Landscaping Adds Value!

landscaping

You’ve probably heard of the importance of curb appeal. Yes,its VERY important. You want prospective buyers to at least enter the house! Many times buyers decide NOT to buy just by exterior appearance. If the exterior looks bad, understandably they assume that the house itself was not well maintained.

The great news is that you actually increase the value of your home by improving the landscaping. Enjoy a beautiful yard and get paid for it when you sell!

A Money Magazine survey found that good landscaping can add 7%-14% to the value of your home. That’s one of the highest return-on-investment remodeling tips I’ve heard!

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Gateway Gardens in Greensboro

Gateway Gardens

Did you know about this?

This newest public garden project by Greensboro Beautiful, Gateway Gardens will be located between East Lee and Florida Street. This garden has been 10 years in the planning and will be added to our other outstanding Greensboro Gardens; Tanger Family Bicentennial Garden, the Greensboro Arboretum and the Bog Garden at Benjamin Park.

Phase 1 of this 11 acre garden is scheduled to open in late 2009.

To donate to this worthwhile project, call the Greensboro Beautiful office at 336-373-2199 or give online.

once again… paper or plastic? Reusable.

Paper or Plastic

Today’s Wall Street Journal ran a great article on the pro’s and con’s of paper versus plastic. They made the decision we all understand, pick reusable. Even reusing a paper or plastic bag at least 4 times saves energy and lessens the load on the environment.

The article includes 6 international studies on this issue. The studies that look specifically at grocery bags generally conclude that paper bags produce less of a litter problem, but that plastic bags consume less energy and water and produce less pollution, including greenhouse-gas emissions. Virtually all studies say the environmentally friendliest option is to choose a reusable grocery bag, and to reuse it many times, regardless of what that bag is made of.

Did you know:

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Duke Energy Plants Trees for Carbon Offset

Tree

Duke Energy plans to reforest 1 million acres to produce offsets for carbon emissions.

The energy company will begin by planting more than 1 million trees on 1,700 acres in Arkansas.

The program, called GreenTrees, will plant 302 hardwood and 302 cottonwood trees on each acre it reforests. The carbon absorbed by the trees can be calculated and used to offset the amount of carbon that utilities and other industries produce.

A big “Thank You” to Charlotte-based Duke Energy!

No More Plastic Bags!

Plastic Bag
photo by eflon

There is a great article today in the Greensboro News & Record. North Carolina Senate leader Marc Basnight, wants to ban plastic shopping bags in counties along the Outer Banks saying they are a trashy eyesore when blowing along the beaches. “Bags that get out of trash cans pollute the beauty that Outer Banks businesses are promoting to tourists”, he said.

Personally, I think plastic bags should be banned EVERYWHERE. They are devastating to our environment. Did you know:

600 bags are used PER SECOND in the state of California alone? Most are simply discarded and never go away.

It costs the state of California $25 million annually to landfill discarded plastic bags? Plastic bags are a huge pollutant of our environment and are killing birds, fish and wildlife every single day.

Bag Bird

Plastic bags, which are made from natural gas or oil, consume an energy equivalent of thousands of barrels of oil a day just to meet California’s consumption.

Before you shop next time think: “paper, plastic or reusable?” NO MORE PLASTIC, please.

***UPDATE*** The bill passed! North Carolina Senate approved it 47-1! Now lets hope it goes state wide, then nation wide!

What defines “Building Green”?

Building Green

I own a beautiful lot in the mountains of North Carolina, the Appalachian Mountains. If you want to sit and appreciate one spectacular wonder of Earth, visit the Appalachian Mountains.

My goal for 2010 is to build a home there and I plan to Build Green. In beginning my research, I’ve found that there’s no end to the research! So, I’ve started by asking what exactly is “Green”? What makes a product Green? How do you evaluate product Greenness? Can you make a product Greener? And, how do I find Green products?

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Don’t Buy Organic Produce

Don't Buy Organic

Really??? Well, organic should be your first choice when it’s locally grown, but consider that shipping a pound of organic apples across the country increases fuel and greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent – more than if they had been consumed at their point of harvest. And much of the organic produce on the market is now shipped across the planet. Meanwhile, many local farmers practice organic methods but don’t certify organic because it is expensive and labor-intensive administratively. Since each type of crop needs to be registered, for a smaller farm growing a variety of food it becomes a Herculean task. If you shop at a farmer’s market, talk to your vendors and see if they use eco-friendly agricultural methods–many of them do because they recognize the importance of keeping their land healthy. Consider buying non-organic locally grown produce over non-local organic produce, if you can determine that it was grown conscientiously.

Thanks for this article by Melissa Breyer and her 7 Tips for Green Eating posted at Care 2 Make a Difference

Happy Day after Earth Day!

Wonderful Spring Water!

Here’s our brand new wonderful spring water cooler!

What did you do on Earth Day for Mother Earth? More importantly, what are you doing today?

Remember, we need to take care of the planet every day. Did you make a change that will make a difference everyday? We gave up plastic water bottles and cups in our office. That’s permanent. That’s for everyday. That will save us tons of money and, best of all, help take care of Mother Earth!

Happy Earth Day!

mountain-lots-013

What can you do to celebrate? So many things! Plant a tree. Unplug all electronics that aren’t in use. Change your lite bulbs to Eco Friendly bulbs. I called to have Spring Water delivered to our office. We’re all going to drink out of glasses from now on to stop throwing away plastic bottles and cups.

For more suggestions, go to Ecommi.

Do something special today to honor Mother Earth. She gives us so much. Be mindful to give back!

Stop Mail Save Trees

Trees

It’s so easy! Just sign up and for only $20 per year they’ll plant 5 trees on your behalf and stop tons of the junk mail that comes to your house. How many more trees will that save??? Read below then go to the site and sign up!

Stamp out junk mail.

Stop up to 90% of your junk mail with MailStopper – in just 90 days. They work with over 6,500 direct marketers – to make sure you get only the mail you want.

Un-Clutter your Life.

Catalogs. Credit card offers. Grocery store circulars. Not only does junk mail pile up – it also can lead to identity theft. With MailStopper, you’ll save time, reduce waste, and protect your privacy.

Think green. Plant trees.

When you join MailStopper, they plant 5 trees on your behalf. Combined with the paper you save, it’s like growing your own tiny forest!

Contact them! MailStopper