The Dean Report...the elegant equity impression of living green!

Boldly Going into the Future

2008-08-25T16:57:00.000-07:00

Beam me up Scotty!

Being green just got cooler when Captian Kirk himself, affectionately known as Television and film actor William Shatner, teamed up with the Sierra Club in a series of three videos to raise awareness about global warming.
Shatner reminds us of past environmental victories that show how we can succeed against today's serious challenges, and speaks out for the Sierra Club's 2% Solution campaign with a message to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, or about 2 percent a year.

Now that's environmental entertainment!

Green Building Committee Fundraiser L.E.E.D's the way!

2008-07-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

HUNTINGTON BEACH. July 26 2008, 2:00 pm Led by a Democratic dream team of sorts , Speaker of the California Assembly, Fabian Núñez(D-Los Angeles), Assembly Democrats, State Senator Jack Scott, State Senator Sheila Kuehl, State Senator Jose Solorio, Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook who all have introduced a package of legislation designed to improve the state’s environment while at the same time boosting the growing market for “green-collar” jobs were honored at a luncheon of the home of my new friends Flossie & Paul Horgan, Sierra Club pioneers who live the change they want to see. In speaking with our honored guests, I learned Democrats in the California Assembly want California to again lead the nation – this time by getting out in front with a comprehensive strategy to spur Green business and advance Green collar jobs for Californians in everything from high tech work in the lab, to installing one of our million solar roofs to weatherizing homes and businesses. Learning this prompted me to reach out to MR. Nunez~ assistant, Sonia Campos (Ms. Campos accepted the award on behalf of the Speaker of the Assembly) to set up an initiative working closely with Speaker of the Assembly legislative efforts. We would like to begin to keep track of his green building related legislation to keep the green community up to speed on the changes taking place that make a difference. No longer can it be said that politicians aren't doing there part. Please take a moment and read more so you can make an informed decision when we need you the most. Stay tuned to for latest in California Assembly green legislature news in the coming weeks from all of our political movers & shakers that are making a difference!

Surely Green Circle Guide

2008-07-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

Whew! It's good to be back in the blog saddle. For the past three months I've been assembling key team members and working on The SURELY GREEN CIRCLE Residential Remodeling Guidelines that have been made possible only through the efforts of many dedicated volunteers, staff members, and others in the ASID and USGBC community. As a USGBC member of the Green Building Committee it's my intention to educate the end user on the scope of green remodeling & new construction guidelines that have emerged from conversations occurring among a variety of residential building experts of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Whole-House, Systems-Thinking Approach…
It is easy and tempting to boil down green building to simply product selections and glide over or even ignore the challenges of green building as a process. The SURELY GREEN CIRCLE Program and the SURELY GREEN CIRCLE Residential Remodeling Guidelines are about products and process, about synergies and unintended consequences. In green building, it is rarely a single product or building component or a collection of attributes that results in a building’s being labeled “green.” Green building is almost always about how systems work together to reduce environmental impacts. In the SURELY GREEN CIRCLE guidelines, systems thinking and integration are encouraged by the cross-listing of strategies by project and environmental category, as well as by the “potential issues”. Want to know more...

Earth Hour - 5 Minutes of Caring

2008-03-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

A GREEN King Alert!

It all started with just one simple question: "How can we inspire people to take action on climate change?" And the answer looked like a light switch. And now, Earth Hour has become a global event, one in which hundreds of thousands of people have committed to turning off their lights tomorrow night at 8 PM. Now you can participate in order to reduce carbon emissions. So wherever you are tomorrow, flip the switch and keep it off for an hour. Know that as you're doing it, so are many others, all in the name of saving the world.

Greenwashing 101

Lots of things claim to be 'green.' But, sometimes, these claims are based on just a sliver of information and seem to ignore other parts of the process that can even harm the environment. In this article, Stefan Peter-Contesse shows us how to spot "Greenwashing" and what to do about it. Remember it all starts with you, you be the change you wanna see!

2008-03-20T18:12:00.000-07:00

A GREEN King Alert!

How Green is Your Bracket?

You might not realize that the climate has a stake in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The Sierra Club does! As the editor-n-chief of America's oldest, largest and most effective environmental organization's newsletter and Sustainable Living Consultant for Southern California's "one stop solution" firm, SURELY GREEN ACC we feel it's important to raise awareness of social aspects that compliment going green. We can use every "carbon offset" we can get to reverse global warming.

If you're a fan of a clean energy future, you can root for the 24 schools that have signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, pledging to go climate neutral. See who's on the list and follow their progress at http://www.greenbrackets.com.

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Green IT strategies leads to savings in operational expenditure, lower space and power consumption, and higher RoI

2008-03-12T00:53:00.000-07:00

A Green King Alert...I've gone electric!

In keeping with the mantra, "be the change you want to see", I've decided to reduce my own "carbon foot print" by driving a custom made European electric moto! That means no polluting our wonderful city when I drive! I personally take this opportunity to issue a challenge to all you who's new years resolution was to go green: Step right up and be the change you want to see! The guys @ Skeuter.com made this custom job for me to whiz around Southern California (from Rancho Palos Verdes to Malibu...yeah baby!). This couldn't have come at a better time. The green movement is in full swing, and I plan to be the change I want to see as I show that you don't have to give up comfort and style to create a green lifestyle!

For those of you who are who still haven't figured out that this "Green thing" is for real, this blurb is for you. Don't quit now, cause your almost out of the woods.

Turning Glare Into Watts

2008-03-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

SOLAR EYE for the clear sky! It is a skill that may soon be in greater demand, for the world appears to be on the verge of a boom in a little-known but promising type of solar power.

A real performance electric car...and it's green!

2008-03-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

Would it be nice to give back to the environment with the ultimate carbon offset. Porche'has an electric car to die for. ETS of NY sells electric car components and offers services for electric car conversions or EVs. The best part about electric cars is that it will only cost cents to charge, so you reduce your energy costs per mile! Remember when it comes to going green, we're playing catch up. It's always a great thing to shoot for the stars so if you fall you land in the clouds! Our planet really needs it.

An electric car is 35% - 97% cleaner than a comparable gas car, including the pollution generated by the electric power plant. The 35% number applies to states using a lot of "dirty" power, such as coal-fired plants. The 97% number applies to states like California that use a lot of "clean" power, including hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar. They sell to California, Texas, Florida and nationwide. Soon to be released, Build Your Own Electric Vehicle, by Seth Leitman. Please stay tuned for more details!!!

10 things the nation must do to avert an energy crunch (and protect the planet)

2008-02-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

A GREEN KING Alert!

In keeping with being the change you want to see, I'd like to ask you to

How to find the best carbon offsets

2008-02-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

A GREEN KING Alert!

If you don't want to go completely green, at least give a carbon offset!

Choose green, save some green

2008-02-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

GREEN KING Alert!

Choose green, save some green

Nothing warms my frugal heart more than marrying the twin virtues of conservation of resources as well as cash. Add some respite for my lazy legs (the ones that don't want to walk to the grocery store) and now you're talking.

For example, I recently completed a load of laundry sans one step: a trip through the dryer. Savings: $1. Plus! The time trudging several flights of stairs between my home and the appliance in question.

It seems silly to spend money and energy to artificially remove moisture from clothes when the process would happen naturally even in the most California summers.

Also, using a solar-powered clothes dryer, otherwise known as a clothesline or drying rack, reduces the wear on your clothes --- after all, the lint you clean off the filter comes from somewhere, right?

So what environmentally savvy measures are you taking that help keep you in the black (and perhaps on the couch)? Suggestions include discounting the cost of newer, energy efficient appliances and more --- like promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs, which don't have to be replaced as frequently.

They say that by conserving energy, we can reduce demand that can only be met by building more power plants and transmission lines ... new construction that consumers will ultimately have to pay for.

Sustainable Green Living Firm

2008-02-11T01:46:00.000-08:00

A GREEN KING Alert!

The First "One Stop Solution" firm that promotes complete green living!

A Modern Green Queen on the scene

2008-02-01T19:29:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

As we enter into the magical month of Aquarius, my birth month I might add, I'd like to introduce the perfect compliment to green lifestyle. By coming from the space of "Working at the Cellular Level", this modern day Diva's making waves with a natural compliment to going green in Health and Beauty Spa's in LA. I present to you: the HYMBAS experience! It's healthy living while you sit! See it only on LIFESTYLE TV!

Danny Seo....a Sustainabile Living Consultant!

2008-01-21T18:44:00.000-08:00

A Green KING Alert! A SURELY Green ACC recommendation

2008-01-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

$$$Become your own electric company: with solar panels

2008-01-21T09:30:00.001-08:00

"Go Green, It's Cheaper!"

2008-01-10T16:25:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

Happy Green Year everyone! It's green to be here. Going Green is all the buzz as expected. This is going to be a banner year in "Green Lifestyle" advocacy. Last night I had the pleasure of attending "The Sierra Club's" presentation of "Go Green, It's Cheaper!" event. Dr. David Haake, associate professor of medicine in the David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA-Division of Infectious Diseases, examined the question of whether green choices make financial sense. Let me tell you, it was practical advice, offered in a much needed time as we find ourselves amidst an energy crisis. We all need to know easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint. Everyone was encouraged to bring their Edison or DWP energy bills as Dr Haake gave an easy to follow powerpoint presentation on how to financially be efficient during the process of going green. For those interested you can download a copy of Dr. Haake's must have power point here.

Last nights buzz was so magnificent, a news team from Time Warner Cable taped and interviewed attendees for a "CNBC" segment break that will be aired on Time Warner cables regional subscribers network. For those who were unable to experience last nights presentation firsthand, you will be able to see tid-bits of Dr. Haake's presentation on CNBC in the coming weeks. I will post times and dates as I recieve them. Keep checking on my blog for our next event so as not to miss our July 10th meeting when Barent Roth, who runs the Residential Greening Program- Sustainable Works here in Santa Monica, comes to present to us. Come early for if last nights meeting is any indication, it will be a standing room only affair.

This event was fun, educational and entertaining. The buzz afterwards, had people in a tizzy about greening their environments. Thanks again Dr Haake! Until next time, keep Greening.....

The Clock is ticking-how are you being the change?

2007-12-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

Out of necessity...A GREEN KING Alert!

BRAD PITT Katrina Recovery

2007-12-30T00:57:00.000-08:00

a GREEN King Alert!

Timberland Publicizes Its Footprint

2007-12-29T17:56:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

I'm having to do a lot of running around this week with a client whose looking to buy a home to retro-fit green. Congrats to TM Gabrielle of Grand I LLC for wanting to do her part as a first time homeowner. TM plans to retro-fit her purchase totally green and we've decided to document the process in my blog on how easy and cost effective it is to go green. Because the new year is just around the corner, I find myself playing catch up. The campaign that we're promoting in January to our commercial clientale, "Greater Transparency" is finally in alignment with the folks at Timberland who recently took steps towards greater transparency by placing information about the shoe's figurative footprint right on the box. The "Our Footprint" label includes three sections:

* "Environmental Impact" reports the average number of kWh kilowatt-hours that are used to produce a pair of Timberland shoes and the percentage of renewable energy Timberland uses from sources such as the sun, wind and water. Total energy use (measured in kWh and obtained from each factory's utility bills) is divided by footwear production. Each factory gets assigned a weight according to the percent production they do for Timberland. The weighted factory scores are then averaged to produce an average kWh (or energy use) per pair.
* "Community Impact" details the percentage of factories assessed by Timberland against its Code of Conduct, the percentage of child laborers in factories' workforce and the total number of hours Timberland employees volunteered in the previous year.
* "Manufactured" tells in what factory and what country the product was made.

The "nutrition label" will be placed on greener boxes made from 100% post-consumer recycled fiber with soy-based inks and water-based solvents. The company's not stopping there, though. They plan to adopt the "Our Footprint" label for apparel, and are also developing a Green Index (which they compare to an Energy Star rating) for measuring their shoes' environmental impact in terms of climate, chemical use and material use.

Since the apparel industry generally does carry a heavy environmental footprint, this is a bold move by Timberland: they're not just saying "We're green(er)," but giving consumers the numbers by which they can judge that statement.

We at SURELEY Green AC believe that because of the recent efforts to monitor green retro-fits by the USGBC (LEED association), that many individuals will go out of their way to verify the labels? This is where the valued is added and will show so in your appraisal. At an informal gathering with the founding chairman, CEO, USGBC President-Rick Fedrizzi, we talked about the policing efforts of the USGBC to remind commercial and residential owners alike the wholistic approach that's to be maintained when greening a building or home. After all green is a lifestyle that creates a toxic free environment which makes for a healthy home owner and employee. So SURELEY Green AC mission to its clients is always to teach the proper guidelines to be in green compliency. We know this is a genuine show of transparency rather than an attempt to greenwash.

What is Enviromental Stewardship!

2007-12-28T20:25:00.000-08:00

A Green King Alert!

Here's how Environmental Stewardship relates to business, politics, and the broader social justice movement. Siram explains it here:

Eco Q&A with Simran Sethi on the Sundance Channel!

2007-12-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

When: Now-It only takes a couple of mins!

What: An evening starting with an eco-themed webisode followed by a Q&A with one of the world’s most renowned environmental journalists: Simran Sethi

Topic: Eco-Refugees: How can we better react to natural disasters and man made ecological catastrophes?

Where: Sundance Channel in Second Life, in the Main Screening Room

Join the Sundance Channel Group to stay up to date on upcoming “The Green” events in Second Life. Simran will be hosting weekly discussions in world with eco-experts who will be joining her in the forum.

Long Island Towns Adopt 'Energy Star' Standard for New Homes

2007-12-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

"a GREEN King alert!"

A few days ago after featuring a SURELY GReen blog on Green Goddess, Simran Sethi in a "green" discussion with Martha Stewart on how environmental stewardship relates to business, politics, and the broader social justice movement, I missed this energy star milestone that I thought I would share with you. It's definitely still worth covering: the towns of Brookhaven and Babylon on New York's Long Island have made energy efficiency the law, according to the New York Times. Both communities now require that all new houses built adhere to Energy Star homebuilding standards:

The new laws put both Brookhaven and Babylon in the vanguard of towns in New York State that have passed measures requiring a level of "green" home building. They are the first on Long Island to do so, but several other towns are considering identical or similar measures. SURELY Green AC's green energy offering to vanguard towns such as Brentwood, Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Pacific Pallisades, Malibu, Topanga Canyon, looks to help in these towns comply with current laws requiring a level of "green" home remodeling and building in Southern California.

We at SURELY Green AC are encouraging towns in both our Northern and Southern California locations to adopt this measure in and effort to change building codes to require. Neal Lewis, executive director of the Neighborhood Network, a Farmingdale-based nonprofit energy conservation organization that is credited with publicizing the home building standard and encouraging towns to change building codes to require it, was quoted as saying "We're encouraging every town to adopt this measure by encouraging towns to change building codes to require it."

Energy Star homes will save homeowners money on energy costs by requiring, for example, certain types of insulation and installation techniques, and the use of energy-efficient appliances.

Builders aren't convinced this is a great idea yet because it creates different building codes for different towns, and only a handful of inspectors are trained in the Energy Star standards. In response, the power authority is providing $25,000 grants to towns that adopt the standard, and Brookhaven and Babylon have agreed to a three-part phasing in of the new requirement. Builders apparently have a reason to be concerned: another town, Southampton, adopted a similar measure, but it will only apply to moderately-priced homes -- McMansions get a pass... grrr... So you see, SURELY Green AC believes we have to be the change we want to see, here in California

New homes will certainly be built (builders estimate 2,000 in the next year just in Brookhaven and Babylon), so this is a good effort to use energy more efficiently (and to prevent blackouts, a major motivator for the law). According to Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, we already know, of course, that many schoolchildren in the area already have CFLs ready for installation...

Via SustainableBusiness.com

A Green King!

So, What Does It Cost to Save the Planet?

2007-12-28T11:15:00.000-08:00

A GREEN King Alert!

We've all heard the argument that the economic costs of fully and rapidly addressing global climate change are just too high: it's been a major argument of the White House's response to critics, as well as other conservatives. On Friday, the UK's Guardian took note of a new study by powerhouse accounting firm PricewaterHouseCoopers that attempted to estimate the numbers. Turns out the costs may not be so high after all:

The world would have to give up only one year's economic growth over the next four decades to reduce carbon emissions sufficiently to stave off the threat of global warming, a report says today.

Consultants at PricewaterhouseCoopers offer a "green growth plus" strategy, combining energy efficiency, greater use of renewables and carbon capture to cut emissions by 60% by 2050 from the level reached by doing nothing. Nuclear energy, it says, can play a role, but it is not crucial.
This scenario, which involves little real sacrifice in terms of economic growth, could be achieved only if embarked upon without delay, the report warns.

"If countries adopt a 'business as usual' approach, the result could be a more than doubling of global carbon emissions by 2050," said John Hawksworth, head of macroeconomics at PwC.

"Our analysis suggests that there are technologically feasible and relatively low cost options for controlling carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Estimates suggest that the level of GDP might be reduced by no more than 2-3% in 2050 if this strategy is followed."

A Real Green Goddess!

2007-12-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Simran on Martha Stewart about the simplicity of going Green. Its finally happened! Someone thats bridging the gap on how Environmental stewardship relates to business, politics and the broader social justice movement. And its in the best place to reach americans across the globe-daytime television! It's all happening now...give us a call and let us show you how you can get started today!

...the Green King!