Will Plummeting Prices Stall Green LEED Certified Home Builds?

The real estate market right now seems to be doing a great impression of Walmart with their falling prices campaign. As more families lose their homes to foreclosure, as house prices drop and couples see the equity in their homes dissappearing before their eyes, one has to wonder what effect all this will have on the gains made in selling the concept of building green, designing and building green homes.

We were contemplating a major green renovation of our own home that has now been postponed as it would be almost impossible for us to recoup the investment when selling our home. the tumultuos market has seen us lose almost $60,000 of our equity in the past 12-15 months, and looking forward, do not see the market making a turn around in a timely enough fashion to allow us to recover the costs of renovation, let alone turn a profit in say five years. Crunching our own numbers, the monthly budget savings would just about cover the construction loan payments. In a bull market, greening our home would make economic sense when we sold it, as we would recoup our investment, and turn a profit. Foreclosure is not a worry for us, but we are feeling the pinch of lost equity as a result of lower home values due to the glut of inventory now on the market.

Solar is popular because of the rebate programs, and other green renovations (such as kitchen cabinets) for health reasons, or because it is the right thing to do. Question is, will consumers considering home renovations be willing to pay a premium to build green in a depressed housing market? If not, what will the effects of a stalled green building movement be?

Leave a comment, share your comments on this important question to the green building industry.

Green Helping Hands Non-Profit Website About to Launch

Green Releaf-Greensburg Video

Yesterday, the first steps were taken to create the non-profit organization, "Green Helping Hands™" with the concept very simple. Creating a Green Cross, a second wave of help for communities after America's First Responders have left out of town, are on their way to another Natural Disaster. Our slogan is simple, "Green Helping Hands reaching across America." Our first responders are the best in the world, but often, communities need help after their initial needs have been met, need help in rebuilding their lost infrastructure...Green Helping Hands™ wants to help meet the need. We are looking for an attorney to help us in getting registered with the state of New York as a non profit, and taking the necessary steps to become a 501 3C.

Green Helping Hands have secured web domains, and hope to launch the site next week. The first project will be helping to raise funds and product for the people of Greensburg, Kansas. For those wishing to contribute to the towns rebuilding efforts, we have posted an address below where you can send donations. Please mention Green Helping Hands in the memo for tracking purposes. If your company is interested in donating building product to the citizens of Greensburg, Kansas, please feel free to contact Green Helping Hands™ at green_helping_hands@yahoo.com .

We will be accepting proposals from 15 corporations who would like to be founding members of this Green Charity as a part of their Corporate Social Committment to America and its citizens.

Greensburg, Kansas
Greensburg needs your help with reconstruction.

Please send your donations to:

Greensburg Rebuilding Fund%

Greensburg State Bank,

P. O. Box 787 Greensburg, Kansas 67054

Every dollar you donate will go to rebuilding our city.

Space Balls The Movie-Pentagon To Shoot at Garbage in Outer Space

Fire up the Whinybago, and put on your Puke Piewalker pajamas, as the Pentagon is going garbage hunting in outerspace, the Final Frontier. Forget the not so famous, but truly humorous "Spaceballs the Movie", this is real life. Seems an ill-fated spy satellite launched in 2006 is about to crash back into the Earth's atmosphere, endangering mankind and the environment. (The AP story failed to express any concerns for the environment.) We as a civilized society, as a world people need to seriously rethink our imprint (not just carbon) on this planet when our military is attempting to shoot garbage out of the sky. It is saddening to think we as a world are becoming more like Saturn every day, with our ring of garbage in our oceans, and now a ring of debris circling overhead. In the boys and their toys department, this is not an attempt by George Bush to one up China's military feat of shooting one of their own satellites out of orbit.

US to Shoot Down Broken Spy Satellite

AP (Full Story)

Posted: 2008-02-14 16:30:14

Filed Under: Nation News

WASHINGTON (Feb. 14) - President Bush decided to make a first-of-its-kind attempt to use a missile to bring down a broken U.S. spy satellite because of the potential danger to people from its rocket fuel, officials said Thursday.

A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity.
Robert
Frost