Green means sustainable -- healthful, affordable, and easy on the planet. We bring you solutions that are not only about buying more products, but things you can do without to give you more time with your family and loved ones.

Green living is about making choices...and finding solutions to your specific needs for food, shelter, companionship and productive, satisfying work. We talk straight about green building, and green products. We have real solutions for real families. Stay tuned for practical green tips and techiques as well as resources to help you make going green a whole lot easier.

Green Living Solutions for Offices

Most people think it's hard to green your office -- but with our resources and tips, you'll breathe easier in not time! We make going green easier, fun and definitely better for our greater workspace and playspace, the earth.

Green workspace is about reduction, recycling and making good purchases of the everyday things like paper and paperclips, computers and travel. We'll get you started and you'll enjoy the creative potential of green living -- and we think you'll even want to take your new green expertise home with you!

Green Living Product Categories

• Low-energy Lighting
• Natural Light
• Alternative Autos and Transportation
• Yummy Food
• Furniture and Furnishings
• Green and Healthful Buildings
• Heat and Air Conditioning Efficiency
• Water Conservation
• Outdoor Living Spaces
• Living with Nature

Recycling is nothing new, but few among us have seen what happens to our plastic, paper, metal, and glass once it departs from our blue, curbside bins. The photographer Mathieu Young takes us on an enlightening tour of the Waste Management Materials Recovery Facility in Pico Rivera, California. This recycling operation in Southern California is a single facility that sorts nearly 6,000 tons of material per month, and it's quite a load to take in.

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The Waste Management Pico Rivera MRF is a privately owned and operated 39,000 square foot recycling facility that sorts 5,800 tons of material per month.

For a small investment, the following efficiency measures will deliver quick energy bill savings:

• Clean or replace furnace filters monthly or as specified by manufacturer.
• Get a tune-up for your heating system: every year for oil and every 2 or 3 years for other fuels.
• Seal seams and gaps in exposed ductwork, and then insulate the ducts.
• Seal doors with draft-reducing weatherstripping and door sweeps to cut down on spaces where cold air can enter the house.
• Insulate hot water pipes leading from your water heater and install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Install temporary shrink-wrap storm window kits if you don't have permanent storm windows.   
• Check your attic insulation and consider improving the "R-value" to R-38.

If the time has come to replace your heating system, consider investing in energy-efficient, right-sized heating equipment with the help of a good contractor.

If your existing heating system is more than 20 years old, you can yield savings up to 20-30%.

And if yours is one of the many homes that suffer from high energy bills and extreme comfort issues, a thorough home performance diagnosis can help identify the problems and recommend solutions to cut your energy use and make your home perform at its best.

You can find all these tips and more in the condensed online version of the ACEE Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, 9th edition, found on our Web site at www.aceee.org/consumerguide.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has useful tips to help ease the burden of winter energy bills.

"When trimming your household budget, cutting home energy costs is a great place to start," says Jennifer Thorne Amann, Director of ACEEE's Buildings Program.

"Minor investments of time and money can pay off in reduced energy bills and improved comfort year after year." Efforts to cut energy use are particularly timely now.

The last few years have seen a steady increase in winter heating costs across the U.S. and this trend is likely to continue. The Energy Information Administration has projected a 15% increase in space heating costs compared to last year, due to both higher energy costs and the expectation of a colder winter.

See ACEEE.org for more suggestions on energy efficiency

As always, the simplest way to reduce energy costs is to just use less. "Smart steps to cut your home energy consumption require no investment and provide immediate returns without sacrificing comfort," states Jacob Talbot of ACEEE's research staff. ACEEE recommends starting with the following for quick savings:

• Set back your thermostat overnight and when you're away from home; better yet, install a programmable thermostat to do it for you. Consumers can save about 2% on heating bills for every degree thermostats are turned down.
• Lower the water heater's thermostat to the lowest level that meets your hot water needs, typically 120°F (midway between the "low" and "medium" setting on many units). Each 10° reduction will save 3-5% on water heating costs.
• Turn off lights and home office and entertainment equipment when not in use. Turning off lights, even for a few minutes, can save significant amounts of energy.
• Open curtains and blinds during the day to let the sun warm rooms naturally, then close them at night to keep the heat in. Heavy drapes can help keep warm air in and reduce drafts around windows. If you have storm windows, be sure they are in place for the winter.
• Don't heat rooms that aren't in use. Where feasible, close off vents in unused rooms and keep the doors closed. 

California Green Solutions is building a robust catalog of professional training courses and certification programs offered by private companies and colleges.  You will find this robust catalog covers business law, construction, human resources...as well as engineering and green building...and more. 

Visit the Green and Sustainable Job Training Catalog at:  CaliforniaGreenSolutions.com

Renewable energy is a high priority for President Elect Obama.  His jobs program emphasizes rebuilding the infrastructure, including roads and bridges, schools and weatherizing homes.  This slideshow synthesizes the energy priorities established by Obama during his campaign and in the days of the transition. Renewable energies, including energy efficiency figure prominently in his energy plan.

Can you tell a building is "green" or "sustainable" just by looking at it?

Usually not!

Green is a method of building that uses subtle techniques such as sourcing local materials, using non-toxic materials, including space for water conserving landscaping, and using solar heat, natural light, and natural ventilation effectively.

Those strategies don't look very different.  Buildings have used bits and pieces of these smart building design and construction techniques for many centuries.  Today's "green" building not only uses these techniques on the outside of the building skins, but internally.  Energy efficient equipment reduces energy use.  Low water flow plumbing reduces water consumption.  Low energy lighting reduces energy  use.  Non toxic and recycled materials are selected for paints and carpets.  Modular  construction such as carpet tiles  vs. wall to wall carpets reduce the need to fill landfills with old materials when they wear only in traffic patterns.

Most green buildings can't  be identified from the street!  So you might like to search online for green buildings in your community and identify some of them.  They make great outings for visiting family and friends!   Taking a tour will give you wonderful insights into local materials, technology innovations, and just smart living!

Conscientious Innovation conducted a survey of 5,000 North Americans and found that people are concerned about the environment...but not at the expense of the very human side of sustainable survival!

North Americans' top issues about sustainability include global change and  the environment; which rank over 50%, but the top issue is feeling connected to friends, family and community: at 90%

Followed closely by:

Sense of personal well being 90%
Balanced life 89%
Being paid a living wage 88%

Other high ranking issues include Fair trade; Personal relationships and Buying local to support locally based business.

Tips to stay connected... (Watch the videos)
    Throw a block party with local food, of course.
    Have a group yard sale.
    Make a little extra food and share it with a neighbor who might be harried...like a new parent!
These are all also great for the environment!

Compared to a patch of lawn, a rain garden allows about 30% more water to soak into the ground!

Rain gardens are NOT solutions for wet areas -- they must have good drainage. Water must soak into the soil within 24 hours to prevent water buildup that becomes a mosquito breeding ground.

• The garden should be at least 10 feet away from buildings.

• The garden should receive full or partial sunlight.

• Avoid areas over septic tanks.

• The garden must include an overflow structure that will allow heavy rains to divert to a natural drainage pattern, not a neighbor's lawn.
• Size the garden to serve the area draining into it, the type of soil on the site, and the depth of the garden.
• Before you dig, remember to call to locate underground utility lines: (1-800-272-1000)
• Choose plants that can tolerate both wet and dry conditions and suited to your garden's sun/shade exposure.

RESOURCES

You'll find a variety of reference materials about rain gardens at this Water Resources Program website ... including: Landscaper Training Program for Rain Gardens - Fact Sheet 29, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, 2007

California trees and shrubs recommended for your rain gardens. A list of California trees and shrubs to brighten and enliven your rain garden.

Low Impact Development with rain gardens. Download a PDF.

Rain Gardens and Bioretention Basins To
Improve Water Quality and Save 30% More Rainwater

Compared to a patch of lawn, a rain garden allows about 30% more water to soak into the ground!

California's water supply is more fragile and seasonal than in most of the country because we are in "the West". Seasonal rains in our desert areas can be severe, and water retention for the rest of the year is dependent on snowpack, water tables and manmade lakes.

When rains come, we need to capture that fresh water for use by the flora and fauna in our communities. Capturing it also prevents runoff from roofs, streets, parking lots and lawns from washing pollutants into streams, rivers, lakes and eventually the ocean. Runoff pollutants can include fertilizers, pesticides, car waste such as oil and fluids, pet waste and its bacteria, eroded soil, road salt, grass clippings and litter. Rain gardens will not remove ALL these pollutants, but they do remove some of them as the water seeps into the ground, which serves as a natural filter.

A beautiful, useful way to capture rainwater runoff is with a "raingarden" that is well designed, well placed and serves as a cache basin that filters and helps the water find its way to the roots of plants...and our watertable.

Read more tips for Rain Garden Landscaping Design