Ty, thanks for the list of "Green" communities!  I love hearing about sustainable living--from the smallest of culdesac community's sharing resources to full net zero neighborhoods. 

From time to time, I still hear subdivisons tout themselves as "Green" with an energy-efficient furnace and one solar panel.  One step inside and the smell of fresh paint and formeldehyde cry sick building syndrome.  I wish people would catch on to the idea of marketing properties as having "green" features/upgrades and not misrepresenting them as true "green" homes. 

Without third party verification (Certifications, Built Green, LEEDS, Energy Star) real estate agents, FSBO's, and salesmen alike should avoid labeling their listing as "green", "healthy", or "energy-efficient".  Instead of claiming your listing to be a "healthy" home...try something along the lines of "...this home's healthier features include waterbased finishes, a whole house fresh air ventilation system, free of wood & tobacco smoke...".  Protect youself and the seller by making sure the features are indeed healthier, get manufactures info/certification, and always use full disclosure with any buyer. 

Personally, I believe that most "green washing" is unintentional.  It's easy to misrepresent your homes shade of green when you have no real understnading of sustainable building. I had an agent tell me the other day that she was embarrassed by how little she knew about resource efficient homes and that she didn't really know of any green features other than--hardwood floors and VOC Paint...of course these features aren't green at all.  I had to explain to her that hardwoods are not sustainably harvested (unless manufactured from FSC certified lumber) and that it's atually no VOC paints that are healthiest (no volitale compounds/off gas emissions). 

Anyway...good to see fellow stewards of the earth sharing and educating.  I look forward to more posts :-)

ML