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D.C. offers to make some homes green for free
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Through the program, the D.C. government will install free landscaping enhancements, including a large shade tree, a rain garden, “Bayscaping,” pervious surfaces and a rain barrel.
The projects are designed to demonstrate how the average homeowner can reduce river and stream pollution by controlling stormwater runoff.
The winning applicants, one from each ward, must meet certain criteria, among them the visibility of the home, accessibility to public transportation, a willingness to continue maintaining the installations and a “willingness of the homeowner to allow tours” to showcase the technologies.
“Selected homeowners for these initial demonstration sites will get an attractive makeover of their property that reduces stormwater pollution at no cost to them,” said Candace McCrae, DDOE spokeswoman. “In return, the District Department of the Environment is asking for them to allow limited access to their property through a few tours set up in advance to fit with the homeowner’s schedule.”
A rain barrel captures and stores rainwater from the rooftop, to be reused in the yard, while Bayscaping introduces native plants that require little watering, fertilizing or pesticide.
The $110,000 project will be funded with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The District in 2008 will launch a campaign to reduce pollution, featuring incentives for homeowners to adopt stormwater reduction techniques such as those promoted in the demonstrations.
Applications, available at ddoe.dc.gov, must be submitted by Aug. 10.
mneibauer@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
2:16 PM MST on Thu., Dec. 27, 2007 re: "Amicus Green Building makes being green easy"
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8:34 AM MST on Tue., Oct. 30, 2007
re: "Fairfax County planners mull how to foster green buildings"
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3:15 PM MST on Wed., Aug. 29, 2007
re: "Fairfax County planners mull how to foster green buildings"
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Would be Amicus Customer said:
Amicus is totally unprofessional and unreliable. For green building products, go to Capital Building supply. I have been trying to buy cotton insulation from Amicus for a while, but they are not open about their prices, and are difficult to reach due to their capricious operating hours (they are a shoddy mom-and-pop operation). They did not even remember to bring their price list to the Green Convention. After they bragged to me about their huge inventory of this product, I went down there, and lo and behold, they have been out of stock for several months. This is their core product, and they don't have it. I browsed their other products, and it is a lot of Chinese made junk and stuff with dubious environmental value (an inflateable rubber balloon to reduce the capacity of your toilet tank?). Plus, there is an annoying dog roaming their warehouse, which is a nusiance to people like me with allergies, and is a poor example of environmental responsibility.
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Man What said:
Regardless of the possible detrimental effects of illegal workers, a healthier environment is a healthier environment. You may as well complain about attempts to improve education, fight violent crime, or prevent government corruption. Not every effort can be spent on chasing people out of the country when there are so many other issues at hand.
152 agree | 159 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I can not believe our Fairfax County officials are taking their valuable time to be get involved in fostering green buildings while the illegals aliens in are community are driving up the cost of living for tax paying legal citizens of this county. It's time to get involve in the effort to remove ALL illegal aliens from the county, state and the country.
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