OregonLive.com

Developer Mark Edlen gathered his sales team and investors in January 2009 to celebrate the opening of the most ambitious project of his career. More than 200 people sipped wine and nibbled snacks as they walked around the fifth floor of the opulent Bellevue Towers in the Seattle suburb. Twin 40-story condo buildings, $430 million worth, towered above them.  It was a crowning achievement for Oregon's most successful real estate man. But the timing couldn't have been worse. The stock market was free-falling. Home prices were tumbling. Condo buyers were dissolving. Today, Bellevue Towers is headed back to the bank and tens of millions in investor money will be wiped out. Two other condo projects by Gerding Edlen Development Co. have gone back to the lender after sales fell far below expectations. At another tower in Los Angeles, sales continue to sputter. On those four projects, the firm's investors will lose about $100 million. It's the kind of financial meltdown that has pushed many developers out of business or into bankruptcy. But that's not part of Edlen's game plan. Instead, he's charting a dramatic departure from business as usual that is as big and bold as anything he's tried before.
Gerding Edlen's rise, fall and hoped-for resurgence illustrates the destructive power of the crash and Edlen's ambition to weather it. The company's strategic 180-degree turn could work in part because Gerding Edlen's reputation has survived relatively intact.  Prominent Portland real estate investor Robert D. Scanlan said he wouldn't hesitate to invest again with Edlen.

"About everything that could go wrong did go wrong," said Scanlan, whose firm made and then lost millions on Gerding Edlen's projects. "The fact that they're still standing, that he's still standing, is a semi-miracle." Instead of constructing new buildings this time, the company hopes to buy old ones, put them through green makeovers and hold the buildings or sell them. "We figure there is about 50 to 60 million square feet out there that could be retrofitted" just in the Portland area, Edlen said in an interview in his Pearl District office last week. "The opportunities right now are as huge as I've ever seen." To fuel the new business model, Edlen sold part of the company and created a private equity fund. The firm registered the Gerding Edlen Green Cities fund in December with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $500 million, according to the documents.  The shock and pain of the past two years remain etched in Edlen's face. But out of that crash, he says, his company can emerge at the forefront of what he views as a political movement. "The big thing for my generation was Vietnam and civil rights," the 57-year-old Edlen said. "For the young people of today, it's their environmental footprint."

Brewing big ideas

Gerding Edlen Development got its start far from the world of condo towers. The company launched in 1996 when Edlen went into business with biochemist-turned-developer Bob Gerding.  Edlen and Gerding were opposites in many ways. Gerding, who died last August, was tall and cerebral; Edlen is short and frenetic.  Gerding could talk for hours about wine and fishing. Edlen could talk for hours about flooring systems. His mind rarely leaves real estate. Edlen has been known to prefer 5 a.m. meetings over power lunches. "He's a grinder," said Homer Williams, a Portland developer and sometime partner of Edlen's. "Up at the crack of the dawn. The motor starts and it doesn't shut off." The firm started with squat but high-end office buildings in Portland's southwest suburbs.  The brick buildings stacked up tidy profits for investors. But they weren't the type of projects that earned centerfold spreads in architecture magazines. That changed when Wieden+Kennedy called for help with a new headquarters. For the advertising giant, Gerding Edlen turned a rotted, boarded-up building in Northwest Portland into a renovated work space with a dramatic atrium and remilled old-growth timber. Wieden+Kennedy earned Gerding Edlen some buzz, but it was the next project that catapulted it. The aging Blitz-Weinhard brewery on West Burnside Street was shutting down, leaving a gaping hole of activity in the center of Portland. Gerding Edlen bought the site in 1999 for $19.5 million and turned it into five blocks pulsing with top-shelf retailers, restaurants, a major law firm and an apartment building that fetched record-high rents. "They put that thing together when everybody said it would fail, including me," said Craig Sweitzer of Urban Works Real Estate.

Gerding Edlen sold three of the five blocks eight years later to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for nearly $292 million. In a city starved for business success stories, the Brewery Blocks made Gerding Edlen a star.  In the years to come, Gerding Edlen ballooned to a staff of 45. It devoted itself to values that made Portland an urban-planning icon: green, dense and walkable. The firm became the country's most prolific builder of green-certified projects.  All of that was important to building Gerding Edlen's brand.  In 2002, the company best known for developing office projects started its first condo building, a fateful move that foreshadowed the rest of the decade. Set high above Powell's Books on Northwest Couch Street, The Henry marked Portland's first luxury condo project.

The Pearl District's early condos were marketed to artists and twentysomethings willing to put up with raw lofts and one-bedroom units. The Henry used spacious two-bedroom units with stainless steel appliances to target a more affluent set: downsizing West Hills baby boomers. The 123-unit Henry sold out for record prices nine months before construction finished. Flush with that success, Gerding Edlen doubled-down on condos.
Their market studies told them the buyers would be there for hundreds of new condos in Portland, Los Angeles and Bellevue, Wash. The real estate boom was just taking off. Wall Street lenders and wealthy Portlanders searched for condo developers to invest in. Homeowners, flush with equity from rising prices, had cash to burn on new condos.  Along with partner Williams, Gerding Edlen quickly popped up 245 condos at the Meriwether in South Waterfront. The project was twice the size of The Henry. Most of it sold out before it was built.  Then there were 176 condos at the Elleven building in Los Angeles.  Some of their early condo towers returned 40 percent profits over three years. Seven years after it entered the condo market, the firm had built or started 3,200 units in three West Coast cities worth $1.6 billion.

A plunge from the heights

The condo craze crested with the John Ross. Gerding Edlen's South Waterfront tower -- the city's biggest condo building -- had a white-hot sales opening in 2005. In six days, 229 buyers reserved units. That propelled Gerding Edlen and their partners to do more, faster. They pressed ahead with plans for five more South Waterfront condo buildings and five more in Los Angeles. And they bet bigger than ever with Bellevue Towers. At $430 million, it was more than double the cost of the Meriwether.  Then the air began to leak out of the boom.  In spring 2007, Gerding Edlen and its partners started turning the John Ross reservations into closed sales. One after another, buyers backed off. Some of them got into legal fights with the developer over their earnest money. The mortgage market was drying up.  John Ross buyers who depended on risky no-down-payment loans no longer qualified for a mortgage. Investors who had hoped to resell their condo for a quick profit got nervous that prices would stop growing.  Ultimately, 77 of the 229 sales went away. The easy-money era was dead. The trouble was, Gerding Edlen still had $1 billion worth of condos in the pipeline. "Once you have the steel going up, it's tough to put a cap on it," Edlen said.  Edlen and his sales teams, bankers and investors dropped prices, hoping to spur sales. Then they dropped them some more. Sales slipped behind schedule, and the construction loans had to be paid off.

As home prices fell, the equity-rich buyers who fueled The Henry's success went away, too. Then Wall Street collapsed. Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers went down in 2008, and so did the Dow. Consumer confidence vanished. Between 2007 and 2008, sales of new downtown condos in Portland plummeted 62 percent. "After Lehman Brothers, the wheels came off," Edlen said of the economy. "But even then, we didn't have a sense of how bad it would be." The economy followed the Dow into a nose dive. Oregon unemployment more than doubled, to 11 percent.  A condo market that once looked bulletproof was full of holes.  Gerding Edlen lost primary control of two condo towers: John Ross and Atwater Place in South Waterfront. Bellevue Towers is in the midst of similar negotiations and is headed for the same fate. Sales at the Evo in Los Angeles have also sputtered. In the process, Gerding Edlen's equity investors have been wiped out on those four projects. Completely. Those investors, wealthy individuals and big corporations, normally account for 10 to 15 percent of a project's cost.  With $900 million invested in those four projects, Gerding Edlen's equity investors have lost about $100 million. It's not clear how much Gerding Edlen shared in those losses.  Edlen, reluctant to talk numbers, acknowledged his company has lost money. The firm's executives, he said, have personally lost money as well. But he wouldn't say how much.  Edlen did say the company shed half its development force, from 45 people to 23. He said losses grew as the company tried to dig out of trouble.

"You can cut and run or you can stay and deal with things," Edlen said. "Not only did we lose money, but staying with these properties probably lost us more money. "It's been very tough." Kelly Saito, Gerding Edlen's chief operating officer, said the company would have minimized its pain by slowing its pace.  But he added: "We have done some soul-searching. If you really look at the timing in every case, you can find very solid justification for why the building was started."

Going with the green

With real estate development all but dead, Gerding Edlen opted to change course. It's trying to do that with a new business model, a new partner and an ambitious new funding plan. Developing new buildings for a fee and a slice of the profits is out. The green economy is in.  Gerding Edlen's strategy is to buy completed or partly finished buildings at bargain prices, retrofit them with state-of-the-art energy-efficient technology and then either sell the buildings or hold them and lease them out.  Edlen is convinced sustainable building has finally arrived as a viable business strategy, thanks in part to the Obama administration's view of the green economy as one of the country's primary economic engines.

"You've got to get your hands dirty and do deep retrofits," Edlen said. "It's about insulation, new windows or reglazing existing windows, it's about new water-use strategies." He declined to identify any current projects the company is working on, though he did say it has bids outstanding on 10 projects in three West Coast markets. The firm has brought on a partner to help build the new business. In 2008, as Gerding Edlen first hit the shoals of the economic crash, Edlen agreed to sell a minority share of the company to Equilibrium Capital of Portland. The deal was an enormous coup for Equilibrium, a startup venture capital fund put together by investor David Chen and Bill Campbell, a former partner at the Ater Wynne law firm. The Gerding Edlen investment gave Equilibrium a piece of one of the most renowned companies in the city right in its green-economy sweet spot. "It's a very exciting opportunity," said Chen, who joined the Gerding Edlen board. The move was out of character for Edlen. His firm routinely raised money from well-heeled investors for individual projects. But it had zealously restricted ownership stakes in the company to a tiny coterie of company executives. Neither Edlen nor Chen would provide details of the Equilibrium relationship, declining to divulge how much money the fund invested or what percentage it owns. "After six months of talk, it became apparent he could take us in some new directions," Edlen said of Chen. Finding financing for real estate projects remains difficult. But if the company successfully raises $500 million for its Green Cities fund, Gerding Edlen will have attained significant financial momentum with or without outside lenders. When it registered the fund on Dec. 28, Gerding Edlen said it had raised $40 million from three investors, according to the SEC filing. Edlen wouldn't talk about the fund, citing SEC rules. Raising $500 million from investors is an ambitious endeavor for a company that digested big losses. But investors who lost in Edlen's recent condo projects still give him high marks for candor and tenacity. "Let's face it, they got caught in some tough times," said Eli Morgan, a Portland investor who helped bankroll condo towers in Los Angeles and Bellevue. "So did a lot of other developers. They're smart operators."

-- Ryan Frank and Jeff Manning

In a state that grows sturgeon 10 feet long and Douglas firs taller than 300 feet, large, natural wonders are nothing new.  But if a starry-eyed and unusually broad coalition gets its way, Portland will soon become home to the world’s tallest “living building,” a revolutionary structure that will generate all its own electricity, capture and process its own water and leave no carbon footprint.

After a couple years of planning, the project is now on a fast track: Gerding Edlen Development is due to award the construction contract Wednesday, Nov. 24, for the 132,000-square-foot building—and it plans to break ground next summer. 

The project is audacious. “We are attempting to create one of the most advanced buildings on the planet,” says Rob Bennett, director of the Portland Sustainability Institute.

Sheathed in ultra-efficient, triple-glazed glass and topped with a massive, sail-like array of solar panels, the seven- or eight-story Oregon Sustainability Center will resemble a terrestrial NASA space station, surrounded with gardens that will filter and process wastewater.

The building, which will occupy what is now a surface parking lot at Southwest 4th Avenue and Montgomery Street, will include many unusual features, such as a 200,000-gallon tank to capture every drop of rain that falls on the roof and a geothermal heating and cooling system that will tap into the earth’s free energy.

The building’s price tag reflects proponents’ ambitions. The most recent “all in” construction cost estimate is $462 per square foot—perhaps the most expensive office space ever built in Portland. It will require $65 million in public funds, mostly from the Oregon University System and City of Portland—and propel Portland into the lead of a green arms race with cities such as Chicago, Seattle and Austin.

While few critics challenge the worthiness of the project’s goals, some question the practical realities of proceeding at a time when the city struggles to provide basic services.

“We have limited resources,” says economist Joe Cortright of Impresa Consulting. “I worry that we’re spending them on what could be a green Potemkin village rather than addressing more systemic solutions, like building codes.”

“For a model to be sustainable, it has to be not only ecologically sustainable but economically sustainable,” adds Will Macht, a real estate developer and professor at Portland State University. “This project is not economically sustainable, and that is the simple truth.”

Advocates say such criticism is myopic. 

They say the Sustainability Center should be viewed not as a real estate deal but the next chapter in an Oregon success story that stretches from the Bottle Bill to national leadership in recycling to forward-looking public transportation and renewable-energy policies.

“It’s very short-sighted to look just at the real estate cost,” says Andrea Durbin, executive director of the Oregon Environmental Council and one of the project’s leaders. “The real question is, how do you actually use this project to leverage long-term outcomes?”  BY NIGEL JAQUISS | njaquiss at wweek dot com  Read More

If you use a lot of energy in your house, you probably know that this is very expensive. Apart from that, it is polluting the earth as well! That's why I will show you a few quick and easy energy saving methods that you can use in your everyday life.

The biggest possible step in switching to less energy use and lower bills, is by using renewable energy sources. Here you can think of wind power, solar power, etc. These are all types of energy that are produced "green", so they are no burden on our environment. Apart from that, they can be an infinite source of free electricity for you!

For home use, there are several possibilities to use renewable energy. Probably the easiest and most cost-efficient is DIY Solar Power. You can pretty easily make a solar power system yourself, so the price is not too high. And it will pay back for the costs in no time!

But if you don't want to switch to renewable energy, there are still other things you could do to use less non-renewable energy. We will show you a few points where you can help save the environment, and lower your bills as well:

1. Lights: You can save a lot of energy if you use CFL (fluorescent light) bulbs. They are scientifically proven to use way less energy than conventional bulbs. If you would change all the lights in your house to CFL, you would really see your energy bill getting lower (meaning mother earth gets a bit greener).

2. Car: Of course this is a big energy waster already. Whenever possible, try not to use one (but that's easier said than done). However, if you must use a car then look out with your air conditioner. This device REALLY uses a lot of electricity, so set it as low as possible.

3. Washing machine: First, when you buy a washing machine look closely at the energy labels. They will tell you if it is a energy saving or wasting machine. A good washing machine will pay back in lower energy bills! Also, try to only use a washer if you have a load of clothes to wash, not just one little dress.

4. Monitor: When you shut down your computer, what do you do next? Walk away? Wrong! You switch off your monitor. Maybe this sounds silly (it is), but there are millions of people out there that shut down their computers and then leave their monitor switched on. Unnecessary to say this is a pointless waste of electricity.

That's it for today. I hope you learned something new to help you change your level of energy use, and do your part in the battle against pollution! If you haven't done so yet, I would advise you to take a quick look at renewable energy, this is by far the best way to do some good for the planet and for your budget at the same time. Author Matthew S. Leverton

Call it by any name you like, water or hydrogen gas fuel, they are talking about only one thing. years ago people could have been afraid to use hydrogen technology, but today they are embracing it, especially countries like the US, Europe and Canada. To be able to use hydrogen gas fuel, you have to change your vehicle immediately. You are surely aware that 75% of the earth is water, and with this as the background, scientists have proved that water can actually be a source of fuel energy. Unfortunately, water alone can't be used to fuel a vehicle and what you need is a converting instrument and an HHO generator - but still, water is an integral part in hydrogen technology.

One of the greatest scientists who studied about the viability of water as source of green fuel is Nikola Tesla. Although he had made a lot of discoveries, not all his studies were not revealed to the world. Most of Tesla's inventions were 'futuristic' and regular people can't normally understand them. hydrogen gas technology is not new and it has been in existence for many many years now but just recently, hydrogen gas powered cars have gained much popularity. This is of course a serious matter for corporations who market place gas, as it can mean a drastic reduction in demand once greater numbers of hydrogen fueled vehicles are on the road.

Then again, the invention of hydrogen powered vehicles has brought much attention to the troubles here on Earth like pollution and global warming. Today there are plenty of cars, which use water as their fuel, but it is imperative to change your car, before you can do this. Will you believe that you can increase mileage from 75 -100%? That sounds unbelievable, right? But then, the facts speak for themselves so check online for user testimonies and product reviews and everyone is raving about hydrogen gas fuel.

Perhaps you've also seen TV interviews about satisfied car owners who are already using hydrogen gas technology. If you're a car owner and your head hurts badly because of the expensive cost of gasoline, convert your car now. You don't have to take the car to a mechanic because you can either do the converting on your own or purchase a ready-made HHO generator and conversion tool. The tools and generator costs around eight hundred dollars which might seem a bit on the higher side, but after installation hydrogen gas power cell technology, you can look forward to many years of smooth and frugal driving. Aside from saving massive money, your car will function at its best. It will make your car less noisy and the gears can be shifted smoothly.

So, do you want to be a happy and contented driver too? Well if you do - use hydrogen fuel and covert your vehicle now! Anyway, if ever you're not satisfied with the performance of the hydrogen gas technology, you can readily take it off it from your car and return to using gasoline to power your vehicle. Because the percentage of people who are satisfied with hydrogen gas power is very high, chances are that you could be content too. This has been so far the best source of alternate fuel for driving cars so become one of the many who have chosen to continue such cost-efficient ways of driving and remember, you are doing something for the environment also.  Author Sandy Maseko

Seeing the impacts of our choices and watching the earth wearing down, I couldn't help but think of how and what I could change to start leaving a positive imprint. Conserving energy seemed to stick out most, but still how can I, just one person make a change that will really impact the earth? If we all take the time and look around us, we can see how we have impacted the world. Wheter good or bad, we can see it. The good news is we have the power to change it.

I conducted research that helped me become more knowledgeable about energy conservation. Through my research I learned great tips that helped me start saving instantly. I made the changes I could, including unplugging items, washing clothes in cold water and weather proofing my windows. My electric bills steadily decreased with each passing month.

Will choices we all have made really impact the environment? Yes of course, so making positive changes will positively impact the world. How ever big or small your change is, as long as you make the change that is great. I know when thinking of a small scale we may not really make a huge difference, but together we can all make a great impact for the better!

So to answer the question, what does conserving really do, it helps clean up the environment. If you start today by making small changes in your daily routines you can help put together the big puzzle! To make a huge impact, we can look forward to creating energy using solar power. Solar power is renewable and there is an overflowing surplus! Solar energy is not only a great resource to tap into it is more affordable than ever.

Creating solar power may not be an option for all of us, however we can all make small changes in our daily routines that will hopefully leave a positive impact. Starting by making changes in your daily routines will not only help our environment, it will also decrease your utility bills. In reality, the earth will be here long after we are gone. We are going to be passing it on for generations to come and changing daily habits will help to change the environment for the better. How do you want to leave the earth, how would you want to inherit it?  Author M Jefferson

As the price of fossil fuels reach astronomical amounts more and more homeowners are harnessing their power from the sky by utilizing residential solar power generated by solar panels. If your home is connected to the power company supply grid you can install residential solar power to be used either as supplemental power, or as the primary power supply with the electricity supplied by the power company as supplemental or backup power.

The solar panels needed for generating residential solar power are most often roof or wall mounted but can also be mounted on a free- standing platform, or tower type setup that can actually turn throughout the day to follow the path of the sun. The solar panels are lined with a semiconductor material that releases electricity when sunlight passes through them.

Not all solar panels are like those great big square panels we have all seen at one time or another. You can now buy solar cells that are an integral part of the roofing material that offers the same protection as standard asphalt shingles while providing you with the means to generate residential solar power. That means you get a nearly invisible system which doesn't detract from your home's appearance.

Depending on your installation type, how the electricity gets into your home will differ. Your residential solar power system can be considered a stand alone system if it is not connected to the typical power company grid. The solar panel is the main source of energy in a stand-alone solar power system. The electricity generated in the solar panel is sent to a regulator or controller; from there it flows into an inverter, which converts the electricity from direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). AC is the standard house current used in America to power most of the devices in our homes.

With certain types of installation the power from the solar panels would be routed to a power inverter then into a storage system or directly into your homes electrical system. Excess power can be diverted to the power company. Electrical power that is routed to a storage system, commonly a single or array of batteries, can be tapped into at nightfall or during overcast days. Under either system, the current flows into your homes circuit breaker where it will supply the power to light your home and run your appliances.

Numerous localities provide what is called "metering", which transmits the excess power produced by the residential solar power system to the utility company's grid. In effect, your power meter shifts into reverse so that they could in fact be the ones receiving an invoice from your household!

If you install residential solar power, there can be financial incentives at not only the state, but also the federal level. Some of these incentives include tax breaks, and low cost financing which can help offset most, if not all cost of equipment and installation. The best break might be that you will also see that your electricity bill has virtually disappeared.  Author Jane Jackson

It seems all you hear today is about living a greener lifestyle. You need to reduce your carbon footprint and your environmental impact. We all know that this is important, but it can feel like being lectured at times.

However, there are some easy ways to live a greener life. Curbside recycling is in place in most cities, where you can simply place your recyclables out with your trash for pickup (in a separate container, of course). It's easy to separate your plastic, aluminum and other recyclable materials. The recycling pickup service takes care of the rest ? all you have to do is to take it outside!

There are many things you can do to cut down on driving. Try to do everything in one trip if possible. You will save money, cut down on traffic, and reduce emissions into the environment. Driving is stressful and stress is not good for you so less driving means less stress. Ride with someone or use public transportation if you can. You can ride a bike or walk in some cases and it will also give you some healthy exercise.

When you do things around the house, there are a lot of green products you can use that cost very little. If you replace your standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-saver bulbs, you can save a considerable amount on your energy bill, and the costs of the bulbs are very similar to the incandescent bulbs. These compact fluorescents last much longer than a traditional bulb as well as using less energy.

Making your home more green will also make it more comfortable. Big windows will let in more light, so you can leave your electric lights off longer, fluorescent bulbs and energy efficient appliances will save energy and money too. Turn off the air when you are away, fix those hot water leaks, hang clothes on the line when weather permits. These seem like little things but they will make a big difference in your energy bill.

Another place to go green and save money is with batteries. Today's rechargeable batteries last a long time, recharge easily, and save you money. When they finally do run out of their charging ability, rechargeable batteries are recyclable. Just drop them off at your local hardware store for recycling along with any broken fluorescent bulbs.

Contrary to popular opinion, it is easy to be green and even easier too go green. It saves you money while doing something good for the environment. Before you know it, living green will be second nature and you'll be looking for ways to add some more green living to your lifestyle.  Author Simon Skinner

Also known as water butts in the UK and rainwater tanks in many parts of the United States, rain barrels are water containers wherein rain water from rooftops is collected and stored. This water usually passes through rain gutters that are installed on roofs. Related storage vessels called rainwater tanks on the other hand are used primarily for the collection of harvested rain. Rain barrels sometimes draw their water from patios made of concrete, driveways, and other types of non porous surfaces. 
Rain barrels actually have many uses, not the least of which is the storage of rain water for later use. With this usage, they can greatly decrease the consumption of water from the mains supply, which is of course a great benefit in terms of economical and environment considerations. Storing rain water for later use also allows you to be self sufficient, in that you will not be as dependent on the water from your main source to some extent, depending on your particular rate of water consumption. 
The stored water from the rain barrels may itself be used for garden irrigation and other agricultural purposes, for household uses such as flushing toilets, washing clothes and cars, and in some cases even for drinking. This is particularly helpful when there is an unavailability of your regular water supply, or if the water in your area is either costly or poor quality. For this reason, rain barrels are often used in dry climates during the rainy season for storing water for later use in the dry season. In any case, water that is collected from rain barrels must still be protected against contamination and filtered if possible. 
Some rain barrels can be a bit expensive, but their many uses means that they will pay for themselves in the long run. Some homeowners have even been known to use small rain barrels that have a correspondingly smaller capacity. Rain barrels can even be fashioned from food containers that have been recycled, transport barrels, and even barrels used in the production of wine and whiskey. These types of rain barrels have the benefit of being quite inexpensive. Keep in mind that with these types of rain barrels, it is important to make sure that they are sufficiently sealed in order to prevent the entry of mosquitoes. Even if it seems that mosquitoes are not able to enter, rain barrels can still be a breeding ground for mosquito larvae if there is no proper filtering in place.  Author George Wonderman

Like many of us, perhaps you have been taken aback by the unending and continual rise of the prices of your electric bills. The time for you to act on it is now. Enumerated below are ways on decreasing your electric bills for good.

This piece of writing tells us about some ways, both easy and simple, that will eventually lessen or eliminate for good dreadfully-priced electric bills.

One simple yet unpopular step that is often taken for granted is actually limiting the use of electricity itself. You can begin with the room that you are in right now. If you are supposed to leave for quite a while, will you not look around and inspect your surroundings for any appliance that will be left on? Make sure that you put all electric appliances off. This does not only mean switching them off, it also means unplugging the electric cable from the power source whenever necessary. This simple step is guaranteed to help. Be reminded that a dollar will not be complete if it lacks a penny.

Small investments in smart gadgets: One example of a smart move is switching from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Despite the small amount of investment, these CFL bulbs can save you energy and money.

Power Save gadgets: These gadgets enable you to monitor the supply of power in your home. Also, they control the minimum amount of power that your household needs.

Home appliances: It is but inevitable for a household to continue increasing the number of electric appliances it utilizes. However, the manner of using these appliances dictates whether it will increase the electric bill or not. So as to control the use of energy of these appliances, here are some tips:

See to it that there are enough clothes to wash before using the washing machine

Monitor and regulate your furnace and air-conditioner. A big help for the busy family is the use of programmable thermostats.

Even for just a moment, the TV, computer monitor, and other electrical appliance must be turned off whenever they are not in use.

Despite the decrease of the use of electric power, a lot of people still choose to set up their own home solar or wind power generators that can give free electrical energy. In fact, more and more American homeowners are practicing this economical way of generating electricity. It is the same case with a lot more people around the world. Every decrease in the amount of your electric consumption is a simple step in saving the earth.  Author Ashley Patrick

One of the benefits of living green is it can extend your lifespan. This may be surprising, but it is very true. There are many things that not only help the earth, but they help you, too! Eating fresh organic foods, cutting down on driving, and many other things will help you live greener, longer!

Most foods are grown using pesticides; there are natural ways to get rid of these pests without polluting the earth. Commercial meet producers use growth hormones and antibiotics to grow the animals bigger and faster to gain more profits. You can buy organically grown foods or grow your own if you live where this is possible. You will be able to eat fresh food and meat daily, full of nutrients, and free from chemicals and the bad effects they can cause. This will greatly improve your health and also help the environment. 

Try to drive less. By combining your errands, you not only save fuel and reduce the traffic on the roads; you are giving yourself less stress from dealing with traffic jams and other drivers. Carpool or use public transit when you can. If you choose to ride a bike or walk for some of your errands, you also get needed exercise. This will help keep your heart healthy and keep you limber and toned. 

When you do things around the house, there are a lot of green products you can use that cost very little. If you replace your standard incandescent light bulbs with energy-saver bulbs, you can save a considerable amount on your energy bill, and the costs of the bulbs are very similar to the incandescent bulbs. These compact fluorescents last much longer than a traditional bulb as well as using less energy. 

There is a lot you can do in your home to get more green. Open up the curtains and let the light in. Natural light is the best light to see by and you can avoid using energy by leaving your lights off more. Start using the new compact fluorescent light bulbs and stop wasting money and energy on the standard bulbs. These bulbs will last much longer and use less energy. You will love not having to change light bulbs all the time.

The little things add up, start recycling your aluminum cans and anything else you can. Not only will you help the earth to be greener, you will get a little cash too. Take your own bags to the store when you shop, you will have less trash and the store may even give you a few cents for doing it. Try to buy things with less plastic packaging if possible. You will help your air to be cleaner to breath by doing these things.

Once you get started, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to live greener. You'll be amazed at how much better you feel? both physically and mentally. Plus, you'll feel better knowing you're doing your part to have a healthier planet to live on. So go ahead? live greener and live longer. You'll be happy you gave it a try.  Author Simon Skinner, owner of green-base.com.