Recycle for Charity

Saturday, October 17, 2009

9 am to 3 pm

Denver Coliseum

Clean out your garage and basement and help save the planet and help ARC at the same time.  Items that will be accepted include tools, scrap metal, cell phones and obsolete car parts.  No computers will be accepted. 

For a more complete list of objects that will be accepted, please visit:

Clean up Colorado for Charity

www.debpallai.com

Denver Water

                  

Denver Recycles Water for Parks

 In her July 2009 newsletter, Denver District 5 Councilwoman Marcia Johnson announced that several parks in the district will be using recycled water for irrigation.

Denver will be installing new pipes for the system, and some traffic may be diverted while this work occurs.  Impacted District 5 parks include McNichols Park, Crescent Park, Verbena Park and Denison Park.

The four parks will join 13 Denver parks that are already using recycled water.

Other parks are undergoing irrigation improvement programs.  It is estimated that the improvments will save 450 million gallons of Denver drinking water.

To link to Marcia Johnson’s article, click here.

debpallai@comcast.net

www.debpallai.com

Denver Homebuyer Green Program Incentive

The Denver Board of Realtors® reported today that Denver is conducting a green pilot study for homebuyers. 

The program includes a free walkthrough of prospective homes, and discounts on furnaces, insulation and appliances.

In order to qualify, the home must be a single family detached home, have a Denver address and be built before 2000. 

This is a voluntary program with no requirement that the buyer purchase any upgrades.

 For further information, please contact: 

Matt Gibbs
University of Colorado Denver
Director, GAAN and IGERT programs in Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
MATTHEW.GIBBS@email.ucdenver.edu
(303) 501-9075

debpallai@comast.net

www.debpallai.com

Walk Score Comes to Denver Metrolist

Denver Metrolist has added a new field to its program:  walk score.

Brokers can now search for homes for their clients by putting a minimum walk score into the search parameters.

A home’s walk score is calculated by locating nearby stores, parks, restaurants and more. 

Metrolist is responding to the growing demand by some buyers to purchase homes in neighborhoods where their environmental footprints will be reduced.  The demand for homes that are located in areas where one can live a car-light or car-free lifestyle is increasing.  Although public transportation is not part of the walk score calculation, light rail has added to the consciousness about this issue.

The higher the score, the less driving required to live in the neighborhood.

• 0-24       Car-dependent.  Virtually no destinations within walking distance.
• 25-49     Car-dependent.  Few destinations within walking distance.
• 50-69     Somewhat walkable.
• 70-89     Very walkable.  It is possible to manage without a car.
• 90-100   Walkers paradise.  Most errands can be done on foot and many folks in the neighborhood don’t own cars.      

For more information go to www.walkscore.com.

If you’d like help calculating the walk score of your current home, please email me at debpallai@comcast.net or call me at 303–883-8837.

Green housekeeping

Are you interested in using less toxic materials for your everyday household chores?  Many commercial cleaners pollute the air and water and irritate the eyes and skin.  Greening your cleaning practices will not only help the environment, but may also cost you less money.

• BAKING SODA:  use to clean countertops and the inside of the refrigerator.  An open box of baking soda (or some sitting in a bowl) in the frig will help eliminate odors.
• WHITE VINEGAR:  use to deodorize the toilet bowl and for washing windows.
• CASTILE SOAP:  an interesting product.  Castile soap is traditionally soap made with olive oil, but you can also find castile soap made from other vegetable oils.  It is available in liquid and cake form.  Use it to wash your skin, hair, pets and laundry.  Dilute it and put it in a spray bottle for general cleaning.
• CREAM OF TARTAR:  most of us have used this in baking to help stiffen egg whites, but, it also has cleaning properties.  Use a thick paste of cream of tartar and hydrogen peroxide to remove bathtub stains. 
• HYDROGEN PEROXIDE:  anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-mold and anti-mildew.  Use to clean mirrors, shower stalls and toilets.  Leaving the peroxide on the surface for a while will improve its effectiveness.

For more information and other green cleaning tips go to:

www.greenerchoices.org and www.thegreenguide.com

Affordable Area Activities

Denver’s 2009 Earth Day Fair

Wednesday, April 22, 10 am to 2 pm

Civic Center Park

Come learn how to save energy and the planet.

This year, many vendors at the fair will be accepting your unwanted items for recycling.  For a list of what is being accepted for recycling, and more information on the fair go to:  Denver’s 2009 Earth Day Fair.

Free!  Kid friendly!

Over the Moon Ovations – A Mask Making Journey

Saturday, April 25, 3 pm to 5 pm

Boulder Public Library, Meadows Branch

4800 Baseline Road, Boulder

Explore your inner self by creating a mask.  This process can be messy.  Dress accordingly.

Over the Moon Ovations – A Mask Making Journey

Free!

Dead or Alive? Health Care Reform

Saturday, April 25, 1:30 – 4 pm

CU Boulder Muenzinger Auditorium

1801 Colorado Ave.

Free forum.  Speakers followed by question and answer period.

Dead or Alive?  Health Care Reform

Denver Green Festival

Saturday, May 2, 10am to 7 pm

Sunday, May 3, 11am to 6 pm

Colorado Convention Center

Mark your calendars!  Produced by the non-profit organizations Green America and Global Exchange, Denver Green Festival promises to overwhelm you with ideas and products to help the environment.

The event includes speakers, music and vendors.  There’ll be tips on building green and greening your current home and garden. 

Speakers include Thom Hartmann, Amy Goodman and Mike Farrell.

Tickets are $15 per person and include a two month subscription to The Nation and a one year subscription to Ode.

Tickets are $10 per persons for the following folks:

• Persons over 62 years old
• Students with ID
• Folks who bike to the event and have a ticket from the bike valet
• Anyone who buses to the event and presents a bus ticket or pass
• Union members

Free to kids under 18.

You can help make this a really green festival by bringing your own reusable water bottle and eating utensils.

For more information and a schedule go to Denver Green Festival.

Potted? Recycle Them!

Recycle plant containers at Local Garden Shops–or at The Botanic Gardens or South High School

 

• April 25, 9 am to 3 pm at South High School
• June 27, 9 am to 3 pm at Denver Botanic Gardens
• Participating garden centers through the planting season

Details available here

Low-Cost Ways to Green Your Home

Save money and help the planet by:

 

• Using CFL or LED lightbulbs (LED bulbs are expensive, but coming down in price; CFLs have mercury in them–be careful about disposal)
• Installing low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators
• Starting a compost pile to recycle organic waste
• Planting trees to help keep your home cool in the summer
• Insulating your water heater
• Installing a programmable themostat
• Weatherstripping and caulking doors and windows
• Replacing your furnace filter on a regular basis
• Planting native plants to reduce water usage
• Installing power strips on your applicances and other electrical equipment to reduce your phantom load
• Painting with low or no-VOC paint

Greening My Business

I’ve been taking small steps to practice real estate in a more sustainable way.

I drive a hybrid car.

When I print MLS descriptions for my clients, I reuse paper.  I’ll use the back of brochures and flyers I’ve received at the office and the back of left-over brochures from my listings. 

I used to leave 8-10 packets of disclosures on each property I listed.  Now I upload those documents to DocBox on our MLS system.  Selling agents can access them there, or call me to email them the disclosures.  This reduces my paper use and eliminates my driving to listed properties to replenish the disclosure packets.

These are modest and easy ways to care for our planet.  I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort and to share their strategies and techniques for reducing our impact on the environment.

debpallai@comcast.net