As granite becomes almost ubiquitous, buyers are wowed by stylish Corian, quartz, and even cork.
By Barbara Ballinger | February 2009   (From Realtor Magazine Feb.2009)

Granite countertops may still impress some buyers, but true trendsetters will be on the lookout for kitchens that incorporate some of the hottest new materials. A countertop, backsplash, or floor in a dazzling material may be just what’s needed to give a room a stylish kick and spur a sale.

Help educate home owners about the growing list of new possibilities, including the pros and cons of various materials. A trendy look carries a lot of weight, but durability, affordability, and sustainability also count. 

We asked design experts about the hottest and freshest materials, and some old favorites, that can make a big impact in the kitchen. While some experts agreed, we found some differing opinions on each material’s pros and cons. Because every buyer’s style is different, urge clients to study materials up close and find the answers to these key questions:

How durable is it?
Will it stain or crack?
Does it need to be sealed and resealed? How often?
Is it eco-friendly?
Does it come in slabs, tiles, or both?
What surface is most suitable for this material?
How much does it cost to buy, install, and maintain?

Another piece of advice from the experts: For the best overall look in a kitchen, never use a material as the only surface in a room. “Too much of any single material loses freshness,” says designer Mick de Giulio of DeGiulio Kitchens & Bath in Chicago and Wilmette, Ill.
Materials to Consider

Concrete. Simple, clean, and durable, this material can be left rough or honed, stained a color, edged with another material, and sealed, although some scratches and cracking may be inevitable, says designer Mariette Barsoum of Divine Kitchens in Westboro, Ma. It can also be sculpted into curved countertops. Installation is critical, and the best installers charge top dollar, often $275 a square foot, says Arthur Tanturri, owner of Chelsea Fine Custom Kitchens in New York. Do-it-yourselfers can cut costs by following advice from Fu-Tung Cheng’s book, Concrete Countertops Made Simple (The Taunton Press, 2008).

Quartz. Engineered or manmade quartz, plus epoxy resins, creates the material that’s generically referred to as quartz. However, manufacturers also call it by other names: Cambria, Zodiaq, CaesarStone, and Silestone. Colors vary, but all are durable and heat resistant. “It provides the look of granite but doesn’t have that material’s porosity,” says Naperville, Ill., designer Joan M. Kaufman. It can also be heated and molded into curved shapes, says Doug Durbin, owner of NuHaus, a design firm in Highland Park, Ill. Some designers like the consistency of its colors and patterns; others think such sameness looks unnatural and prefer the one-of-a-kind slabs of granite and marble. Price varies by the slab selected, but it can be more costly than a natural stone.

Bamboo. Eco-friendly, warm, and available in different hues, bamboo is a durable wood-like grass that can be used on any surface. It requires sealing. When it comes to price, top-notch bamboos rival high-quality granites. Jeff Taub, owner of Kittle’s Flooring Co. in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., favors the strength of strand bamboo, which is mixed with resin and compressed.

Mosaic glass tiles. A hot contender for today’s favorite material, these tiles are sustainable and available in a rainbow of colors, textures, and sizes. They can be mixed with metal, stone, and ceramic tiles for a rich textural display. The downside is price, which is comparable with or even greater than nice granite. Chicago designer David Kaufman likes to use glass tiles in different sizes and shapes on a backsplash.

IceStone. Recycled glass is mixed with cement to create IceStone, a speckled surface that’s chip- and burn-proof, although four times costlier than good granites. 

Hardwood. Wood will always be a classic, but the specific species, colors, and widths come and go in popularity. Frank Fontana, host of HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” currently prefers darker woods such as Brazilian cherry, walnut, mahogany, and oak-stained ebony. He also likes wide planks that mimic barn floorboards. New York designer Jeani Ziering thinks reclaimed teak flooring is an elegant must-have.

Cork. Though it may look soft, this flooring material wears like wood and can be dyed with vibrant reds, greens, blues. It’s also affordable, at $15 to $18 a square foot.

PaperStone. Durable and sustainable, PaperStone is made from layers of recycled paper in thicknesses of ¾-inch to 11/4-inch, making it suitable for countertops. Edges can be varied. Price is comparable to lower-end granites but a seasoned installer is essential, says Durbin.

Marble. Another natural material, marble’s elegance comes from its classic simplicity, quiet color range, and subtle veining. Though durable, it’s more porous than granite and requires periodic sealings, says David Kaufman. Some consider it a bad choice for kitchen counters, but Fontana thinks it’s fine as long as home owners understand how to care for it. Honing helps it withstand wear, says Jacksonville, Fla., designer Judith Sisler Johnson. Prices can be steep, $10 to $12 per square foot compared with $8 to $10 per square foot for granite that’s the same size and comparable quality, and $6 to $10 for porcelain, says Tanturri. A middle-grade granite slab might run $80 to $110 installed; the same size and quality marble slab would be 15 percent more. 

Granite. Like a black cocktail dress, granite will never go out of style, even if it is something that everybody owns. This natural material looks freshest when selected in a classic color or one of the newer but low-key variations such as sky pearl or black with gold or tan veining. Available in tiny mosaics, larger tiles, and slabs, its price depends on the thickness, edging, color, and finish. Prices have dropped due to competition, though newer granites like rainforest green may still run as high as $250 per square foot, says Durbin.

Other Options to Consider. Though less popular, and on the pricey side, here are some other materials our experts mentioned: 

Alkemi. This recycled metal with a jewel-like look shimmers and is resistant to chipping.
Copper. It offers an elegant sheen, but it can ding, so you may be safer using this material on walls rather than counters or floors.
Leather tiles. Another green material, these tiles offer a rich dramatic look in a variety of skins such as ostrich and vibrant colors like orange.
Pyrolave. A French-made glazed Volvic lava stone that’s hard, heat resistant, and comes in vibrant tones can cost $250 a square foot and require a seam because of its lengths.
Seeta. Environmentally-friendly and made by Torzo Surfaces from sunflower seed hulls, this material is durable, green, 100-percent formaldehyde free, and available in multiple colors and patterns. It costs about the same as an average-priced granite does, says Los Angeles designer Sarah Barnard. 
Barbara Ballinger is a freelance writer for REALTOR® magazine.

A Realtor friend of mine who is also concerned about the environment sent me this wonderful video.  I think you will like it, too.

MOTHER EARTH WATCH
By Lauren Liora Zack

“The Story of Stuff” video takes a humorous yet factual look at the underside of our consumer-driven society, from production to disposal of goods. The video focuses on the connections between environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.

Watch the Video “The Story of Stuff” with Annie Leonard:    The Story of Stuff http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

By RON LIEBER
Published: December 5, 2008

Five or 10 years from now, when the financial crisis has ended and housing prices are up smartly once more, we will look in the rearview mirror and realize that we missed a golden age for first-time home buyers.

Then, everyone who sat on their down payment savings accounts for a few years too long will kick themselves for not taking advantage of what may turn out to be the buying opportunity of a lifetime for those who can qualify for a mortgage.

Unfortunately, we do not know when this golden age will begin, because we will be able to identify a bottom to the housing market only with the benefit of hindsight. But as it does with the stock market, the moment will probably arrive when everyone is feeling the most pessimistic.

That moment is certainly getting closer. Housing prices have fallen drastically from their peak levels in many areas of the country. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are already close to 5.5 percent, and this week there were suggestions that the federal government might try to drive them down to 4.5 percent, a truly incredible figure to be able to lock in for three decades.

Meanwhile, first-time home buyers have the same advantage they have always had, which is that they do not have to sell their old place before buying a new one. That is an added advantage in areas where many available houses simply are not moving, because the people trying to sell them will not be bidding against you.

If you’re hoping for a recovery in the housing market, you ought to be cheering on the first-time home buyers. When they purchase homes, their sellers are free to move on or move up, stimulating further sales.

But if you are a potential first-time buyer yourself, or lending or giving the down payment to one, you are probably as frightened as you are tempted by all the “For Sale” signs that have become “On Sale” signs. So let’s quickly review some of the still-grim pricing data in certain areas — and consider the reasoning offered up by first-time buyers who have forged ahead anyhow.

As is always the case with real estate, much depends on location. One study, “The Changing Prospects for Building Home Equity,” tries to predict where today’s first-time buyers in the 100 biggest metropolitan areas may actually have less home equity by 2012 as a result of continued price declines. The verdict was that buyers in 33 of the markets could see a decline by 2012, including potential six-figure drops on an average home in the New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle metropolitan areas.

This is obviously scary. (I’ve linked to the study, a joint effort of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, from the version of this article at nytimes.com/yourmoney.) It’s worth noting, however, that these predictions came before the government made its most recent move to reduce borrowing costs.

Also, the price projections in the study are based, in part, on the fact that the ratio of purchase prices to annual rents is still higher in many areas than the historical average, which is roughly 15 times rents. While past figures may well have some predictive value, I have never been convinced that first-time buyers compare a home that they could own and one that they would rent in purely or even primarily economic terms.

When Jaime and Michael Proman moved this fall to Minneapolis, his hometown, from New York City, they craved a different sort of life after two years together in a 450-square-foot studio apartment. “We didn’t want a sterile apartment feel,” said Mr. Proman, who is 28 (his wife is 26). “We wanted something that was permanent and very much a reflection of us.”

The fact is, in many parts of the country there are few if any attractive rentals for people looking to put down roots and enjoy the sort of amenities they may spot on cable television home improvement shows. Comparing a rental with a place that you may own seems almost pointless in these situations, especially for those who are now grown up enough to want to make their own decisions about décor without consulting the landlord.

Still, for anyone feeling the urge to buy, a number of practical considerations have changed in the last year or two. The basics are back, like spending no more than 28 percent of your pretax income on mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. Even if a lender does not hold you to this when you go in for preapproval, you should hold yourself to it.

You will also want to start now on any project to improve your credit score because it may take several months to get it above the 720 level that qualifies you for many of the best mortgage rates.

John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for credit.com, a consumer credit information and application site, suggests starting to pay down and put away credit cards months before you apply for a loan. That is because the credit scoring system could penalize you if you use a lot of credit each month, even if you always pay in full. Also, check your three credit reports (it’s free) at annualcreditreport.com and dispute errors.

While no one can easily predict the likelihood of losing a job, Friday’s startling unemployment figures suggest the need for caution if you think you might be vulnerable. A. C. Panella, who teaches communications at Pasadena City College in California, waited until she had a tenure-track job before buying a home in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles with her partner, Amy Goldman, a lawyer for a nonprofit organization. “We could afford the mortgage payment on one salary, were something to come up,” Ms. Panella, 31, said. “It’s really about being able to stay within our means.”

For many first-time home buyers, that philosophy stretches to the down payment, too. Ms. Panella and her partner put down 20 percent when they bought their home in September, as did the Promans when they bought their home in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis.

Alison Nowak, 29, put just 3 percent down on a Federal Housing Administration-backed loan last month when she and her partner, Lacey Mamak, bought a $149,900, 800-square-foot home several miles south of where the Promans live. “Anything that is an opportunity also has a bit of risk,” she said. Her house was in foreclosure before a plumber bought it and fixed it up. “One way we mitigated it was that we bought a really tiny house in a very good neighborhood.”

One other strategy might be to buy new instead of used. Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist for the research firm High Frequency Economics, says he believes that a steep drop-off in inventory of new homes is coming soon, thanks to a rapid decrease in home builder activity.

Since prices generally soften in the winter, it may make sense to start looking seriously once the mercury bottoms out. “If you look at new developments next spring, you may not have the choice you thought you would have or be in the bargaining position you thought you would be,” Mr. Shepherdson said. Also, if you wait after June 30, you will miss out on a $7,500 federal tax credit for income-eligible first-time home buyers that works like an interest-free loan.

Finally, allow yourself to consider how it would feel if you bought and then prices dropped another 10 or 15 percent. It might not bother you if you plan to stick around. Plenty of people seem to be making a longer commitment to their homes. According to a survey that the National Association of Realtors released last month, typical first-time buyers plan to stay in their home 10 years, up from 7 last year.

Perhaps people are more aware that they will not be able to build equity as rapidly as others did in the real estate boom. Or they simply have more confidence in hard, hometown assets now than in other markets.

“We wouldn’t let another decline bother us,” said Michael Proman. “You can never time a bottom. This is a long-term investment for us, and it truly is the best investment we have in our portfolio right now.”

According to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, home values in Portland decreased -6.39% in the third quarter of 2008, compared to the third quarter of 2007. Nationally, home values decreased -9.7% during this same period.

Zestimates and Zillow Home Value Indices are published multiple times per week on Zillow.com, and quarterly Zillow Real Estate Market Reports are released every three months. You can find the latest Market Reports in the Zillow Media Room, or you can check out the Zillow Home Value Index for your ZIP code, neighborhood, city, state or US by clicking on the “Zestimate and Charts” link on any home details

The world’s mammals are in the grip of an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of vanishing forever, according to the latest scientific assessment revealed at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress, which opened Sunday in Barcelona.

The new study conducted for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for the first time assessed all of the 5,487 mammals on Earth and found that at least 1,141 of them are known to be threatened with extinction.

At least 76 mammals have become extinct since the year 1500.

The real situation could be much worse as 836 mammals are listed as Data Deficient. With better information, scientists may classify even more species as being in danger of extinction.

“Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live,” said Julia Marton-Lef�vre, IUCN director general.

“The reality is that the number of threatened mammals could be as high as 36 percent,” said Jan Schipper of Conservation International, lead author in a forthcoming article on the mammal assessment in the journal “Science.”

“This indicates that conservation action backed by research is a clear priority for the future, not only to improve the data so that we can evaluate threats to these poorly known species, but to investigate means to recover threatened species and populations,” said Schipper.

The project to assess the world’s mammals was conducted with help from more than 1,800 scientists from over 130 countries.

The assessment also indicates that conservation can bring species back from the brink of extinction, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery in the wild.

“We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives,” said Marton-Lef�vre.

The results show 188 mammals are in the highest threat category of Critically Endangered, including the Iberian Lynx, Lynx pardinus, which has a population of between 84 and143 adults and has continued to decline due to a shortage of its primary prey, the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus. 

Two of the marine mammals teetering on the edge of extinction are found only in New Zealand - the Hector’s dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori, and the closely related Maui’s dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori ssp. maui. A mere 111 Maui’s dolphins remain, and the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the new Red List.

Gill netting and trawling are killing these dolphins faster than they can breed, says the conservation organization Care for the Wild International. Since the introduction of nylon filament gill nets in the 1970s, Hector’s dolphin numbers have dropped by two thirds from some 29,000 to below 8,000. The situation for Maui’s dolphins is worse as 90 percent have already been lost and fewer than 30 adult females survive.

These dolphins are falling victim to human economic activities, as are many of the most vulnerable mammals species.

CWI Chief Executive Dr. Barbara Maas, a former employee of New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, charged with the protection of Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins, says, “In May, the government announced extensions to no-fishing zones and improved controls to further Hector’s and Maui’s dolphin protection. The decision followed years of research and extensive public consultation.”

“Fishing industry representatives participated in these discussions from the outset, but last month industry bodies announced that they will take the government to court over the new measures, arguing that jobs and businesses are at risk,” Maas said.

It may be too late to save the 29 species that have been flagged as Critically Endangered Possibly Extinct, including a rodent once found in Cuba, the Little Earth Hutia, Mesocapromys sanfelipensis, which has not been seen in nearly 40 years.

Nearly 450 mammals have been listed as Endangered, including the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, which was moved from the category of Least Concern to Endangered after the global population declined by more than 60 percent in the last 10 years due to a fatal infectious facial cancer.

The fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, found in Southeast Asia, moved from Vulnerable to Endangered due to habitat loss in wetlands.

The Caspian seal, Pusa caspica, moved from Vulnerable to Endangered. Its population has declined by 90 percent in the last 100 years due to unsustainable hunting and habitat degradation and is still decreasing.

Habitat loss and degradation affect 40 percent of the world’s mammals. It is most extreme in Central and South America, West, East and Central Africa, Madagascar, and in South and Southeast Asia. Over harvesting is wiping out larger mammals, especially in Southeast Asia, but also in parts of Africa and South America.

The grey-faced Sengi or elephant-shrew, Rhynchocyon udzungwensis, is only known from two forests in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania, both of which are fully protected but vulnerable to fires. The species was first described this year and has been placed in the Vulnerable category.

“This massive tabulation of the locations and often precarious situations of the Earth’s mammal species spotlights our need for an increased understanding of the regional changes that are the ultimate challenge to the survival of many of these incredible creatures,” says Dr. Thomas Skalak, vice president for research at the University of Virginia.

The assessment of the world’s mammals shows that species can recover with concerted conservation efforts. The black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes, moved from Extinct in the Wild to Endangered after a successful reintroduction by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service into eight western states and Mexico from 1991-2008.

Similarly, the wild horse, Equus ferus, moved from Extinct in the Wild in 1996 to Critically Endangered this year after successful reintroductions started in Mongolia in the early 1990s.
Pere David’s Deer, Elaphurus davidianus, endemic to China, is listed as Extinct in the Wild. However, the captive and semi-captive populations have increased in recent years and the IUCN says it is possible that truly wild populations could be re-established soon.

The African elephant, Loxodonta africana, moved from Vulnerable to Near Threatened, although its status varies considerably across its range. The move reflects the recent and ongoing population increases in major populations in southern and eastern Africa. These increases are big enough to outweigh any decreases that may be taking place elsewhere.

“The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to prevent future extinctions,” says Dr. Jane Smart, Head of IUCN’s Species Programme. “We now know what species are threatened, what the threats are and where - we have no more excuses to watch from the sidelines.”

“No other tool is as valuable for conservation as the Red List, which provides scientists and decision makers with an important set of information, freely available to the public, to improve the effectiveness of our conservation efforts,” says Dr. Russell Mittermeier, chair of IUCN’s Primate Specialist Group and president of Conservation International.

The mammal assessment was made possible by the volunteer help of IUCN Species Survival Commission’s specialist groups and the collaborations between top institutions and universities, including Conservation International, Sapienza Universit� di Roma, Arizona State University, Texas A&M University, University of Virginia, and the Zoological Society of London.

“We are now emerging from the dark ages of conservation knowledge, when we relied on data from a highly restricted subset of species,” says Dr Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programs at the Zoological Society of London. “In the future we will expand the scope of our species knowledge to include a far broader range of groups, thus informing and assisting policy makers in a hugely more objective and representative manner.”

This article was found in Greenzine Magazine.