Straw Bale Home~~Oakland, CA~~Greenest Building Material

Oakland's Only Straw Bale House

This one of a kind home is coming on the market for the first time in the Rockridge District of Oakland. Straw Bales are inherently green, as straw is an agricultural waste product. Straw can be reinforced and strengthened to create a quiet, warm (or temperate) house that is long lasting and strong.

This home is a gorgeous oasis, uniquely designed to capture light and space to create an incredible space to call home.

Green City Lofts ~~Coming Soon!~~

Green Building practices promote construction of buildings that are healthier for the occupants and healthier for the environment. The policy of GreenCity Lofts, LLC is to establish sustainability as a priority and further demonstrate our commitment to the environment.



Sustainable or “green” building practices can reduce the tremendous impact that building design, construction and maintenance has on both people and nature. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Center for Sustainable Development, buildings consume 40% of the world's total energy, 25% of its wood harvest and 16% of its water. Energy and material consumption in buildings can contribute significantly to global climate change.



Sustainable building practices go beyond energy and water conservation to incorporate environmentally sensitive site planning, resource efficient building materials and superior indoor environmental quality.

The Grubb Company Promotes Green Real Estate

The National Association of Realtors is (finally) Going Green!

I've been pleasantly surprised to discover that my new brokerage, The GRUBB Company promotes Green Real Estate with it's agents and clients. Our Broker, John Karney is a marine biologist by training and is well founded in the science of global warming. Coming from a scientific background, he is wary of Green-Washing and I felt myself heaving a sigh of relief when I saw the intelligence with which the topic of "Green Real Estate" has been addressed in our office.

The new Green Certification offered by NAR is a big step in the right direction for creating awareness with Realtors and I am looking forward to adding that certification to my Build it Green designation.

There has been an emphasis in green building of consumerism. Just replace that old thing with the new, new green technology. This is great when we are talking toilets and refrigerators, but I just want to point out replacement should not always be the first line in our green arsenal.

Shopping, remodeling, new foundations... none of them are as green as doing nothing, but they might be safer and more beautiful!

Being green can take a lot of research, so don't let yourself get Green-Washed!

Eco-Home Improvement, San Pablo Avenue

The Benefits of Low-VOC Paints

Some people love that “new-paint smell” that is derived from a freshly painted room. It’s actually caused by volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

VOCs are a class of chemicals that can cause health problems and contribute to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Low-level exposure to VOCs can cause temporary health problems, including headaches, dizziness and nausea. Higher exposure levels can cause permanent damage to kidneys, liver and nervous or respiratory systems. Plus, gasses from VOCs contribute to indoor air pollution and outdoor smog when its emissions react with other hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and sunlight.

Avoid high levels of VOCs by choosing latex-based paint. Although it can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals, paint still can be divided into two subcategories according to its primary solvent.

In latex paints, water is the primary solvent; in alkyds, it's a petroleum solvent (oil). Latex paints, with much lower levels of VOCs, beat alkyds hands-down for safety.

Try Portland based, Yolo, for no VOC paints. www.yolocolorhouse.com or call me for more information.

Another option... lots of Rockridge Agents use Mark's Paints on Telegraph Avenue for their expertise. They carry a new Benjamin Moore low VOC paint line called Aura. Ask them for additional information!