MyGreenExpert.com

Welcome to my web site dedicated to helping the community make more educated decisions during home building, design and construction.  I hope my tips will help you with one of your biggest investments, and minimize adverse impacts on the environment and your health.

When I originally started designing a green home in 2000, most people thought a "green" house was for growing plants when the weather outside was cold. Information on alternatives was hard to find and people just didn't know better. A lot has changed since then.

Green home building is now the norm with consumers and builders trying to choose environmentally sensitive, energy efficient, and healthy alternatives for the long term. While the green movement has produced more choices, its popularity has spawned many attempts by marketers to "greenwash" products with few environmental benefits.  How can a consumer know what questions to ask, to find out what is truly green?

Ask an expert.  I've spent fifteen years working in conservation and have learned a lot along the way.  How to find and identify FSC certified wood products, for example, and the significance of LEED for Homes ratings.  Did you know, for instance, that the vast majority of bamboo building products are NOT green?  Do you need a PhD in manufacturing to cut through the product marketing hype?  Luckily, no.

I have a new book coming out entitled  Building Green Without Going in the Red.  It's a practical how-to guide to ecofriendly remodeling and building (on any budget).  It's the only book I've found written by an owner who has actually managed a green homebuilding project, from the consumer's perspective.  Chapter by chapter, it takes you through three building projects from eco-design considerations through alternative product sourcing and how to select great green finishes and furniture.  It also includes basic essentials like working well with contractors, how to design a kitchen, planning ecofriendly lighting, and finding recycled content flooring and countertops.  A new, more sustainable home need not be an elusive dream.  Leverage from a little expert knowledge can get you on your way.

I am challenged and rewarded daily as I work with small businesses and homeowners to transform their environments and habits to become more sustainable.  This web site will help you make wise decisions about choices at home and at work, so you can be proud of reducing your carbon footprint and the savings you'll enjoy as a result.

More on me later.

I can be reached at: beth@mygreenexpert.com