I’m in the process of house hunting, which is a long, tortuous affair. I won’t bore you with the details.
Anyway, our realtors always tell us to look at our potential neighbors and figure out whether they are the Clampetts – will they keep their yards nice and tidy, or will there be junk strewn out day after day, which could erode the value of your home?
The other day, we took a look at a house which had nice curb appeal, but the next door neighbor, while they were far from the Clampetts, had the most derelict looking treehouse in their front yard. It looked like it should be condemned. It definitely looked far from these cool “ecocoons” I’ve seen online. Have you heard of them?
Ecocoons are aesthetically pleasing, eco-friendly treehouses, with features such as dry toilets, rain water harvesting showers, bio mass heating and photo voltaic panels.
It seems like a concept at this point but if our neighbor had one of these in their yard, I don’t think they would be categorized as a Clampett. 
The economy continues to battle through troubled times. Unemployment is near an all time high, wages are down, uninsured numbers are on the rise, housing prices continue to fall, and trillions of dollars in wealth has evaporated. On top of this, we in California are facing one of the worst droughts we’ve seen in years. The only bright stop is the recent rise in the stock market.
During these times, I’ve heard people are trading in being green for some extra green. When it comes to putting food on the table or keeping a roof over your head vs. buying products that have are green (and more expensive), it’s tough to argue which one wins.
However, keep in mind that being green often means living a smarter and more frugal lifestyle. For example, turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them. Take shorter showers. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels. Combine trips when you need to go out and run errands. Bring a reusable shopping bag to the market – it doesn’t cost you a thing, and you may even get a little green back from the store. In fact, doing many of the things we’ve been discussing in ThingsThatMakeYouGoGreen will help you save green.
If you have ideas and tips on green things that save green, let us know. I can be reached at greenhl [at] ttmygg [dot] com. I would personally love to hear your ideas!
Personally, I hate birds. Maybe it’s some weird fear that was developed when my 6th grade math teacher made us watch Hitchcock’s “The Birds”, which kind of freaked me out at the time. (Yes, I went to a public school!) Or maybe it’s the fact that birds always seem to practice target shooting on my head… whatever it is, I’ve never developed a particular affinity to these winged creatures.
Be that as it may, I read an article recently that talked about how birds may not be able to keep up with climate change, which is very disconcerting to me. Can you imagine not ever seeing another bird again? I know, I know, it’s extreme and I’m over-exaggerating, but really, how much further are we going to let this environmental crisis go? Are we going to let more plants & animals go extinct before we enact greater change?
I just came across an interesting study performed by AMP Agency, which found that green behavior and perspectives are less of a fad and more of a general movement. Of the 3,200 people surveyed, 19 percent of respondents were defined as influential or “Green Evangelists”. This means after these people learn a particular company or product is eco-friendly, they are very likely to recommend the company or product to colleagues, family, and friends. According to AMP Agency’s survey, these influential people tend to be in the 18 – 30 year old range, without 57 percent being female.
What is fascinating about this study is that industry standards usually find that 10 percent of a sample is considered influential. This particular study found nearly double that for the eco-friendly movement, indicating an extremely strong market penetration.
For a company, getting such “Green Evangelists” on their side is not only important, but it can offer huge returns to their bottom lines. As one can imagine, this particular group of people, especially those in the 18 – 30 year old range, can have strong influence in online social networks, offline social networks, and also amongst peers. In addition, if a company is able to capture such a demographic, the company can potentially have a customer for life! How’s that for a return on your green investment?
Of course, the flipside is that if these “Green Evangelists” find our your company and / or products are simply full of hot air, their influential effects can be just as devastating. It’s time to go green so you can add some green to your bottom line.
One of the first posts I ever did on Things That Make You Go Green was on junk mail. Man, I really hate junk mail. To this day, 95% of my mail is J-U-N-K. I’ve signed up for various services, with the hopes of getting off of random mailing lists, but it still keeps on coming!
I’m a recycler – but for those of you who are interested in a more creative solution, you can try composting your unwanted mail. Shred your junk mail and throw it into your compost bin – just make sure not to use the slick, coated paper that is sometimes found in brochures, as this makes the paper water-resistant and slower to decompose.
The paper from your junk mail is high in carbon and will make for great composting materials, provided you mix in high-nitrogen wastes with it. High-nitrogen waste items include fresh grass clippings and kitchen waste.
I’m a pretty compulsive paper shredder-er, so I’m going to try this. Are any of you already doing this today?
