We get such a kick out of some of the comments that go un-noticed, we thought we’d grab a few from time to time. Today’s “quote du jour” comes from Joe Schmoe on “Go Green” regarding the Lorax Development Clipper House.
Important to note before you see the quote, this home had features like “the first approved rainwater catchment system in San Francisco, new Ultra-Touch® Recycled “blue jean” insulation and hardwood flooring reclaimed from 100-year-old railroad ties, [s]olar panels power[ing] the entire house and then some, and hydronic radiant heating keep[ing] the home cozy in the winter months without incurring fuel costs.”.
Because we know you’ll ask, it sold 4/20/06 from an asking price of $1,899,000 to a selling price of $2,150,000. But it’s what’s apparently parked in the garage that caught our eye.
“The clipper owners have offset the green-ness of their house with a nice shiny new Land Rover LR3.
No doubt hybrid.”
Congrats on the “comment du jour”. True or not, we got a good laugh.
–520 Clipper [mls]
–Go Green [theFrontSteps]
–Lorax Development Clipper House [Lorax website]
I am a bit proponent of ‘green’ things but at the end of the day most ‘green’ things are really big places, esp here in sf. So by having something ‘green’ you really are still living in a yuppie over sized box. If I were to build a place I would try to ‘go green’ for sure but I also drive a small car. It seems as though ‘green’ in san francisco is a trend, just like ‘working at a non-profit’ was for many. How many SUV’s do you see with a ‘keep Tahoe blue’ sticker. Its all the same stick.
A lot of people like to say they are ‘green’ even though they just embrace it with one aspect of their life. It goes along with a lot of the hypocrisy here in SF and a lot of other big cities.
I have seen some city developments across the country where they build green buildings for lower income and on a large building scale. That to me sums up ‘green’ a lot more then these mega-houses that are all green.
Once we have a happy middle ground where it is not super expensive to be ‘green’ then I think it will become more mainstream and accessible. Right now its like where organic food was a few years ago, only accessible to the higher ups or people who really made weekly sacrifices.
[Editor’s note: Well said.]
ditto.
Oliver, you’re right. Choosing to own a “green” house is a very strong responsability, and yes, your neighbors will judge you on the facts, and not the says.
We, homeowners in san francisco, have an opportunity to change the world – by voting better, lab testing new technics, spending more money to jump start some new green companies and like. And at the end of the day, it looks like the SFranciscans are doing barely as well as some other countries, or even US states. SHAME ON US.
alex. I think all this green stuff is worth our attention, and a large area on your site.
To be honest, I feel that if it’s interesting to pick on Lorax and the above homeowners, somehow it’s unfair to them, and unfair to some current and most likely genuine trend.
Maybe we could go “anonymous” if you start a topic on the Dilbert House – which BTW was a good portion of our specs given to our architect (he wouldnt believe it at first – but we were serious). I dont even know why it’s not on TheFrontSteps yet!
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/duh/index.html
and the specs: http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/duh/specs/index.html
It covers many ideological statements about building green (as in changing your LIVESTYLE) – and it’s a much more honest approach than cost or trend or prize winning product… and takes us to unbeaten path of reflexion.
We have found that nearly all the specs are 90% (or over) achievable in a SF SFH, without spending a fortune.
[Editor’s note: I’ll get it up asap, along with the other material you sent. Thanks!]
These are good sites. Thanks a lot.
The sad thing is a lot of people substitute buying something with doing something. Like to me it is much more gratifying to volunteer your time to Habitat as opposed to somebody with gobs of money just donating it for a tax
break and some recognition. That is what sadly happens in more affluent parts of the country.
Being ‘green’ should really be part of your lifestyle like said above. It should not be ‘well i bought a green house’ as a justification. At the end of the day somebody who buys a farm house and lives off the land and farms their own crops can be a lot ‘greener’ then most people living in a city.
I would also like to know what happens to all the waste of the building that get torn down when a green one comes up. If that material is not reclaimed in some way it is sad because we have used resources to demo a building and more resources to build a ‘green’ one which might not be really saving much.
Sometimes you can see tv shows about fully sustainable buildings in other countries. And these building were built like 10-15 years ago. Full on solar with even solar water heating and all this stuff. Totally amazing. I guess we catch on a bit late over here.
The environment should be our friend and it is turning into our enemy which hopefully can be reversed.