Sacramento Green Living

A local guide to living a more energy efficient, environmentally friendly, sustainable existence.


Sacramento ranks 12th best in nation by Brookings Institution

In its recently released analysis, "Shrinking the Carbon Footprint of Metropolitan America", the Brookings Institution found that the Sacramento metro area decreased its per capita carbon footprint from residential and transportation uses by about 9% between 2000 and 2005, compared with a 1.1% increase across the 100 largest U.S. metro areas and 2.2% across the nation as a whole.

Newer housing options and increased demand for energy efficient or "green" features in homes (reflected in new urban developments such as 9 on F and the SoCap Lofts in Downtown Sacramento) have helped push Sacramento toward the top of the list.

The Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization.

Looking to reduce your carbon footprint? Some quick and easy ways to do that include using alternative transportation (bus, light rail, and bicycle), living closer to where you work and play, and choosing a home that reduces your impact on the environment. Consider urban living, explore Downtown and Midtown Sacramento.

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Feeling Good all over again

Did you miss last weekend's open house at Good (LJ Urban's newest project at 4th & B in West Sac just off the I Street Bridge)? This just came from the fine folks over at LJ Urban:

See some more goodMany of you have requested that we have another open house, so this Sunday we're going to head over from 5-8 and keep the doors open so you can come and take a look. Its not another big party like last time but for those of you who missed us last week, now's your chance to come see what the fuss is all about.

We are still not officially selling the homes yet, but expect to start taking pre-sale orders in early June.

1931 H Street, Sacramento, CA 95811
916.930.9400

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Green on F

Nine on F: The Greenest Homes in Sacramento.

It was late summer 2007 when I first heard about a big "green" residential project that was being built downtown in the Alkali Flats neighborhood. I was a bit cautious at first because so many businesses had begun jumping on the "green" bandwagon and were touting any energy efficient, environmentally friendly features they could attach to their product or service.

In November I finally took some time to preview 9 on F Citywalk. What struck me when I walked through the traditional units that fronted F Street was two things: First, I didn't feel like I was walking through a "green" home. The countertops weren't made of recycled beer bottles and there wasn't anything touting blue jean insulation. Second, this was beautiful design—like something out of Dwell Magazine. Better than I'd seen in Sacramento on a smaller scale project like this one.


Sure, other projects lately have been touting their green features. Regis Homes, developer of the SoCap Lofts at the southern end of Downtown, had incorporated solar—but this seemed to me to be a bit of an afterthought.

9 on F developer Jeremy Drucker really started the project with a green end in mind, which is why the nine three-story units are all have LEED for Homes certifications and are rated LEED Silver or Gold—a notable achievement for a Sacramento project being completed in what anyone would say is a challenging real estate market. Drucker, a bay area resident, has gone a step further than most developers and has reached out to the community. I know his goal is to sell a product, but he's managed to build a tremendous amount of media attention and awareness for what I hope will continue to be a mainstream move to green by promoting the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS), SMUD's SolarSmart program, and even connecting with the City of Sacramento at a time when Mayor Heather Fargo and other key officials have been pushing to make Sacramento the greenest city in the nation.

I appreciate Jeremy Drucker's efforts. I also appreciate the great design his project has brought to Alkali Flats and the entire Downtown area. The homes at 9 on F join beautiful design, infill development, and earth-friendly features, which include: dual-zone geothermal heating and cooling, solar, tankless hot water heaters (no "tankless job" puns, I promise), environmentally friendly wood products, FSC-certified responsibly managed wood flooring, and low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) interior paints.

For more information about 9 on F or to purchase one of the nine beautiful, traditionally-inspired or urban loft-styled units, visit ForSaleinDowntown.com.

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