I watched this on Charlie Rose last night. Brad Pitt was interviewed and he talked about his efforts in rebuilding New Orleans using sustainable methods and products, all from the ground up. If you missed the program you can find out more on Make It Right. We can do it one community at a time.

To watch December 17th’s conversation with Charlie Rose and Brad Pitt tune in here:

Couple of professionals we have worked with in the past and highly recommend in the New Orleans area for Real Estate are Jeff Melancon and for your architectural needs, Rick Smith

They are crawfish experts as well!

Green Communities are an effective answer to the rampant industrialization and pollution pervading our society. Indiscriminate development, usage of frugal resources coupled with severe environmental degradation will make life unsustainable in the long run. The answer for this manmade calamity is “Green Communities” in which communities plan, implement and reach the goal of sustainable living, making life easy for the future generations. Green Communities cannot be built in a day and requires precision planning to reach the stated objectives.

We shall now discuss the various stages involved in building Green Communities.

(1)Assessment of the community we live in: A realistic assessment of your community gives its values, availability of natural and manmade resources, the exact economic status of the community, infrastructural facilities present and their capacity, the cohesiveness of social, economic and environmental issues and lastly the comparative standing with other communities.

(2)Directions the community is taking: It gives the direction in which we are heading without intervention. We can gauge the utilizations of available resources, change in demographics, land use patterns and industrial activities. How are the external forces affecting us? Only by meticulous planning can we overcome the obstacles. The next stage begs the question, “Where do we really want to be?”

(3)Our future can be determined by planning and plotting the obstacles to be surmounted to reach the desired objective encompassing everything from economy to environment. Once the goals are set, you can start working towards them unflinchingly. The community as a whole can train its guns towards common goals with the visualization acting as a starting point and base.

(4)After the visualization, forward action plans are to be put in place to translate dreams into reality. Action plans should include the goals, issues, concerns and responsibilities to reach the strategic objective. Priority should be accorded to urgent action and time frames for all other activities. Financial implications and needed resources are to be worked out before hand, so as not to lose focus during implementation.

(5)Tools required for implementation: Since the goal is for all, the entire community should be involved, so that the ultimate aim can be reached. Self introspection helps in improving laid out plans and the involvement of all keeps the spirit high. Small tasks with high success rates should be attempted first so that the smell of success sets the ball rolling faster. The very first step of success helps you in overcoming the tougher challenges that lie ahead.

Environment plans tackle watershed, well and storm water management and water conservation techniques.

Land use plans cover urban planning, traffic environment, greenery and site preservation.

Civic participation plans encourage volunteers for river monitoring, waste recycling and surveys.

Pollution prevention plans act at measurement and mitigation of pollution and recycling of existing resources to the extent possible.

Public facilities plans envisage drinking water, septic systems, wastewater treatment, landfills and material recovery.

Energy conservation plans deal with consumption and conservation of energy, alternative sources of energy.

Health plans monitor lead content, indoor and outdoor air quality, toxic materials and public health.

Natural disaster plans account for disaster management techniques and survival.

Financial grants are available to non profit organizations in their endeavor to help people to build green homes.

With the above stages involved in planning and implementation, you can build a “GREEN COMMUNITY,” paving the way for a healthy, livable and sustainable future.

From coast to coast, from sea to shining sea, across ponds and valleys businesses and elected officials are seriously tackling Green issues and taking the lead to put LEED into practice. Take a few moments to listen to NPR’s Morning Edition on Green and Leed. It is my desire to share so we can convince builders,manufacturers,policy makers,local and state PAC’s to make Green housing affordable and available to everyone.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on the LEED story.

Thought I’d share this with you folks. It’s good to applaud those companies who have the earth’s best in mind. Some have been making valuable contributions for decades, while others have recently started. It’s never too late to make a difference. Green Living covers every aspect of life-housing, furniture, food, clothing, cars, appliances, beauty products, paint etc. Hope this blog along with others will educate us on every aspect of living green. Stay tuned for more. In the meantime check out this list and do share your thoughts. Tell me/us what you are doing to make lifestyle changes to live a Green and Healthy life.
Top 10 Green Brands according to the ImagePower Green Brands Survey:

1.Whole Foods Market
2.Wild Oats Markets
3.Trader Joe’s
4.Toyota
5.Honda
6.Sub-Zero
7.Ikea
8.Body Shop
9.G.E.
10.Aveda

Green buildings reduce the impact on the environment, with innovative design techniques that improve the quality and performance of the buildings. More and more people are increasingly inclined to adopt green values to their old and new homes and are also insisting on the governments incorporating them in public places. One of the primary reasons for this growing awareness is energy saving and thereby reduced energy bills. It also makes safer homes for children and more productive places for employees. For environmentalists, it is reducing global warming or the greenhouse effect on a war footing. Global warming is already making its presence felt by unseasonable rains, the increase in summer temperatures and a decrease in winter temperatures.

In the U.S.A, more than half of the energy is consumed by buildings and constructions. Buildings emit more than one-third of Carbon dioxide, consume one-fourth of the world’s wood harvest and 17% of the world’s freshwater resources. In North America more than one-third of the landfills are occupied by building debris. This type of environment crushing pollution can be mitigated by a large extent with building techniques that provide better bargains and costs.

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When you have built a home or other building using environmentally safe Green Building materials and products, you may be eligible for a LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). This group was created by the United States Green Building Council and the aim is to make all Green Building projects of the highest quality and ensure that all the necessary standards are being met to make it environmentally friendly. The LEED certification that you will receive if your building has a good enough rating comes in the form of a plaque stating that your building is a safe and healthy place to live or work in and that it is profitable and safe to the environment.
There are various types of LEED certification categories that you can enter into for certification. These include core and shell structures, schools, homes, new buildings and existing buildings. Most of the government departments also use LEED for their construction projects. Green Building is not only about preserving the environment and saving water as well as other resources, but it actually promotes a healthier lifestyle because you and your family will not be breathing in dangerous formaldehyde or other toxic compounds anymore.
The LEED certification is based on 4 levels from ‘certified’, which is the lowest level to ‘platinum’ status which is the highest level. It is easy to register for LEED online and if you think your building has everything that the LEED certification team of experts is looking for then you can benefit financially as well. The main aspects that LEED will look for in a Green Building is its sustainability , if it had low operating costs and a high asset value, if the amount of waste to the landfill was reduced by recycling or reusing certain parts, if it conserves water and energy (perhaps by having solar panels fitted), and whether it reduces harmful toxins and gas emissions. These are just some of the features that are taken into account when your LEED certification is underway.
There is a LEED rating checklist that you can view online that will outline all of the prerequisites that are necessary for a building to receive the minimum number of points for a certification. These prerequisites are given for each section or category that makes up LEED. After each party is happy with the ratings that were given and all, if any, appeals were reviewed, the LEED certification will be awarded.