to trash companies and ask what they’ve seen since they’ve started offering curbside recycling and ask the ones that don’t why they don’t follow.

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I’ll be in sidekick mode on WNRN this Sunday … this is a paragraph written by Kate White, the "star" of this weekend’s show. I’ll be adding my input here and there, but I will primarily be discussing some of the neighborhoods in the Charlottesville and Albemarle areas that seem to be most nature-accessible as well as some that are close to parks, hiking and some of the other outstanding nature attractions in the area. Candidly, I’m looking forward to listening and learning.

"Join realtor Jim Duncan and Belvedere resident Kate White in a discussion with Rick Moore of The Wake-Call on Children and Nature in Development. White is a nature-based education teacher, pre and perinatal specialist, massage and craniosacral therapist. She says that her specialty is the developing nervous system and sees play in nature as a way to increase health on every level from the individual to family to community. Part of her educational platform includes designing communities that include free time in nature for children.

There has been an explosion of research and programs about the impact of living in connection with nature since the publication of Last Child in the Woods. White has been teaching nature-based classes since 2001. She will be going over the data on why free play in nature is important, especially for communities that emphasize nature in their design like her Belvedere neighborhood. Jim Duncan has observed Charlottesville real estate trends for years. Their comments together will invite discussion for this great call-in radio program. Give it a listen! WNRN 91.9 FM Sunday at 11 am.

Main points:
Play in nature increases cognitive ability, peace and well-being in children;
Close-knit communities that are multi-generational in nature also increase health in people;
Connection to nature can encourage the wonder of childhood in children of all ages, and it can help reinforce family cohesion;
Connection to nature is a great antidote to the fast paced culture we live in, why not have it in your neighborhood?
Charlottesville offers excellent opportunities to connect with nature that are mostly free and plentiful.
If nature connection is so good, why aren’t we doing it more rather than less?"

If you can’t listen the show live, you can listen to the podcast on Charlottesville Podcast Network or comment/email/tweet/send me in some way your questions.

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No more separating recycling. No more driving to one of Albemarle County’s recycling centers. Lamentably, no more using the private curbside recyclers. I have written about recycling in Albemarle and Charlottesville’s urban ring several times over the years, and now one of the larger private haulers* has taken advantage of the new single-stream recycling facility.

From the HooK:

After years of being conditioned to think of recycling as a social responsibility, perhaps involving a drive to the McIntire Recycling Center with sorted cans and bottles, or making sure a curbside bin— as the City uses for certain easily-recycled materials— doesn’t contain forbidden materials, the Van der Linde way can be difficult for some to grasp.

Everything really can go in one bin. (ed note: bolding mine)

"Our biggest challenge, strangely enough, is communicating the simplicity of what we do here," says Van der Linde. "You dump your trash here. The only difference between us and a landfill is we dig through it with fancy, expensive machines and recover and reuse 90 percent of it."

Time Disposal (turn your volume down) – to whom I just switched – offers this single-stream recycling. For years, private haulers were required by the County of Albemarle to offer newspaper recycling, but since we don’t subscribe to newspapers anymore, didn’t find much value in this requirement.

Read everything the HooK has written about Van der Linde’s single stream recycling facility, and figure out for yourself whether Rivanna Solid Waste Authority should be suing Van der Linde (which they are doing) or lauding him. If a private contractor can do something better – more efficient and cheaper – than a government-backed entity, shouldn’t the citizens ask the government to back down?

* Charlottesville City offers curbside recycling as part of the taxes residents pay. In Albemarle County, private haulers – BFI, Time Disposal, Sandridge, McCauley’s – and I’m sure there are more – offer trash pickup.

* An enterprising web developer might find it worth their while to contact Time and offer to do a new website for them.

Update 30 July 2009: Dixon Trash Services comments that they too offer the single-stream recycling. Sweet.

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Brant Meyer interviews Chris Schooley, former Development Manager of the Belvedere Development for Stonehaus.

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I registered to host the Carnival of the Green early last year and it’s surprising how quickly this day has come.

Picking up where Design 21 left off last week and laying the path for next week’s host, Natural Collection, I present to you the Carnival of the Green # 152.

As RealCentralVA is a real estate blog, my personal favorite post is The Greenest Dollar’s Alternative Ways to Heat Your Home.

My Second favorite, due to my shift this year to riding my bicycle around Charlottesville is Zoom Life’s submission -

Zoom Life presents the Top 5 Electric Bicycles of 2008

Electric bicycles, or e-bikes, bridge the gap between bicycles and scooters by giving you a vehicle which is both human and electric-powered. In essence, e-bikes are human-electric hybrid vehicles, with you the rider providing some of the power and the electric motor providing the rest. This means you can go 2 or 3 times as far (and in some cases as fast) as a regular bicycle, and you can do it without breaking a sweat if you don’t want to.

News about Green Living gives us a call to action to buy Mint Essential Oil & Save a Michigan Farm from Foreclosure – both of which are worthwhile.

Crosby Mint Farm (St. Johns, Michigan) is under foreclosure. Because of the historic significance and the desire to continue producing this wonderful essential oil, they are in need of our help. Green Living News is sharing this information with all of our like-minded friends in the hope that they can lend a hand, and acquire some quality mint essential oil in the bargain!

SavingAdvice.com challenges the credit card companies who profess to Change the World With Credit. Is it possible? Doubtful.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with these cards, the idea that you can change the word by using a credit card is sketchy at best and can be dangerous to your wallet. Credit card companies like to do things to make us feel better about our spending and our debt. What could be better than helping some cause you believe in because you are spending, right? The card companies are hoping that you’ll fall for the idea of “helping through spending” and rack up big balances, all in the name of helping some organization. But in reality you’ll feel good all the way to the poorhouse.

Veggie Revolution gives us their reasons for voting for Obama. Personally, I don’t care for whom you vote, just so long as you do. (I’m writing in Ron Paul)

For those who want to (and are able to) crochet, shows us how make our own market bags.

The Cyber-Rain blog demonstrates how Orange County, California can save 25 Billion gallons of water a year! Sure it’s a plug for their product, but why not?

Jeremy Hart with NRVLiving plugs the Green Living and Energy Expo in Roanoke, Virginia.

The Good Human shows us How and Where to Recycle Household E-Waste. Charlottesville’s own Crutchfield Electronics (where I tend to buy my stuff) created an Electronics Recycling Locator.

Whatever you do, please don’t just throw e-waste in the trash – it ends up either being burned and the toxic gasses are released into the atmosphere, or it ends up sitting in a landfill where the toxins to slowly leach into our groundwater. Do the right thing and find an e-waste recycler!

Beth at Fake Plastic Fish calls for a Plastic-Free Blogosphere – a pretty cool call to action. I know I like the feeling of walking out of the grocery store with no plastic bags!

Imagine the change we can make throughout the blogosphere if more people take on the challenge of reducing their plastic consumption and reporting their results online. We’re creating a plastic-free meme that hopefully will ripple out into the consciousness of not only individuals but businesses and bureaucrats alike.

My personal belief is that altruism and “doing the right thing” will carry us to a greener world only so far – - as evidenced by this story describing how funding is getter harder to get for green startups – we need to Go Green to Save Green to achieve a broader adoption of green lifestyles. Profit is a great motivator.

So – thanks to Treehugger for allowing me the opportunity to host the Carnival this week. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and look forward to next week’s Carnival.

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Competition is good.

In January 2006 I wrote:

Maybe if we were all more willing to pay for this service, it would be more freely offered … free market anyone? I know that I and many of my clients (and friends and neighbors) would love the option to easily recycle. One would think that a progressive community such as ours would be able to achieve a progressive recycling program.

The City of Charlottesville offers curbside recycling as a service paid for by taxpayers, but the County has no such government offering.

I ran a poll in 2006 that led to a good discussion about recycling’s practicality. The wrap up of that poll is here:

I am befuddled and perplexed with the answer “I’ve never had to pay …” A better answer should have been “Recycling has always been a service provided by the local government, paid for with my taxes.” Maybe this is a matter of semantics, but I don’t think so. I think this is an important distinction that (one of the many reasons) serves to dissuade private enterprise from making recycling a viable business.

Recycling is something that is in greater demand from my clients. A “pulled from the air” analysis tells me that at least 50-60% of my clients either do or would like to do if it were readily available. Recycling availability falls under the heading of “quality of life” that impacts the real estate market.

In July I noted MyRecyclingClub – the first to offer curbside recycling in the Urban Ring.

Yesterday I received an email announcing a new option – Green Pieces Recycling – full text of the email after the jump.

The free market, while slow sometimes, works. It would appear that we’re reaching critical mass of recyclers. I know my neighborhood has more recyclers now that they have the option of curbside, thanks to MyRecyclingClub.

Green Pieces Recycling offers curbside recycling to make doing the right thing easier for you. Often recycling ends up getting thrown away when we don’t have the time to deal with it. We know how much your time and money is worth to you. How it works: When you sign up for our recycling service you will be provided with containers and a day of the week that the recycling can be picked up. You schedule the frequency of the pickup (every 2 or 4 weeks). When your scheduled pickup time arrives just bring your containers to the curb. We will pick them up and replace them with new containers. You are welcome to fill your containers with any of the items on the list below.

If you end up filling your containers too early, just let us know and we will be happy to pick the containers up the next time your day of the week comes around (this is considered an unscheduled pickup). Keep in mind we will only be picking up the provided containers and no additional bags, boxes, etc. However, additional containers are available. Billing will be done every other month and we encourage e-mail to save paper.

List of approved items:

Glass jars and bottles (no lids)

Recyclable plastic bottles/containers

Aluminum/Steel Cans

Newspaper and small flattened cardboard boxes *

Other recyclable paper products *

*These items need to be separated from the rest of the items and placed in their own container. (If you recycle something not on this list let me know and it will probably be okay to add it to your container.)

Pricing:

Startup Fee (includes up to 3 containers) $40 ($10 extra for every additional 3 containers)

Price per scheduled pickup $10 ($5 extra for up to 3 additional containers)

Price per scheduled pickup (with 6 month prepaid agreement) $9 ($5 extra for up to 3 additional containers)

Price per unscheduled pickup $14 ($5 extra for up to 3 additional containers)

We will try and accommodate any requests you may have so just let us know!

Contact us: 434.962.5219 greenpiecesrecycling@gmail.com

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Well, their new blog does at least.

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I’ve been trying to make the time to produce a verbose and eloquent narrative lamenting today’s new societal norms with regards to kids’ freedom to roam and the impact that our current growth trends have had.

There are a few “New Urbanist” developments in the Charlottesville/Albemarle (CharlAlbemarle) area that are attempting to reverse this new trend of keeping kids so close to home; but what is needed is more than greenspaces. Parents need to feel comfortable trusting their kids – and trusting those whom they don’t know – and society needs to recognize that there’s more to life than TV, the web and Wii.

Most often, my clients want to allow their kids to roam, but have either deep reservation about their safety (real or perceived) or don’t have anywhere to let them roam. That’s changing, but slowly. The demand for parks in the City of Charlottesville is growing as is the demand Albemarle and surrounding counties (pdf here) even as the City’s population is shrinking.

One of the significant consequences is that kids don’t have relationships with nature:

Experts blamed the widening gulf between children and nature on over-protective parents and the hostility to children among some conservationists, who fear that they will damage the environment. They said that this lack of exposure to outdoor play in natural environments was vital for children’s social and emotional development.

Dr Martin Maudsley, play development officer for Playwork Partnerships, at the University of Gloucestershire, said that adults had become too protective of wild places: “Environmental sensitivities should not be prioritised over children.”

He said: “Play is the primary mechanism through which children engage and connect with the world, and natural environments are particularly attractive, inspiring and satisfying for kids. Something magical occurs when children and wild spaces mix.”

How far we’ve come (or retreated) – image courtesy of the Daily Mail.

A major study by Play England, part of the National Children’s Bureau, found that half of all children have been stopped from climbing trees, 21 per cent have been banned from playing conkers and 17 per cent have been told they cannot take part in games of tag or chase. Some parents are going to such extreme lengths to protect their children from danger that they have even said no to hide-and-seek.

….

‘My mum says that climbing trees is too dangerous,’ said Kiara. ‘But my dad lets me. If I fall over and it hurts, I just get myself up and smile.’

The Play England study quotes a number of play providers who highlight the benefits to children of taking risks. ‘Risk-taking increases the resilience of children,’ said one. ‘It helps them make judgments,’ said another. Some of those interviewed blamed the ‘cotton wool’ culture for the fact that today’s children were playing it too safe, while others pointed to a lack of equipment or too much concrete in place of grass. The research also lists examples of risky play that should be encouraged including fire-building, den-making, watersports, paintballing, boxing and climbing trees. (ed note: bolding mine)

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One of my clients who recently bought in the City of Charlottesville sends this note -

We are officially a 1-car family now, I sold my car and bought a bike over the weekend. Look for me huffing and puffing up JPA Extended and Alderman Road.

That will help financially, plus I would rather burn fat (of which I have plenty) than gasoline. With a 1.5 mile commute I cannot say gas prices have been hurting me, but every bit helps. What’s more, it will be very satisfying not to pay the stupid city car tax and insurance too.

My unsolicited two cents: As a consumer, let me say that I don’t give a rip about the environment. However, I am cheap. All this green marketing is going right past me, unless they focus on cost savings. Show me how my new windows will pay for themselves in 8.5 months, and keep the feel-good environmentalism to yourself- the only green I care about is the stuff with portraits of dead presidents.

Bolding mine. He’s not alone.

If you save electricity, you save money.

Led lighting poised to take on CFLs this fall

In some instances, the LEDs might still win out. The New York Times cites, in a recent story, a company that spent $12,000 more than the $6,000 needed to light a building’s exterior with a mix of incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. The energy trade-off is quite dramatic, though, and the purchase pays off far faster than that trendy rooftop solar panel: the company saves $7,000 a year in energy costs, will earn back its investment in under two years, and won’t need to change a bulb for 20 years.

10 Cost-Saving Tips for the Home

Go Green, Live Rich

It is a simple theory: do all the little things we prattle on about, like improving your car’s fuel economy (save $884 per year); sealing the leaks in your home and save a little on energy ($129); turning back your thermostat ($85) and brownbaggging your lunch. ($1,560). Take that $3,758 and invest it. What have you got in 30 years? $ 678,146.

Suddenly the genre and going green looks very, very interesting.

Update 08/21/2008: Andy points out in the comments that one survey shows consumers are willing to spend more for green stuff.

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Pulled from the comments …

It all comes down to what someone thinks green means. I guess I have a more stringent idea than the normal Belvedere resident. A house doesn’t get close in my opinion without a grey water system, PV system, and passive solar orientation, to name a few big characteristics.

Have any Belvedere houses been oriented for passive solar efficiencies with proper overhangs and the optimal ratio of glazing on each side of the house? That would be a big start in my very non-professional opinion. Also, are any houses using geothermal heating and cooling systems?

Building houses that consume MUCH less energy and water than the status quo is my definition of green.

My thinking is this -

At the moment, Belvedere offers (along with some of the other Earthcraft offerings in the area) the best combination of the following – more energy efficient homes, relatively feasible price points, integrated with an environmentally conscious, sustainable philosophy and concepts (pedestrian-friendly, eventually mixed-use, organic garden, soccer facilities). The neighborhood is a LEED-ND development. That counts for something, no?

Simply put, it does not yet seem to be economically viable – from a production-to-scale point of view – to build a house with all green aspects, and frankly, I don’t think that the builders are “there” yet (perhaps they should read Builder’s Greywater Guide: Installation of Greywater Systems in New Construction & Remodeling; A Supplement to the Book “Create an Oasis With Greywater”).
Is it greenwashing? I don’t think so. It’s an attempt to bring green building and lifestyle to more people.

If Virginia were to offer rebates for homeowners producing solar power combined with the projection that PV costs may decrease by 40% in a few years, we may be onto something that builders would gladly spend money to educate themselves and sell products to the consumers.

The passive solar orientation question was raised last year in a discussion on this blog, and Chris Schooley from Stonehaus responded:

Solar orientation is certainly one of the most important elements to any sustainable building. The problem is that in a New Urbanist layout, a preferable layout to achieve single-family home density in an infill condition…does not lend itself to solar orientation on a house by house basis because of narrow lot dimensions. We will require our builders on corner lots to address the south facing facades but not on interior lots where homes will only be 9′ apart.

On our public buildings, the office buildings have been redesigned by NYC/DC architect Mancini Duffy to be narrow and to achieve optimum solar orientation. We have also hired nationally renowned (and local) green architects Hays+Ewing to design our Town Hall.

I see what the production builders in Charlottesville are trying to do with “green” as a balancing act of capitalizing on the green trend by integrating simple changes (low-VOC paint, recycled carpet, rain barrels, tighter building envelopes, sealed crawl spaces, higher-efficiency HVAC systems) with making a profit, producing a quality product and doing something good in/for the community. It’s not perfect, but it is better than almost any other development in the region. Sure they could build with geothermal, reclaimed wood, green roofs, grey water, PV systems, etc. but it’s a deliberate step in the right direction. It will be interesting to see what the next steps look like.

For a green builder taking it to the level you describe, check out Artisan Construction who incorporate what you’re talking about.

Is the “preservation development” Bundoran Farm more in line with your idea of green?

Once finished, Bundoran Farm — which is roughly a third the size of Charlottesville — will appear much as it does today. An estimated 90 percent of the property will remain untouched by residential development. Trees or terrain will obscure many of Bundoran’s houses to preserve the property’s scenery.

The project was the brainchild of Robert Baldwin, founder and CEO of the New Hampshire-based Qroe Companies. In the 1970s, Baldwin came up with the idea of preservation development, which allows a limited amount of residential development while preserving the vast majority of a property’s scenic beauty.

…

Along with its ideals of preservation and conservation, the development also aims to be environmentally friendly — a key selling point in an era of global climate change and rising energy prices. All houses that are built as part of Bundoran Farm must attain a minimum of the Earthcraft certification, a measure of a homes energy efficiency.

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I ran a poll last year asking how much people would be willing to pay for curbside recycling. Aside from those who thought government services are “free,” the predominant response was “Five bucks a week.” Private enterprise has taken the lead where government cannot – courtesy of a Channel 29 story -

For twenty bucks a month, My Recycling Club will

… come pick it up every other week…We leave the bins there for you to clean out and refill for the next time we come…And that’s it,” she said.

Battani got the idea from her concierge business. “Quite a few of those clients have asked us about picking up recycling from their home and office and bringing it in for them…It started to be a pattern,” she recalled.

All it takes to start a club is five or six neighbors who agree to sort their trash. Then for $20 a month, Battani hauls it to the recycling center.

According to Mattson, “Some people have to cartload their recycling to the McIntire Center, which actually discourages some people from recycling at all.” Now thanks to Battani, people don’t have to chose between pitching their time or concern for the planet along with the trash.

In response to an email, Sue Battani said, “The news blurb has created quite a buzz for us and we are very excited about it. Many people have signed on already and we are working diligently to get back to everyone to answer their questions and such.

And that’s a good sign.

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That’s the question posed by the New York Times a little while ago.

There may be some truth to that presumption (and is that necessarily a “bad thing”?) Peer pressure works. There is truth to the trend and perception that more homebuyers are asking questions about the green bona fides of homes in today’s market. Taking the politics of the debate out of the equation, let’s focus on the diffusion of this new-fangled “green” technology -

- Will Ferrell was driving a concept BMW last year; Honda is nearing the release of a production hydrogen car. Take a look at the search volume for the Prius.

- Three years ago, I would have been hard-pressed to find a LEED or Earthcraft home in the MLS; now there are at least fifty.

- Consumer Reports now has a Green Home Improvement Guide.

I’d argue that when looking at the five classes of technology adopters – Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority and Laggards, we’re probably in or on the cusp of the Early Majority phase. Is it because celebrities have “trophy homes”? Doubtful. There is a significant benefit to “going green” that goes beyond political capital or chest-thumping.

It’s the market, stupid. Innovation is spurred by necessity.

Water is increasing by about 5%, the cost of electricity in the Charlottesville area is going to increase by at least 18%, fuel prices are at record levels (duh), and those buying houses today tend to be planning to stay for at least five to seven years (ancedotally). More buyers are asking to go green.

The Blue Ridge Eco Shop didn’t exist a couple of years ago, neither did Cville Enviro or the Better World Betty site. These places came to existence because the market demanded their services.

The market is moving beyond individual green products and into the realm of green developments – because the market is demanding LEED-certified Neighborhood Developments (although I’d argue that LEED-ND has not yet reached mainstream vernacular)

Courtesy of the National Association of Realtors’ On Common Ground magazine* -

Experts interviewed for this article were unanimous on one point: collecting green-certified houses into a conventional subdivision on a former farm fi eld at the edge of the metro area would not a green neighborhood make. Beyond that, there was little unanimity.

Some argue that the criteria for a green neighborhood are fairly well satisfi ed by building according to the principles of smart growth. That means conserving land, focusing development first in areas that are already developed, providing transportation options other than cars, and creating mixed-use development that makes neighborhoods compact and walkable. Others say that smart growth, as it is typically discussed, does not quite touch all the bases of sustainability.

Others suggest that building green neighborhoods means following the old environmental mantra: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Reduce the land consumed, the miles traveled by car and the consumption of energy. Reuse the buildings and infrastructure of existing neighborhoods, use waste as a source of energy, and reuse “gray” water to maintain landscaping. Recycle building materials, and even the land itself—the post-industrial brownfi elds and fallow parking-lot “grayfi elds” around defunct shopping centers.

For proof that “Smart” Growth is mainstream, check out this partnership that defies presumptions about Realtors always wanting to build, build, build at all costs -

Those are some of the results of the 2007 Growth and Transportation survey sponsored by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and Smart Growth America.

My prediction – in five years (or sooner) Earthcraft will be the de facto standard for building quality. That, and the Charlottesville/Central Virginia region needs to work on building transit infrastructure now.

Interesting related article – The Green Housing Boom, courtesy of Fast Company

* I requested a few extra copies of this publication because I thought it was such a great issue. If you’re in Charlottesville and would like a copy, please let me know. Otherwise you can download the entire issue here.

Search for homes in Belvedere.

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I’d love to hear critiques from some lenders and brokers about this program. How long until green developments partner with this or similar companies to offer more affordable green financing? What follows is a press release via EcoBroker I received last night recently -

LARKSPUR, Calif./May 30, 2008 — Mortgagegreen, Inc. CEO, Tomek Rondio, will introduce the National Green Residential Mortgage Underwriting StandardC at the Capital Markets Partnership Organizational Meeting at JPMorgan Chase, 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza, 28th Floor, NYC, June 19, 2008, 1:30-5:00.

The amount of greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming that is directly caused by housing is well-defined, and the numbers are staggering. Buildings are the largest single category of carbon-emission contributors.

Mortgagegreen is a green real estate finance company that has developed a one-of-a-kind program for rating and funding green-certified real estate. They are the first to introduce Sustainable Mortgage-Backed Securities (SMBS’s), bridging the gap between the capital markets and the greening of the real estate industry. During the past seven years they have completed due-diligence, tested and refined this market opportunity, authored underwriting standards and are well-positioned to move forward and expand nationwide as leaders in green real estate financing.

The long-awaited National Green Residential Mortgage Underwriting Standards will be presented by Mortgagegreen, Inc. CEO, Tomek Rondio, at the Capital Markets Partnership Organizational Meeting on June 19, 2008 in N.Y. Mr. Rondio is the Capital markets Partnership Vice Chair and author of the National Green Residential Mortgage Underwriting Standards. These standards will open doors to discounted financing for green-certified buildings, producing significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions and global sustainability.

More information here.

Note: This is a post I had written a few weeks ago and neglected to post.

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