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GREEN NEWS - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOCAL REALTOR ACHIEVES NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS GREEN DESIGNATION
December, 2008 - Burlingame, CA. Olivia Edwards with the Platinum Group at McGuire Real Estate has been awarded the National Association of Realtors® (NAR’s) Green Designation, the only green real estate professional designation recognized by NAR.
Olivia achieved this prestigious designation after completing 18 hours of course work designed specifically for REALTORS®. The courses were created in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of industry experts from across the country, ensuring designees gain comprehensive knowledge of green homes and buildings and issues of sustainability in relation to real estate.
More specifically, Olivia was trained understanding what makes a property green, helping clients evaluate the cost/benefits of green building features and practices, distinguishing between industry rating and classification systems, listing and marketing green homes and buildings, discussing the financial grants and incentives available to homeowners, and helping consumers see a property’s green potential.
“As energy costs rise along with concern for the environment, homeowners are looking for innovative ways to save money and live responsibility,” said Dick Gaylord, NAR’s immediate past president. NAR’s Green Designation was developed in response to growing consumer awareness of the benefits of resource-efficient homes and buildings. The designation helps consumers who care about energy efficiency and sustainable building practices identify REALTORS® who can help them realize their green real estate and life goals.
As an NAR Green Designee, Olivia has gained the knowledge and the tools necessary to become a trusted green resource for Burlingame and the Bay Area. For more information about Olivia Edwards please visit www.platinumgroupre.com or email Olivia@oliviaedwards.com
For more information about NAR’s newest designation, visit www.greenresourcecouncil.org
PLATINUM "GREEN" NEWS
GREEN IS GOOD! Green is what's happening in real estate. The Platinum Group addresses the concerns of consumers like you seeking "Green" solutions for their lifestyle and their home. Our mission is to provide you with the knowledge and awareness of green building principles that you can apply in your home and community, and alert you to properties that are designated "Green" homes. We also incorporate "Green" principles into our real estate business; we minimize paper usage, recycle, and seek out homes and promote a database of San Mateo County's Green homes.
REMODEL THE GREEN WAY - For an online copy of Residential Remodeling Guidelines from the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Here are the top 11 must visit Green Websites:
ECO STREET - Discover this site dedicated to raising green consciousness. EcoStreet is an independent, pioneering blog, directory and forum dedicated to raising green consciousness. Started by sisters Nikki Algar and Tracy Stokes who in 2002 sat down one evening to discuss how they could start an online project to spread the word about living green and to make it easier for people to find green products and services. Within a few weeks EcoStreet started out as a directory of UK websites. We wanted to help promote websites that were offering green products or services. EcoStreet has grown over the past 5 years into a thriving global community of readers who contribute to the EcoStreet blog, directory and forum, and of course, a common cause - wanting to live more sustainable lives.
AUTO BLOG GREEN - This site is dedicated to raising awareness about the auto industry and anything to do with "Green" consciousness and the auto industry.
CARBON FOOTPRINT. - This is such a cool site where you can discover what your personal carbon footprint.- A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. The carbon footprint is a measurement of all greenhouse gases we individually produce and has units of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.
EARTH EASY - The Eartheasy web site strives to help us reduce our impact on the earth's resources, help reduce our contribution to global warming, bring more simplicity to our lives, and bring us closer to nature.
ECO CHIC - Discover all the new "Green" product and services for your new "Green" lifestyle on this fun web site.
ECO GEEK - I love this one. Technology can be a force for evil, or for awesome. Those who shun technologies that could save the planet are just as guilty as those who ignore the environment. There's a safe balance, where the awesome can help nature as much as it helps us have a good time and live easier lives. EcoGeek devotes its pages to exploring the symbiosis between nature and technology. If you're interested in that, then stop by, and stop by often.
ECO RAZZI - What a fun site...this site gives you all the celebrity gossip and news to help celebrities further their good messages – and to offer the general public a way to follow their favorite celebs and perhaps learn something at the same time. The site covers environmental, humanitarian, animal rights, and vegetarian issues as they relate to those in the spotlight. In the spirit of fair play, the site is quick to point how who’s slacking and who’s deserving of recognition.
GREEN OPTIONS - This great web site is about empowering sustainable choices. Green Options Media’s rapidly growing network of environmentally-focused blogs provides users with a broad spectrum of information for making sustainable choices. Launched in February, 2007, Green Options Media has grown into a leader among "green" news and information sources aimed at general audiences. Written by experienced professionals and topic experts, Green Options Media’s individual blogs engage visitors with authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice. Users new to the “green life” can contribute to the conversation by joining in dialogue between our writers and visitors on individual blogs. We don’t preach to the choir, or require a commitment to our vision: we invite anyone with questions, or simply curiosity, to add their voices to the community, and share their approaches to achieving abundance while lightening their environmental footprint.
HYBRID CARS - Easy to guess that this is the place to shop for that hybrid car you know you ought to be driving. HybridCars.com is the Internet’s premier website dedicated to hybrid gas-electric vehicles and the full range of consumer information and tools about cars, energy, and the environment. Car reviews, interactive tools, news, and user forums are designed to help car shoppers make informed purchase decisions. The site works with academic institutions and industry analysts to conduct research related to emerging market for hybrid, alternative fuel, and electric cars.
THE DAILY GREEN - "Honey, somebody ought to invent a great green website for regular people." So, welcome to TheDailyGreen.com. It's the handiwork of Gloria Dawson, truly a climate change witness. It's about being an eco-warrior.
TREE HUGGER - TreeHugger is helping the masses get hooked on sustainability. Press notables have hailed it as a “green CNN”, and a “Green Blog God.” Media empires like The Oprah Winfrey Show, Martha Stewart and the Sundance Channel have taken note. In 2006, TreeHugger took home a Vloggie for being the "Best Green Vlog." For three consecutive years in a row (2005,2006,2007) TreeHugger was nominated for a Bloggie, and, within the past two years, The Webby Awards and the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival have nominated them in various categories.
RECYCLE WORKS - Living in San Mateo County, how you can life a recycled life. This web site shows you where to take your electronics for recycling, how to start a compost bin, which buildings in San Mateo are Green. If you live in San Mateo County and have a 'green' heart, you need to be here.
GREEN WASHING - What is Greenwashing? It's whitewashing, but with a Green Brush. Everyone's heard the expression "whitewashing" — it's defined as "a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant facts, especially in a political context." "Greenwashing" is the same premise, but in an environmental context. It's greenwashing when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be "green" through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact. A classic example might be an energy company that runs an advertising campaign touting a "green" technology they're working on — but that "green" technology represents only a sliver of the company's otherwise not-so-green business, or may be marketed on the heels of an oil spill or plant explosion...you get the picture.
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