Green Housing & Living Category

New Lower Rivera / Upper East Townhomes with Ocean Views and Close to Downtown Santa Barbara

Looking for a new built townhome or condo close to Downtown Santa Barbara? with views etc.?  Welcome to Bella Riviera.  Bella Riviera is a brand new community located here in Santa Barbara sandwiched in between The Upper East and The Lower Riviera neighborhoods.  Bella Riviera just opened this past week for sales with a total of 115 residences being offered.  Not all of these wonderful homes will be open to the public, as a portion have been set aside as housing for Cottage... Continue Reading >

Is Your Santa Barbara Dream Home Also a Green Home?

I read a recent real estate survey the other week done by Yahoo that clearly showed that owning a home is still a major part of the "American Dream".  4 out of 5 surveyed said yes to this reality. One of the major differences these days though is that the so-called "American Dream Home" is not a super-sized McMansion...but instead a "Green Home".   Green, energy-efficient homes built with “sustainable” materials, that yield a lower carbon footprint and give the owner a cleaner conscience is... Continue Reading >

Great Opportunity for New Condo Development in Downtown Santa Barbara

If you are looking for a new condo / townhome to purchase in the downtown area of Santa Barbara, most of the time the options start at around the $700,000 price point with many of the units around the $900,000 to $1.3 million price range.  For the first time in many years, there is a great new complex in the downtown area (The East Beach Collection) being developed right now with units selling from $380,000 to $450,000.  In total there are 48... Continue Reading >

Make Your Santa Barbara Home More Eco-Friendly and Green…Here are Some Tips!!!

Use some or all of these tips to help begin to save some of the 100 million trees chopped down annually to produce junk mail in the United States: If you do business with a company via mail services, it will often put you on its contact list.  So the first time you make a transaction (such as placing an order) with that company, ask to be put on its "in-house suppress" or "do not promote" lists. Tell the company not... Continue Reading >

Green Housing in Santa Barbara CA – What Can You Do?

  As Green Building, Green Initiatives, Green Movement etc. has infiltrated its presence in the minds of people here in the Santa Barbara area and the mainstream in general, some people wonder if "Green" is here to stay.  For most, this is a resounding YES!!  If you are not convinced, I suggest that you go talk with our younger generation and listen to them. From everything I see, hear and read, this "green movement" is simply a major shift in ideology which has been spurred... Continue Reading >

Heal The Ocean Here in Santa Barbara CA.

Looking for a great organization to get behind here locally in Santa Barbara.   Heal The Ocean should be at the top of your list for too many obvious reasons to list. What Does Heal The Ocean Do? (as taken from their website)  Their philosophy is simple...The ocean can no longer be used as a dump. Heal the Ocean is doing all it can to attack all sources of ocean pollution.  Their basic premise consists of lobbying the government for action on ocean-pollution... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Homes For Sale with a Good Walk Score!!

$100...$120...$140...$160...Who knows where we will be with the price of oil here in the coming future.  One this is for certain, this first 7 months of 2008 has really gotten the attention of everyone when it comes to the increased cost of commodities, oil, gas and overall living.  Changes in lifestyle are happening quickly...and transportation is at or near the top of everyone's list. Just in these first 7 months of 2008, the highways have seemed a little more empty, hybrids are more prevalent, bike sales are... Continue Reading >

Santa Barbara Leads the Way in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study

I just viewed an interesting video posted on YouTube about Santa Barbara and the initiatives our city is taking towards energy use and climate change.  Santa Barbara Council-member,  Das Williams, speaks about what Santa Barbara can do as a city with regards to energy and climate initiatives.  He mentions that Santa Barbara and San Francisco are the only 2 current cities in the State of California that are completing hard science surveys on the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.  The main topics that the study covers are looking at... Continue Reading >

Is Downtown Santa Barbara Vertically Challenged?

Over roughly the last 7 years, Santa Barbara has shown an obvious effort to try and grow "smartly and inwardly" as a solution to maintaining open spaces and halting sprawl, while adhering to the demands of housing pressure.  Many of these newer buildings are popping up with in walking distance to the hub of Santa Barbara, State Street.  But with this newer style of mixed-use growth, there are open debates as to whether this style of development is in the best interest... Continue Reading >

Here is a Method That is Helping Make Santa Barbara More Eco-Friendly

Looking for a more environmentally friendly way to move to your new home...why not take a look at a newer company here in Santa Barbara called We Move Green.  Opening its doors at the end of 2007, We Move Green is an eco-friendly moving company based here in the Santa Barbara area.  I spoke with C0-Owner, Erik Haney this week and so far business is going extremely well with plans to purchase their second moving truck here in the very... Continue Reading >

How Green is Your Santa Barbara Home…and Realtor?

As the Santa Barbara real estate market has slowed in the last 18 months, it makes sense that some Realtors are trying to stand out with niche marketing efforts.  One of these niches seems to be Realtors marketing themselves as eco-friendly and green.  While I am 100% supportive for anyone with an eye on environmentally conscious action (real estate or otherwise), make sure your Realtor is not using "basic green talk" as cursory knowledge of green building simply as a marketing ploy in a tougher... Continue Reading >

5 Easy Tips to Free up your Time and Help Vanish your Junk Mail (Regular Mail).

Everyone relates to the almost daily task of leafing through your regular "Mail" and finding numerous items that are of no true interest to you.  I myself am inundated constantly with the latest and greatest credit card offer...none of which I truly need.  Minimize this unending stack of unwanted mail by following these easy steps below....and hopefully save a few trees while you are at it. 1) End all your unwanted credit card offers by going to www.optoutprescreen.com or call 888-567-8688.  This... Continue Reading >