Yes, they are that cool

I was out meeting people in the neighborhood and found this incredible placard on someone’s house.  And you know what?

It made me want to get one too.  I have no idea what it takes to be a part of the nwf.org group – but I’m about to find out.

Any one know these folks or have some insight as to how to be a green, sustainable, open space, wildlife habitat loving homeowner in Santa Monica?  I would love to hear about it.

The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs Committee met on Wednesday (Feb. 3), and some interesting information was presented. I’m on the committee, reprsenting Green Building Solutions, Inc., a Chamber member.

Sustainable Works (http://sustainableworks.org) coordinates Santa Monica’s Green Business Certification program and their residential greening program, as part of their mission to foster a climate of sustainability. They work with businesses to make feasible recommendations, and some businesses may be certified as green businesses. The residential program includes a free Green Living workshop that meets once a week for six weeks, and teaches Santa Monica residents about concepts of sustainability. See http://sustainableworks.org/resident.html.

I didn’t know that Santa Monica is working on a single use bag ordnance; the city already encourages use of reusable bags in various ways. Several cities have been working together on the required Environmental Impact Report, which should be completed by the end of this month.

And the City bans use of Styrofoam cups, although the police won’t come get you

CVS has a “GreenBagTag™” program: get a tag on your reusable bag, swipe it every time you buy at CVS, and $1 will be credited to you at every fourth use.

The Committee is working on adding a list of books on “green” topics to the monthly newsletter, and starting a series of talks on environmentally oriented subjects that would be recorded and put onto the Chamber website for the public to enjoy at their leisure.

Lots of good stuff going on through the Chamber Environmental Affairs committee. We did a beach cleanup last fall, and a cleaning of Main Street is coming up April 3 from 8AM to 12 PM; to participate, just show up.

The City of Santa Monica Solid Waste Division is offering free Christmas tree recycling for the entire month of January.

Residents with curbside recycling service may place their cut-up tree in their yard waste collection container.  Please remove tinsel, ornaments, and stands from the tree.

It is unlawful and a fire hazard to leave trees at the curb or in the alleys.  Please carry on the tradition and recycle your Christmas tree, using one of these convenient alternatives:

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Santa Monica drop-off services at these parks:

Douglas Park – Chelsea & Wilshire
Reed Park – Lincoln & California
Los Amigos Park – 5th & Hollister
Clover Park – 25th & Ocean Park

OR you can bring it here:

Santa Monica Refuse & Recycling Transfer Station:

Throughout January, Santa Monica residents may drop off trees free of charge at
the City’s Refuse & Recycling Transfer Station

2401 Delaware Ave.

Monday to Saturday — 6 AM to 2 PM

Our friends over at http://www.voiceofsantamonica.com have a great article about the green movement in Santa Monica and how you and Big Blue can make our city of Santa Monica more sustainable.

Go check it out http://www.voiceofsantamonica.com/ride-blue-go-green-local-art-students-use-their-creative-holiday-display-at-big-blue-bus-store-to-spread-the-message/

Almost free energy from the sun

With very little effort involved, I have a cheap electric bill and am doing something good for the planet at large.  It’s easy and you can do it too.  Here’s how:

My family and I purchased a great home in Sunset Park a few years ago and one of the selling points was that it has a 1 KW photovoltaic solar system producing what they claimed was 30% of the home’s energy needs.  Because it was a ‘traditional’ home, very little had been done to it to bring it into the 20^th century – the prior family never even had a dishwasher!  Agast!

Desperately needing it, we underwent extensive energy efficient upgrades with Energy Star appliances, low flow everything, super insulation, high efficiency heaters, and even installed efficient ceiling fans to avoid A/C.  And in the end, we are using approximately 50% of our needs from our panels.

So what’s my bottom line?  I pay approximately 8 bucks a month to Edison.  Last year when my final assessment came in, I had a bill for $700.  FOR THE YEAR.  I know a guy North of Montana who pays $600 a MONTH in electricity.  Why he doesn’t go solar is beyond me.

yes, that's a real bill

With Edison, you can choose to be on a Net Metering System, where they monitor your energy usage and then re-assess at the end of the year.  The basics are, your panels are generating energy during the daylight hours when you typically aren’t home and then pumping it back to the grid.  The average home uses the most energy in the early mornings and evenings, when we require lights, dishwashers, laundry, etc, so the solar owner purchases back electricity from the grid.  This exchange is constantly in flux based on the homeowner’s needs, hence the need for Net Metering.

Now, imagine if I had a 3 KW system!  I would have no bill at all.  I’d be generating enough for my family and probably enough for some other people too.

If you are living in Santa Monica, or considering a move here, you should look into the Solar Santa Monica program.  They will send out a qualified solar professional to assess your home’s electrical needs.  Then they can provide you a qualified estimate for what it would cost to install a system, using their preferred vendors with whom they have created an alliance and a preferred rate.  You can even look into financing options if you need it.

Let me know if you need some assistance getting started or want to check out my home’s system.  It’s all pretty easy to understand and implement.  Being a certified Green professional has its advantages and I love to help others out when it comes to helping our planet and ourselves.  Talk to you soon.

From the latest email I got from Solar Santa Monica:

If you are a business with solar, or considering it, and you are on a GS2, GS3 or TOU-8 rate, switching to Edison’s new “Option R” rate may significantly improve your ROI.

Reconsider Solar: Breakfast Briefing

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

8:30-10 a.m.

Solar Santa Monica Office

1212 5th Street, First Floor

Space is limited.  RSVP: (310) 804-8449

Oh My We Are Blessed

I visit the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market almost every Wednesday morning, preferably early since the best stuff goes quick (kind of like everything in life)

And every time I visit, I try something new – today was this incredible creature – an organic tropical dragon fruit.  Made me think I was visiting Kauai again with the amazing fruits at the farmers markets there.

This was a treat to be certain.  And I must admit, my two kids and I loved chopping up such a beautiful thing and eating it, chins dripping.  Like a kiwi, but more beautiful, daring, and enticing.

As we say sometimes at dinner – “I’d like to thank the farmers who grew our food, and the people who brought it to us”  So, thanks to you guys, once again.  We eat for another week.

See you next week on another culinary adventure!

Not only is October 3rd my birthday, but it’s Super Saturday in Santa Monica where a week long sustainability drive and a part of the Buy Local campaign is underway.  Bring in a canvas bag or even mention Buy Local to over 40 businesses, and you will receive free stuff and discounts. Its the people’s way of supporting businesses who strive to reduce carbon footprints, give to our community, and most importantly, support locals.

Michael’s Restaurant (one of my faves) just north of the Santa Monica Promenade, will be giving away free glasses of Malibu vineyard Rambla Pacifico Pinot Noir 2005 (with a purchase of course) – made from Michael’s own personal vineyard.  From the Santa Monica Daily Press, “Michael’s California cuisine is all about seasonal and local products and we have been doing farm to table for 30 years now.” Nichol said [the restaurant's general manager] “Micahel was one of the first in the United States to actually bring about this movement of very local, seasonal dishes”

And I couldn’t agree more.  I keep seeing things like this in new local restaurants and it’s no wonder I have two of Michael’s cookbooks.  Before it was trendy, Michael was doing it: local, farm to table, seasonal and sustainable: everything WestsideDB loves.

Oohh. Trendy. And sustainable. We like.

For a list of businesses involved go here.

See you somewhere along the way on Saturday!

WestsideDB

Efficiency  Workshops
Do you want to learn how to weatherize your house and save some cash on your utility bills?  Santa Monica has Do-It-Yourself Weatherization Demonstrations for home owners and renters!
Learn how to install caulking and weather stripping
Participants receive a FREE Energy Efficiency starter kit!
Learn about energy saving programs available through Southern California Edison and Southern California Gas Company

Two workshops will be held at the Solar Santa Monica Office at 1212 Fifth Street, Suite 100:

Wednesday, September 9 from 6:30-8:30 PM

Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM

Space is limited. To RSVP, call (310) 458-4992 or email us at dlowell-britt@ecomotion.us.

For more information, go here

or here

Are you concerned about how to make your world a little greener?  It all starts with some small steps and the City of Santa Monica is offering a great workshop.  This one day, three hour workshop provides an overview of the six week series.  Green Living 101 is perfect for the those who want to find out what our workshops are all about and decide on attending the full  series.

Sustainable Works is actively looking for volunteers, if you have participated in the workshop and are interested in donating a few hours of your time to a healthier planet please email nancy.barba@sustainableworks.org.

If you have already attended, please forward this information to all your green or want-to-be green friends, family and neighbors.

To register please visit:
www.SustainableWorks.eventbrite.com

You can attend at:

Saturday August 15
at Montana Avenue Branch Library
from 10am-1pm
1704 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403
Map to Montana Avenue Branch Library

Starts Sunday afternoon August 23
at Virginia Avenue Park, Patio Room
from 1-2:30pm
2200 Virginia Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90404
Starts Tuesday evening August 25
at Fairview Branch Library
from 7-8:30pm
2101 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405

Starts Wednesday evening August 26
at Santa Monica Public Library
LEED Gold Certified Green Building
from 7-8:30pm
601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90401

Green networking in Santa Monica

Are you interested in the green movement and Santa Monica?  Think you have something to share to the green business world?  Next Tuesday is an opportunity to network with other green Santa Monica based businesses.

The Ambrose Hotel at 6pm – 9 pm

Location:  The Ambrose Hotel
1255 20th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Cost is ten bucks.

Look forward to seeing you there!

There’s a great website called Walkscore.com that will allow you to enter in your address and see how walk-able your neighborhood is.  The site takes into consideration local amenities, schools, restaurants, parks and more.

See how your Santa Monica’s zip codes compare:

90401 – 98/100 – walker’s paradise

90402 – 65/100 – somewhat walk-able

90403 – 91/100 – walker’s paradise

90404 – 92/100 – walker’s paradise

90405 – 80/100 – very walk-able

Looks like Santa Monica is a walk-able place!  Where do you like to walk?  What’s one of your favorite destinations walking around Santa Monica?

If you are thinking about relocating to Santa Monica because of the lifestyle this town offers and need more information, check out this link.

For Sale By Owner

This incredibly well done home for sale in Santa Monica is going to make someone very happy.  The owners have painstakingly redone this place with 14′ vaulted ceilings, double paned windows with urban views, blue-jean insulation, and incredible custom woodwork throughout.  At 1700 sq ft, on a 5000 ft lot, 3 bedroom, 2 bath and extra office space and a guest cottage, this place has it all.

You can check out the web link here: http://web.mac.com/landscapebybeth/iWeb/Site%202/812%20Ashland%20Ave.html

If you are interested in getting comps for this home or any other for that matter, click here.  We’ll hook you up.

There’s a new zero-emission truck in the Santa Monica arsenal of utility vehicles in the Water Division.  Being on the cutting edge of sustainability and always trying new things is one of the ways that makes this city great.  In addition to hydrogen Prius’ & Biodiesel utility trucks, the city now has an all-electric zero-emissions truck to the tune of only $13,000.  It can go up to 55mph on the freeway (or on the sidewalk depending on how terrible of a driver you are) and has onboard lithium batteries and regenerative breaking, like the Prius does.
For a city who prides itself on being green, this seems like a step in the right direction for sustainability.  Nice work City of Santa Monica.

While we are keen to be creating content, now and again in starting something new, especially when we are asking YOU to be a part of it, we need to do some maintenance.  Hence, this post is really about nothing in particular.  But if you find yourself reading it, you must be someone we want to speak with.  Sign up and be a part of the discussion.

DB