The greening of the home

Homeowners are going green.

With gas and oil prices seemingly always on the rise, more and more homeowners are looking for ways and means of achieving energy-efficiency by installing renewable energy sources in their residences. Yes, there will be expenses to be incurred while making your home greener, but in the end the rewards will far outweigh the financial effort.

The reality is that making not only cosmetic but eco-friendly improvements to your home is an excellent method of adding value to your home while also saving you money every month.

There is no shortage of smart and effective ways of saving energy while upgrading your home. For starters, installing energy-efficient LED lights and compact fluorescent bulbs in all of your home fixtures will reduce energy consumption significantly. While they may indeed cost a little more, fluorescent, LED and other energy efficient lighting options use less energy; they also last longer and are more durable and longer-lasting.

Take a inventory of all your household appliances. Those that are older and perhaps even obsolete, particularly refrigerators, washers and dryers, could be costing you far more money to operate than is necessary. They also harm the environment.

When it comes time to replace these appliances, look for products that are more energy-efficient and specifically designed to use less power not only while in operation, but while on standby. It is likely that not only will you be eligible for sizable rebates, you will soon cover the cost of your new energyefficient appliances via reduced utility bills. Get started by visiting Energy Star's website at energystar.gov to find the best energy-efficient models of appliances that fulfill your wants and needs.

Locally, Landscape Effects is a prime example of a company that has embraced green technology when it comes to both home improvements and landscaping. They designed and built the Green Home Corridor that is certain to be a popular attraction at this weekend's Southern Ontario Fall Home Show and Green Living Expo at the Windsor Expo Centre.

"Green living can cover a range of ideas, products and services. The Landscape Effects Group wanted to be involved because we wanted to showcase eco-friendly, sustainable and renewable products and services that are becoming increasingly more popular for our conscience consumers," says company president Paul St. Pierre. "We have always considered ourselves as being on the cutting edge, and the overall direction within the industry is to be mindful of how our designs and products work in conjunction with the betterment of our environment. That is why we wanted to be involved at this year's premiere event."

Reported Strange Lights Turns Out to Be Lanterns

PRUNEDALE, Calif- Did you see those lights Monday night? Lynn in Prunedale says that her daughter was coming home from work when they saw about 30 lights in the sky.

She said that the lights were strobbing and her first thought was that they were "planes coming to attack".  She wrote an email to Central Coast News to see if anyone else had reported seeing the lights, "Aliens? Who knows LOL, but really my thought was something exploded."

Lynn said that her and her daughter watched it for quite a while, but the fog rolled in and they could not see it anymore.

Central Coast Viewer Nakiya Parker said that the lights were a memorial for a teenager that was shot and killed last year. She said family and friends of Sal Vargas released blessing sky lanterns Monday night. Vargas was shot and killed at a party in Castroville a year ago Monday.

The Monterey County Sheriff's department agreed with Parker and said that the lights were from the lanterns.

According to the National UFO Reporting Center Website, in February someone in Prunedale reported seeing "Flashing MultiColered Light" and in October of 2010 "an extremely bright white light was observed traveling at an extraordinary speed, with no noise."