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Greenwashing vs Shades of Green

By
Real Estate Agent with Realty Pro Albuquerque

Every now and the someone will ask me what makes a home "green". In real estate w have many opportunities to make choices that can lessen the impact of housing on the environment. I believe that greenwashing is making a minor change and trumpeting it as a major green step.It is advertising something to be other than what it is. There can be legitimate disagreements of course--fuel made from grain is less polluting than petroleum but what happens to the food supply, especially for people on subsistence diets if we start growing grain for fuel instead of food? We really do need to consider the 7th generation.

On the other hand the fact that you may not be able to afford the most efficient model of an appliance doesn't mean hat buying one that is less efficient but still better than standard makes you less "green" Any improvement helps as long asthe long term consequences are not the same or worse than what exists.

Reduce--buy a smaller house .......Reuse......buy an existing house .......Recycle------replace the kitchen cabinets with new ones (made from sustainably harvested or reclaimed wood or recycled metal) and use the old ones to organize the storage in the garage

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Comments (2)

Renee L. Norton
Birmingham, AL
I love to take things and reuse them...sometimes for a different purpose.  Old kitchen cabinets can be made into a multitude of things if you use your imagination...paint, upholstery, turn in different direction & add furniture legs, etc.  You can make an island by attaching cabinets back to back and adding bun feet and a countertop.  In kitchens today, everything doesn't have to match. 
Jun 13, 2007 03:57 PM
Deb Hurt
Realty Pro Albuquerque - Albuquerque, NM
ABR, e-Pro,Green, TRC

Renee,

 I had a friend in college who had the most wonderful dinner parties. What made them great were the place settings. She would haunt second hand stores and buy exquisite plates or silverware or wine glasses. None of it matched but each place setting would have a theme...a color or roses or whatever. you could set your drink dow and know which one was yours as you wandered around the house because it was unique. It never mattered if something got broken because it wasnot part of a set. Maybe it's why I quilt too....all that lovely fabric that doesn't have to match necessarily!!!

Jun 14, 2007 06:24 PM