Earth Day Is Every Day!

Well I try... but today especially!

First off - I got my carpets cleaned - woo-hoo! I should have done it about a year ago, but I was so concerned about the soaps and detergents they use, and how they would affect my allergies and my woofies (tr: dogs.)

But Alas! I found Zerorez... unbelievable! All I can smell is the nice, fresh, non-smell of ...water!

Everything they use is non-toxic so it's safe for kids and woofies. They even pulled out the soap my housekee... I mean - I use to spot clean. So it's good as new.

He said since the magic cleaning potion is non-toxic, it's safe for the environment too.

I can breathe!

Second - I just brought on a really exciting project. It will be the second LEED certified residential home in Santa Monica. My client, Lee Capital Builders is responsible for the first in both Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades. He was part of the LEED residential pilot program that set the standards for the residential building program under USGBC (The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings accessible to everyone within a generation.)

There are several "Green" building programs around but the LEED building program is nationally recognized and is the only one the city of Santa Monica recognizes.

LEED is a third party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives homeowners, building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

The LEED certification program has been in existence for years in the commercial building and interiors communities, has just graduated the residential pilot program and is currently in the pilot program for neighborhoods.

I'm really excited to learn more about the residential aspect of this program! However... material selections have been limited and when I do come across something labelled green, it isn't necessarily "green" according to my standards - or LEED's.

Stay tuned! I'll post my progress on the house...