Thursday, April 29, 2010

Rocket Racing League in on!

Stars Wars pod racing is almost there..

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Boston approves wind energy project

Boston approves wind energy project

Posted on April 28th, 2010 by alex

Finally these fans can cheer!!! A big congratulations hailed to the city of Boston on its big step of clean energy development. After long debate on this decision, Massachusetts will become the first state to initial a major clean energy in offshore wind farm project. As their secretary of Interior noted United States wants to lead in clean energy revolution that will reshape our future, other states and organizations should look to expand this initiative as its country and world demands it.

Amid several environmental and political controversy revolving this project most prominent supporters believe “the future of wind power in the United States will be stronger knowing ..[that] this is jobs and clean energy for Massachusetts. I have seen wind energy excel at it best. Certain parts of Britain’s suburbs such as Barking – London, Dagenham – Essex, Havering – London or Tower Hamlets – London, have one or two wind turbines serving their communities. This is old news to them but a big step and development United States is “hoping” to explore baring all political hurdles. How sooner is a question I am afraid to hear unless the improbably satisfaction “to the powers that be” catch up to other clean energy countries’ business achievements. This is the future in technology we no longer can hold off for “the future”.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 11:04 pm and is filed under Featured Content, Wind Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

i guess the windfarm view ain't that bad after all...

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Monday, April 26, 2010

Earth Day Should Be Every Day!

Earth Day Should Be Every Day!

Posted on April 26th, 2010 by Sulaiman

April 22, 2010 was officially “Earth Day” according to our calendar. However, Earth Day should be Every Day and we all must make a commitment to make sure mother earth is preserved for future generations. Let’s all get excited about making Earth day Every day and contribute to making the earth greener. Now if you are serious about going green but having a brain fart and don’t know what to do, here is an easy suggestion RECYCLE! If you don’t know where to recycle certain items such as old TV’s, old coat hangers  or things we don’t regularly recycle then I have a solution for that as well, Call the Police (911) …no not that police …the Earth Police…Earth911.com!

“Earth911.com is your one-stop shop for all you need to know about reducing your impact, reusing what you’ve got and recycling your trash”and they believe that Earth day should be Every day and their slogan reads “Making Every Day Earth Day”. You can find many resources about recycling materials such electronics, hazardous cleaning materials, paper, platics, glass, automotive, Metal, and much more. They also have a recycling database, where you can find over 100,000 recycling locations across the country. With information provided by local governments, industry insiders, organizations and everyday consumers, you can recycle hundreds of products from packing peanuts to computers. They know where you need to go to get things done. Check out the Earth Police at www.earth911.com.

Remember…Be part of the SOLUTION so that we may have a BRIGHT FUTURE!!! Feel free to start by searching for green contractors for something as simple as an energy efficiency audit by entering your zipcode here!

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 10:32 am and is filed under Environment, Featured Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Use Earth911.com to make every day an Earth Day, with something as simple as recycling.

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day is here! What are you doing?

Earth Day is here! What are you doing?

Posted on April 22nd, 2010 by Daniel

There are a lot of Earth Day events going on this week, perhaps the biggest one being the Earth Day Network’s Climate Rally at the National Mall in Washington D.C., and we will be there! The event starts at 11am this Sunday, April 25th. This will be the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, since its founding by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970. Yes, the same Mr. Nelson from the Nelson [contraceptive] Pill Hearings… but we digress… the event will feature many speakers, such as Reverend Jesse Jackson, film director James Cameron, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong, producer Trudie Styler, author Margaret Atwood, NFL player and television personality Dhani Jones, environmental photographer Sebastian Copeland, and others. Also, there will be live performances by Sting, John Legend, The Roots, Jimmy Cliff, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Willie Colón, Joss Stone, Robert Randolph, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Booker T, Honor Society and Tao Rodriguez-Seeger.

The purpose of the rally is to urge legislators to come up with comprehensive climate legislation that will help create American jobs, reduce carbon emissions, and secure our future. Check out these core issues and learn more about why this is important to you and your community.

Interested? RSVP at the Earth Day Network’s site here. If you are in New York City, Philadephia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Columbus, Charleston West Virgina, Richmond, Charlottesville, and Baltimore, and you think you don’t want to drive out to DC for this, well guess what, they even have free buses for you guys if you RSVP here. And if you still can’t make it, feel free to find a list of all the events going on near you by visiting the events listings here.

So, what are YOU doing on Earth Day?

Feel free to take a few steps in the right direction by getting quotes from our green contractors for solar or wind energy services, energy efficiency audits, or green remodeling projects by going to our homepage and doing a quick search with your zipcode (currently supporting DC, MD, VA only).

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 11:13 am and is filed under Environment, Featured Content, Green Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I'll be at the National Mall

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Monday, April 19, 2010

Iceland volcano due to global warming?

Iceland volcano due to global warming?

Posted on April 19th, 2010 by admin

According to vulcanologists from the University of Iceland, the immediate answer is no. However, a recent study suggests that increasing temperatures from global warming will cause a lot of ice sheets on volcano tops to melt (d’uuh), which could then lead to some changes in magmatic systems (magma flow, etc.) in volcanic regions (i.e. Iceland’s volcanoes, Mount Erebus in Antarctica, the Aleutian islands of Alaska or Patagonia in South America).

The effects would be more prevalent in areas where ice sheets are melting off of volcanic tops, thus causing slight changes in pressure distribution at the bottom, which could lead to land rises, and associated stresses, These changes in the ground can lead to more frequent volcanic activity.

A report showed that about 10 percent of Iceland’s biggest ice cap, Vatnajokull, has melted since 1890, while the nearby land was simultaneously rising about 25 millimetres (0.98 inch) a year. This is one example of changes brought by melting ice caps.

We would like to point out one comment that we liked on Reuters “It is ironic that the very jet aircraft which are significant contributors to ozone layer breakdown are grounded by volcanic ash perhaps instigated by the melting of glaciers.” (via Reuters)

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 19th, 2010 at 6:16 pm and is filed under Featured Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

interesting theory

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Friday, April 16, 2010

Greening your home: Part 2 of 5

Greening your home: Part 2 of 5

Posted on April 16th, 2010 by admin

1. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs with the ENERGY STAR® label instead of incandescent bulbs.

2. CFLs use 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

3. CFLs generate 70 percent less heat than standard incandescent lighting.

“If every American home replaced just one light bulb or fixture with an ENERGY STAR qualified product, we preserve enough energy each year to light more than three million homes, save more than $600 Million in energy cost, and prevent greenhouse gas emission equivalent to those produced by more than 800,000 cars!”

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 16th, 2010 at 10:39 pm and is filed under Do it Yourself, Energy Audits, Green Remodeling, Uncategorized, sustainable products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Friday, April 9, 2010

Using solar for desalination

Using solar for desalination

Posted on April 9th, 2010 by admin

Like most populations in the desert region, Saudi Arabia has an ongoing fresh-water shortage problem. The country is one of the largest fresh-water producers using the process of desalination. Now the country’s national research agency plans to build the largest desalination plant using… guess… what’s ample in the desert? ..aside from sand … getting warmer… SOLAR!

The plant will operate using a PV concentration technology developed by none other than Big Blue himself, aka IBM. The technology focuses 2,300 times the power of the sun onto a a single square-centimeter solar cell. The cell doesn’t get damaged because of an indium-gallium liquid-metal alloy that acts as a heat sink, by moving the heat away from the cell. In addition to the new PV technology, the plant is also using a new reverse osmosis based water filtration system, also developed by IBM and University of Texas at Austin.

Energy use takes up more than half of the cost of running a desalination plant, and current desalination plants rely on fossil fuels for that energy. Even though solar power is still more expensive than fossil fuels in most places, the long term savings costs make it an ideal solution for such a project. In addition, the substantial reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is just another great perk of such a system. Completion for the plant is scheduled for 2012, and when completed, the plant will produce 30,000 cubic meters of desalinated water per day, which is enough to meet the basic needs of 100,000 people.

(via MIT Technology Review)

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 9th, 2010 at 11:34 am and is filed under Featured Content, Solar Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Thursday, April 8, 2010

fly around the world on solar power

fly around the world on solar power

Posted on April 7th, 2010 by admin

Are you the traveling type that always wanted to visit various places around the world? Would you be adventurous enough to do it on a balloon? No? Ok, would you be GREEN enough to do it with power from 12,000 solar cells? “YES!” is what we’re looking. The famous adventurer Bertrand Piccard is at it again, only this time he’s planning to go around the world by flying something called the Solar Impulse. A worthy prototype of the Solar Impulse took off on its first test flight today form a field in Payerne, Switzerland, and flew for approximately 1.5 hours. The plane has a wingspan the size of that from a 747 (a brisk run to the 70 yard line of your local football field should give you an idea of the length), and weighs 3,500 lbs (think toyota camry, with perfectly fine accelerator pedals). The prototype took off at a speed of 28mph with the help of four 10HP propeller motors (power of a small motor boat). Here’s a video clip from the Associated Press, enjoy! BBC also has some nice video footage here.

Scroll back up and take a closer look at that Solar Impulse and Wright Flyer picture for a second… that’s 106 years of innovation, haven’t we come a long way? I don’t know about you, but I’m still waiting for my flying car!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Featured Content, Green Technology, Solar Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Toyota Hybrid Recall? No. Chevrolet Volt Display

Toyota Hybrid Recall? No. Chevrolet Volt Display

Posted on March 29th, 2010 by admin

Nope. This is not another type of Toyota Hybrid Recall or a car-like bail out. At least not yet.

Ok. I get it. The picture above is the chassis for the Chevrolet Volt. I remember taking this image coming down the elevator from Pentagon City in Washington DC/Virginia a week ago. At first glance it appeared as a go cart until further inspection.

Supposedly this car can run up to 40 miles emissions free. Thus by the time I leave off to work from Hyattsville, Maryland to Baltimore, MD, I am short of several dozen miles to head back home. Okaaay…. So what are my options at this point? Option A: find an electric station, Option B: plug my vehicle at work, or Option C: wonder the streets of Baltimore to find an outlet. At this point, I have to ask myself if this is worth the trouble and hassle. I barely have the discipline to fully charge up my Iphone! Hmmm… Sounds like I better walk away. Maybe next time GM.

By the time, I leave the floor; I am approached by a Volt agent. They explain, “the car is 40-miles gas and emissions free. Thanks to its range-extending gas generator, it produces enough energy to power the Volt for hundreds of miles. It’s more than a new car, it’s the future of transportation.” That means, I can add gas and save on a lot more!

Let’s go back to the features. The body of the Volt is slightly bigger than the Prius with a modern look and feel interior. When this vechicle gets off the assembly line, it may very well set a whole new standard for all cars. I can’t wait to see the body of a Mustang on top of this chassis.

Have a great one folks!

-Nick

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 9:14 pm and is filed under Green Tech News, Green Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Go Green Event w/Eco-Green Living & Kenergy Solar

Go Green Event w/Eco-Green Living & Kenergy Solar

Posted on March 14th, 2010 by admin

Yes folks. We just wrapped up our first Go Green event with Eco-Green Living and Kenergy Solar. The event was held at the Eco-Green Living store on 6201 Blair Road, in NW Washington DC. People stopped by and learned about the vast selections of green products for their home and/or business, such as tankless water heaters, solar skylights and attic fans, solar PV-system installations, eco-friendly counter-tops and flooring products… the list going on. Great insightful conversations took place (over pizza and soda :) ) with solar and green remodeling experts from Eco-Green Living and Kenergy Solar. Check out the video and the picture gallery below!

We’d like to thank Eco-Green Living and Kenergy Solar for the opportunity we all shared! Here’s a quick word on them:

Eco-Green Living is a Washington, DC supplier specializing in products for green building, design, and living. They offer a wide variety of green products, ranging from organic mattresses and no VOC paints to tankless hot water heaters and solar skylights, just to list a few.

Kenergy Solar is a Millersville, MD renewable energy company specializing in the design and installation of solar PV systems for residential and commercial sectors.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, March 14th, 2010 at 5:27 pm and is filed under Featured Content, Green Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Recycled Electronics make Olympic Medal

Recycled Electronics make Olympic Medal

Posted on March 4th, 2010 by admin

Did you know that components from recycled electronic equipment (cellphones, computer motherboards, etc.) were used in making the 2010 Vancouver Olympics medals? The integration of artistic creativity with environmental sustainability brings a warm and fuzzy feeling to our hearts. Great job Omer Arbel and Corrine Hunt! Enough talk, enjoy the video (via Core77) :

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This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 12:56 am and is filed under Featured Content, Green Tech News, sustainable products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

nice!

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350 polar bears in the Chesapeake Bay. wait, what?!

this must have been fun

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Winter Storm, Power Outages, Good time for Solar!

Winter Storm…Power Outages…Good time for Solar!

Posted on February 8th, 2010 by Sulaiman

The Blizzard of 2010 dumped 20+ incheson snow in the Washington,DC Metropolitan area leaving many without power. When there is no power there is a lack of other necessities such as HEAT and COMMUNICATION but you can be prepared next time. No I’m not talking about a stock pile of candles or flash lights nor generators…How about SOLAR. That’s RIGHT…Solar Power from the Sun. Solar power can make you INDEPENDENT from your utility company…No need to wait and depend on your utility companies when you have your own power. There are several options which are affordable.

Option # 1 (Permanent Solar Install on your home)

A permanent solar install can be a little expensive just looking at average cost but after many federal and state incentives for homeowners investing in renewable energy the install can become very affordable. The great thing about using solar is that your home will generate its own power without the need of a utility company. Matter of fact, you can even earn money from the utility company when you produce more power than you actually use…this is called “Net Metering”. Another advantage of going solar is that Solar Panels continue to generate power for your home even in the snow! No more Power Outages due to winter storms.

Option # 2 (Portable Solar System)

A portable solar system can be used to power small electronic devices  during a power outage such as a portable heater, a small refrigerator, lamps, laptops, radios,and etc. Whatever you decide is the most important thing to have where there is a power outage.

For  more information about going solar…Please contact a Sobuka Consultant at 301-485-9098

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 10:55 am and is filed under Featured Content, Solar Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I definitely wish I had a solar back-up when my power cut out

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Skip the Bag & Save the River…or Pay the Price

Skip the Bag & Save the River…or Pay the Price

Posted on February 8th, 2010 by Sulaiman

On January 1, 2010…Washington, DC was the first major city to implement a 5 cents tax on all paper and plastic bags distributed at local businesses (including grocery, liquor and drug stores, restaurants, and street vendors) in order to eliminate the harmful effects  paper and plastics can have on the environment when they are not recycled. The state of Maryland and Virginia are next to follow the example of the District

So how do you avoid paying 5 cents a bag?


You can bring your own disposable or reusable bag to the store or restaurant and some stores and restaurants will offer you a 5-cent credit per bag for bringing your own, so you’ll actually save 10 cents!!! 

You can also choose not to bag your purchase and carry it in hand or some other carrying method such as a wagon, book-bag, sack, etc. It’s up to you…you can get creative

I know saving 10 cents doesn’t seem like much but when we bring math into the picture…10 cents can turn into $1…a dollar can turn into $100…you see where this is going.

Skip the Bag and Save the River…or Pay the Price…the choice is yours.

MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE…

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 12:47 am and is filed under Featured Content, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

how many of us out there are still using plastic? c'mon, don't lie now... just stop it and get a nice bag!

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The Green Police: Best Superbowl Commercial

Best Practices: Energy saving tips for your business

Best Practices: Energy saving tips for your business

Posted on January 27th, 2010 by Nick

9 ways to save on your energy bill for your office/business.

1: Purchase energy efficient light bulbs. For example CFLs can save your business money. Compared to regular incandescent light bulbs, they use up to 75% less energy! Go further…research LEDs. LEDs can operate at about 6 times more in lifetime than CFLs. “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an energy star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and present greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars” – EPA

2: Psychological reminders: On the bottom of your e-signature, place the following message, “Please remember the environment before printing…” Visual notes like these seen everyday speak loudly overtime.

3: Another psychological reminder for anyone leaving work late: Right before you leave work, place a note on your door, for example: “Last One out, Flip The Switch, Close The Windows.” Leave the note on the door for the future. This will have a lasting imprint.

UMD Door Sign Energy Saver

4: Perform an energy audit to help find the energy and heat leaks within your work environment. Or tell your building manager to perform one for you. This can help reduce your rental and energy cost.

5: Purchase energy efficient equipment. Be cautious of old computers, monitors, printers, and devices sitting around. Turn your business from a Flintstone to a Jetson. Saving energy saves money. By using energy-efficient equipment, a medium size office can save up to $400 per year on utilities (American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy).

6: Turn off and power down office equipment while you leave.

7: For bathrooms, invest in paperless hand dryer and automatic sensing faucet. For example, the EZ automatic sinks out there can save a business 70% water per hand wash while reducing germ contamination. Paperless, automatic hand dryers save the environment, thus lowering waste and reducing cost.

8: Use e-mail as much as possible. Devise a process improvement strategy to do so. If you were to eliminate purchasing office paper, how much would you be saving?

9: Turn down office temperature by purchasing an efficient thermostat. Contact your local utility company to see if you can qualify for an efficient thermostat. Turning down your temperature by several degrees can add up in generous savings.

Try these simple tips or suggestions within your job or  business. Or take it one step further and apply some of the strategies towards your home. Taking these small steps can make a powerful difference for you and the environment as well. Have a great day and let’s have a bright future!

If you would like to learn more about what you can do to go green, a nice energy audit will send you in the right direction. The insight you gain from it will give you plenty of ideas for a little green remodeling, so you can become part of the solution. Sign up for an energy audit through Sobuka by typing in your zipcode and selecting contractors in your area.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 6:35 am and is filed under Energy Audits, Featured Content, Green Remodeling, Green Tech News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

does your office do this? I personally hate it when they leave the lights on everywhere after work.

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Even Buckingham Palace needs green remodeling

Even Buckingham Palace needs green remodeling

Posted on January 23rd, 2010 by admin

Image from epogee.co.uk

(via Treehugger.com) Looking at this thermal image of Buckingham Palace, you can clearly see that the place is leaking plenty of heat and energy. Epogee and Greenwire decided to survey a few public buildings around London for heat-loss, using thermal cameras, and the palace ranked at the top of the list! Ok, you may say this is an old structure so the results are expected, but even the Portcullis House, which was built in the 1990s, ranked poorly on the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list:

1. Buckingham Palace
2. DECC (Defra) [The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)]
3. Ministry of Defence
4. Horse Guards Barracks
5. Shell Building
6. Home Office
7. Houses of Parliament
8. Treasury
9. Portcullis House
10. MI6 HQ
11. Albert Hall
12. St James’ Palace

A group of civil engineers studied the palace and came up with a price tag of £330M to build a modern, greener replica of it (not including the land). Last year’s utility bill for the palace was £2.2M, primarily because of its 760 single-glazed windows. Outfitting the palace with the double-glazed kind could reduce the heat loss by half! If you add insulation in the appropriate areas, the insulation cost can pay for itself in about two years. If you also throw some solar panels, rainwater collection systems, and heat recovery systems, the remodeled palace would reduce CO2 emissions by about 400 cubic tons per year. The original cost of the palace in today’s terms is about £33M, so the £330M price tag is a bit pricey, but the utility savings over a few years and the reduction of CO2 is well worth-while, we can’t speak for Her Majesty the Queen, but at least in our opinion they need to go green!

If you would like to have an analysis of heat loss at your home or small business, a nice energy audit will send you in the right direction. The insight you gain from it will give you plenty of ideas for a little green remodeling, so you can become part of the solution. Sign up for an energy audit through Sobuka by typing in your zipcode and selecting contractors in your area.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, January 23rd, 2010 at 5:28 pm and is filed under Energy Audits, Featured Content, Green Remodeling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

who said the rich don't need energy efficiency audits?

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