2008 Solar Tour - This Weekend

This Saturday, The Georgia Solar Energy Association is hosting the 2008 Solar Tour which is a part of the National Solar Tour organized by the American Solar Energy Society. This is the largest Solar Tour yet in Georgia with 32 homes or organizations particpating. Metro Atlanta has 19 homes or organizations that will be open to the public. The tour goes from 9am through 4pm with most houses open for several hours throughout the day. You can find the schedule on the GSEA website. The tour is self guided so you will need to plan your route and which homes and/or locations you will want to visit. Following the tour, there will be a reception held at Southface Energy Institute. There will also be a keynote address by John Baumstark, CEO of Suniva, Atlanta's leader in PV technology. The reception does require tickets and are $25 for GSEA friends and $15 for GSEA members

We are very excited about this tour and are looking forward to visiting several of the homes and the Georgia Tech Solar Decathlon exhibit. It is great to know that there are a record number of participants in this year's tour and it looks like some big players are getting involved as sponsors. The future of Solar Energy appears to be bright in Georgia.

Tour Sponsors Include

Platinum Sponsors

Alston & Bird, LLP

Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP

Radiance Energies, LLC

Southface Energy Institute

Gold Sponsors

Georgia Solar Power Company

Hannah Solar

OneWorld Sustainable, Inc.

Rheem/Solahart
Suncatcher of Atlanta

Xantrex Technology

Energy Star and WaterSense Tax Free Weekend

Today marks the beginning of the 4th annual tax free weekend here in Georgia for Energy Star products.  They have also expanded the program to include WaterSense products as well.  It began today and will end on Sunday night.  Most products priced $1500 or less that have one of these labels qualify.

So, if you have been in the market for an energy efficient fridge or another appliance, this might be your lucky weekend.  Check with your local retailer to see if they are offering additional incentives as you may be able to get an additional 10% off on top of the sales tax discount.

An added bonus for Atlantans is that Energy Star has selected Atlanta as the site of one of its six Change the World: Start with Energy Star  exhibits.  It will be at the Lowe's Edgewood location on Saturday & Sunday.  You will be able to walk through a custom built house that showcases Energy Star products and educates on how those products can save money and help preserve the environment.

If you are interested in what qualifies for the holiday, here are details from the GA Department of Revenue website:

The energy efficient products eligible for the exemption are as follows:

air conditioners	ceiling fans
fluorescent light bulbs	clothes washers
dishwashers	windows (including skylights)
refrigerators	programmable thermostats
dehumidifiers	doors

The water efficient products eligible for the exemption are as follows:

bathroom sink faucets	faucet accessories (such as aerators)
showerheads	high-efficiency toilets
high-efficiency urinals	weather or sensor-based irrigation controllers

The Green Peaches Calendar

If you haven't noticed it, we won't blame you since it is brand new.  We just added the Green Peaches Calendar on the Navigation menu.  We are very excited about the calendar as it will give us a centralized place to see all the green events, seminars and activities that are happening in and around Atlanta.  The calendar is also a public calendar in Google Calendars.  So, you can add it to your own Google calendar.  If you know of an event that is not on the calendar, please let us know and we will get it added.  You can email us here.

This weekend is a pretty busy weekend with the 2008 GSEA Solar Tour of Homes on Saturday, several good farmers' markets and the Energy Star tax free weekend going on from Thursday through Sunday.

Green Dry Cleaners

Have you ever noticed that when you pick your clothing up from the dry cleaners it has a pretty noticeable, distinct chemical smell?  If you have, that smell you have noticed is most likely a chemical known as perchloroethylene (perchloroethylene), aka 'perc.'  My favorite little tidbit about perc is that it was the first chemical to be officially classified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as a carcinogen.  That classification has since been withdrawn but many people still have their doubts about its safety. Link to Risks  Some of the more commonly associated side effects are dizzyness, nausea and headaches while the more serious concerns range from infertility in men and miscarriage in women to central nervous system disorders.  Now, many people and good honest business owners will tell you that their dry cleaning is perfectly safe.  They might be right.  I make my choice not to take those kinds of chances and I also prefer to vote with my dollar for a better solution.

We're not going to discuss the entire process of dry cleaning but I would like to point out that dry cleaning is not actually DRY.  Perc and the other solvents used are liquids but they just generally aren't water based.  If you'd like to know how dry cleaning works, check out Wikipedia or HowStuffWorks.com.

If you are like many Atlantans, you wear some clothing that requires an occasional dry cleaning.  The problem is that there aren't too many cleaners in town that offer alternatives to traditional Perc based dry cleaning.  About 85% of cleaners are still using perc as their cleaning solvent.   So, what are the alternatives and where can I find them?

Alternatives

• Wet Cleaning - Water and non-toxic biodegradable detergents. Consumer reports rated this method lower than Perc on its cleaning abilities. 
• Liquid CO2 - Just at it sounds with some additives that can have VOCs. Consumer Reports rated this method superior to Perc in shrinkage, discoloration, and preservation of texture
• Siloxane (GreenEarth) - Not chlorine based but manufactured using chlorine and may release dioxins. The EPA has listed Siloxane as a possible carcinogen.
• Hydrocarbon (DF2000 and comexsol)

Locations (if you know any more, please let us know and we'll update the list)

Wet Cleaners

• 21st Century Cleaners, 4305 State Bridge Rd., Aipharetta, GA 30022 map
• Professional Cleaners, 6018 Sandy Springs Circle, Atlanta, GA 30328 map
• Pleasant Hill Cleaners, 4300 Pleasant Hill Rd #F, Duluth, GA 30136 map
• K.S. Personal Touch, 2014 Powers Ferry Rd., Atlanta, GA 30339 map

GreenEarth (Siloxane)

• Jett Ferry Cleaners, 2482 Jett Ferry Rd, Atlanta, GA 30338 map

What to do if there are no green cleaners near you?

- Always remove the plastic from the clothing and let it breathe.

- Increase the number of uses between cleaning trips.  Most of the time, you can safely wear something twice before it needs a cleaning.  The main problem is taking the time to hang it back up after a long day at the office.

The Big Creek Greenway - Alpharetta

Alpharetta's Big Creek Greenway is a well maintained trail that runs 6.15 miles (10km) along the Big Creek.  It is a concrete trail that meanders gently through the woods just to the east of North Point Parkway.  The path is great for walking, jogging, biking or rollerblading.  It is pet friendly but be sure to always pick up your pet waste.

 This trail is in a suburban environment so you won't get the wildlife that you might if you were out in a national forest but what it lacks in wildlife, it makes up for in convenience.  You can run into deer, blue heron, ducks and Canadian geese from time to time.  We did run across a fairly long black snake on a recent outing.  It is ealsily accessible from GA400 and has three parking lots for access.  The parking lots generally have restroom facilities (portable toilets) as well.

Hours are 8am until dusk daily.  For more info, visit the City of Alpharetta Website or GeorgiaTrails.com

Access Points

• Haynes Bridge Road: From North Point Parkway, go 1/5 mile south on Haynes B
  ridge Road. A parking lot is on the east/left side of Haynes Bridge Road across from the Archstone Apartments.
• North Point Mall: Driving northbound on North Point Parkway halfway between Mansell and Haynes Bridge Roads, find the greenway sign directly across from Haverty's Furniture.Parking is located in a wooded area. Restrooms are available at that location. 800 feet south of this entrance is the NorthPoint Village retail center. Wal
  k behind the shops to the stairway that leads to the wetlands mulch trail. Note: The stairs are not A.D.A. accessible.
• Kimball Bridge Road: Located 1/4 mile southeast of North Point Parkway, across from New Prospect Elementary School.Parking is allowed at the school during hours when school is not in session (weekends, after hours on school days,and during the summer.)
• Alpharetta YMCA: From Old Milton Parkway, go 1/4 mile north on North Point Parkway to Preston Ridge Road and turn right toward the YMCA.

Green Peaches - Weekend Edition

Things To Do

Check Out a Local Farmers' Market - We're winding down the season and most of the local farmers' markets will be open through the end of Oct.  Then, it's slim pickings until next spring.  We're heading over to the Alpharetta Farmers' Market this weekend but there are many others to check out.  Try: The Green Market @ Piedmont Park, Riverside Farmers' Market in Roswell, Morningside Farmers' Market @ Highlands Ave, Peachtree Road Farmers' Market in Atlanta.  You can find other farmers' markets all over the US at LocalHarvest.org

Conserve Your Gas - With news that the gas shortage may last another week, you may want to just stay at home.  Even if you can find gas, you'll probably be sitting in a long, frustrating line.  Instead, why not hang out at the house and enjoy your weekend reading, relaxing or spending time with your family? Oh yeah, there's some good football on too.

The Fall Atlanta Home Show - The Cobb Galleria plays host to the 25th annual Atlanta Home Show.  You can expect a number of exhibitors and demonstrations.  I always enjoy seeing the increasing number of green products and ideas at these shows.  The area of the show that I'm most interested in is "Atlanta's Secret Places" presented by the Home Depot.  This section is dedicated to educating attendees on the benefits of in-town living.  Here's what their website says about the section:

"During the show, 11 neighborhoods will engage Home Show participants in conversations about the assets in their communities including parks, non-profit work, recreational activities, museums, local businesses, healthcare, local arts, schools and available housing stock. With gas prices soaring, families looking for more time to spend together and the availability of home inventory in the city, this is an opportunity for families to get to know the benefits of in-town living first hand."

The show is open all weekend.  Check out their site for hours.


Weekend Reading

Atlantic Station Need Not Worry About Owner AIG's Financial Woes - Don't fret about the future of one of Atlanta's models of New Urbanisim.  It appears as though progress will continue unimpeded regardless of whether AIG sells the development.  We sure do hope so.  from AJC.com

Energy-Star Sales Tax Holiday in GA Now Includes WaterSense Label - The Energy-Star sales tax holiday from 10/02 through 10/05 now includes products with the WaterSense label.  I think I'll go get those CFLs for the new place.

Suburban Nation - If you are interested in picking up a book and are even remotely interested in the issues surrounding suburban sprawl, I would highly recommend this book.  I have read it several times over the past 5 years and it never seems to get dull.

5 Seasons - Great Local Dining & Beer

This is one of our favorite restaurants in Alpharetta.  Obviously, the food and beer brewed on site at 5 Seasons is delicious.  The thing that most people don't recognize is that 5 Seasons is one of the most environmentally friendly dining experiences in Atlanta.  They source much of their food locally and a good bit of the menu is organic.  The seafood is generally from the Florida gulf coast and is brought in daily.  I'm not too sure about the sustainability there but it sure is tasty.

If you are on the north side of Atlanta, you can probably get to one of their locations fairly easily.  5 Seasons currently has two locations and they expect to expand to  three locations in early 2009.  They first opened in 2001 in the Prado in Sandy Springs.  The second location is close to home in Alpharetta on Old Milton Parkway.  The new location is set for the intersection of Marietta Street and Howell Mill in Atlanta's booming West End.  I'm looking forward to seeing the beer list there.

Their website says the owners' shared vision is:

• Casual, Welcoming Surroundings
• Abundant Handcrafted Beers, On-demand
• Menus Changing With Local Growing Seasons
• Authenticity Rules, With Everything Prepared In-house  

I'd say they do a great job hitting on all four points.  5 Seasons hits a home run with their environmental efforts.  Yes, there are lots of things that restaurants can do to clean their image but without an in-depth investigation, it looks as though 5 Seasons is doing the right things.  They also compare favorably to other restaurants of their caliber on price.

Check out their webiste for events such as monthly Wine tastings and Beer & Cheese tastings.  These events are priced affordably and you may see me there pretty soon.

SkyHill Townhomes: Sustainable Development in Midtown

Unfortunatley, we have a house on the market in Charlotte right now.  If we were in the market for a place here in Atlanta, we would probably be looking near downtown and we would undoubtedly take a peek at one of the proposed 12 townhomes in SkyHill on North near Ponce de Leon.  These townhomes are definitley planned with sustainabiltiy and the environment in mind.  Some of the more impressive features are:

- Green Roof - Well, kind of.. the homes are equipped with a rooftop gardening system. You don't find very many of these around.

- Walkability - SkyHill is close to dining, shopping, nightlife and transit.  What more can you ask for?

- Infill - Using previously developed land rather than greenfield development on the fringes is always a plus.

One more thing, they look great.  Architect Derek Seiling of Kuo Diedrich Architecture has done a great job planning a project that will improve community, neighborhood asthetics and hopefully the environment in the Midtown area.

photo courtesy of Dwellmodern.com

Switching Focus & Changing Names

If you are visiting this site, it is likely that you stumbled upon it through a search.  I have not kept up with the site in some time and am now changing the focus of the site to the environment in and around the Atlanta areas.  The name is changing from Efficiency Solutions to Green Peaches and the focus is shifting from efficient home solutions to a more broad green them focusing on news in and around the Atlanta area.  We will focus on events, happenings, business, shopping and anything else that impacts the green minded residents and visitors of Atlanta.

Check back soon for updates. 

Energy Star Room by Room Video

I came across this video while listening to the Money Pit podcast today.  I thought it was a good quick hit on a number of the rooms in your house.  It's about 5 minutes and may save you some money.  There's nothing revolutionary but it is well put together.