Our Environment

The newest way to make your message stand out above all of the other noise on the Internet is through the use of social networking sites. These sites tend to focus on a specific niche and users suggest, promote, and discuss their topics with the rest of the community. Whether you are interested in literature, video games, seo news, or environmentalism, there is a social site to cater to your interest.

Here are a few of the most popular social hubs that have an environmental focus:

•Care2 – environmental sustainability and green living
•Greenvoice – A Digg like site with environmental news
•Hugg – Another Digg like site where users vote on their favorite articles
•Playgreen – A wiki that focuses on sustainability
•Worldchanging – A group blog where users post and comment on articles
•Yahoo! Green – A Yahoo answers for the environment

If you still have trouble getting your site noticed, consider consulting a SEO company (Search Engine Optimization). A SEO expert can make sure that your content is presented in a fashion that will get noticed by the search engines.

The number of green mortgages, otherwise known as Energy Efficiency Mortgages, has increased in recent years. This is due in part to the increased public awareness of energy consumption as well as the financial advantages associated with owning an energy efficient home.

Traditional mortgages are based on a person’s debt to income ratio only, while a green mortgage applies the money saved each month in energy cost as income. This allows home buyers to qualify for a larger loan. This also presents an opportunity for those wishing to remortgage, since energy saving home improvements can be applied once an existing home is certified by a home energy rater.

Purchasing an energy efficient home also increases the resale value by as much as 5%. A $200,000 home that is certified as meeting efficiency requirements, on average, will realize an increase of $11,000 over a comparable home that is not certified. In addition, US home owners can take advantage of the Energy Policy Act which gives tax benefits to those who conserve energy.

More and more frequently when potential home buyers compare mortgages, they find that going green not only helps the environment, but their wallets as well.