Planet Green officially opens for business with the premiere of RENOVATION NATION, the ultimate how-to guide for making your home earth-friendly. The tricks of the trade for the green home building movement are revealed when Emmy Award-winning host and handyman Steve Thomas brings viewers into the exciting world of green renovations. In this daily hour-long series, Thomas, known to viewers as handyman and host of This Old House, meets with eco-sensitive homeowners and builders who are making the choice to go green. Thomas shares the secrets of making environmentally responsible transformations by teaching homeowners and viewers alike which materials and designs encourage energy efficiency, while also providing tips on making the process as affordable and simple as possible. A sneak preview of RENOVATION NATION airs Wednesday, June 4, at 9:30 PM ET, when Discovery Home Channel becomes Planet Green. RENOVATION NATION officially premieres Friday, June 6, at 8:00 PM ET and can also be seen Mondays through Thursdays at 6:00 PM ET beginning June 5.

Summer is the perfect time to combine a green thumb with a green lifestyle. By following these simple tips, homeowners can save time and money, and improve the health and appearance of their lawn and garden.

• Mow regularly and leave the clippings on the lawn - the clippings will recycle into "free fertilizer."
• Water deeply, but infrequently, to prevent lawn disease and save water.
• Mulch flower and vegetable beds with compost or grass clippings to conserve water and control weeds.
• Identify bugs before you spray, squash or stomp - most bugs are good bugs, not pests.
• Consider planting native trees and plants, especially ones with berries, fruits and flowers to invite birds, butterflies, and other wildlife into your yard.

For more information on greenscaping, check out EPA's GreenScapes Web site. It includes a seasonal tips calendar on landscape maintenance and a pamphlet that provides cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for large-scale landscapers and homeowners.

McGraw-Hill Construction presented the findings of its latest market research investigating "green" home building, focusing on changes in green building activity between 2001 and 2007; the impact of the down market on green home building; opinions and preferences of builders for green materials and processes, and triggers and obstacles affecting green building expansion.

The major findings of the survey, which is co-sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), include:

• The residential green building market is expected to be worth $12 billion to $20 billion (6% to 10% of the market) this year.
• In five years (2012), the market is expected to double to 12% to 20% market share, or $40 billion to $70 billion.
• 40% of builders think green building helps them market their homes in a down market.
• Quality has emerged in this down market as the most important reason for building green. Previously, builders were motivated by energy cost savings of green homes and doing the right thing, which still came in #2 this year. This is likely due to green home marketing and how it improves quality of life.

Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry has created a functioning, three-story modular and sustainable "green" home in its own backyard to showcase the ways that people can make eco-friendly living a part of their lives.

The home -- which was designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs and built by All American Homes -- is the basis for the original Museum of Science and Industry exhibit Smart Home: Green + Wired, Powered by ComEd and Warmed by Peoples Gas, which is open from May 8, 2008, through Jan. 4, 2009.

With the growing concern about the ways in which our behaviors are effecting our environment, many people are being proactive when it comes to changing their lifestyle in order to alleviate these growing problems. The focus on ‘going green’ is steadily increasing and more and more individuals are taking a green approach to their life. Here, Carl Seville, owner, Seville Consulting explains what ‘going green’ really means.

• What was the motivation behind your becoming interested in green building?
• What are some of the features that make a home green?
• What are some of the advantages to having a green home over a traditional home?
• What do you see in the future of green building?

Find out the answers to these questions after the jump.

Taking "think globally, act locally" to heart, evolve showerheads pledged this month to donate 260 of their popular Roadrunner low-flow showerheads to Greensburg, the Kansas town that was decimated by a 2007 tornado and is rebuilding as the GreenTown green living showcase. This marks the largest-ever donation of product to Greensburg.

The donation will save the town nearly two million gallons of water per year and the fossil fueled energy used to heat it -- plus close to $20,000 in utilities payments. Shipments of the first 260 showerheads are underway to begin distributing before the one-year anniversary of the Greensburg GreenTown project; an interactive shower display will be on display at the Visitor/Green Information Center during the three-day event, May 2-4. The patent-pending, eco-optimized showerheads will help the community save water, energy and utility fees by utilizing the company's patent-pending ShowerStart technology.

In observance of Earth Day, Prosper surveyed US consumers last week to better understand their financial attitudes towards implementing eco-friendly home improvements.

The main finding is that although consumers have a strong desire to implement energy-saving home improvements, they are deterred by the high costs of these projects:

• 91% care about conserving natural resources
• While 60% of survey respondents listed ‘saving money on bills’ as an incentive to adopt a green lifestyle, 75% of respondents indicated that they are deterred from pursuing energy-saving home improvements due to high costs of implementation.

As a community for social lending, Prosper offers eco-conscious Americans with good credit histories a way to connect with their like-minded peers to fund green projects in an affordable way. A separate survey of Prosper lenders found that 25% of respondents have bid on borrowers’ loan listings to support green projects, and 93% of respondents would consider bidding on such listings.

Find out the survey results after the jump.

Beyond.com recently polled business professionals throughout its network of more than 15,000 sites to gauge how important it is for professionals to find an environmentally-friendly workplace for their next job.

More than 5,500 Beyond.com Network visitors responded to the recent poll question:

“How important is finding an environmentally-aware workplace for your next job?”

Going green is all the rage, so it’s not surprising that searches for hybrid vehicles on Cars.com are at an all-time high. In fact, a recent Cars.com survey showed that 59% of car shoppers have purchased or would consider purchasing a hybrid as their next car.

So which cities are the greenest when it comes to car shopping? According to the Cars.com Green Index, a ranking of hybrid vehicle searches by market, West Coast shoppers show the greatest interest in going green. San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Sacramento and San Diego make up the top five. In each of these markets, hybrids account for more than 3 percent of new car searches on Cars.com. While West Coast cities seem to embrace hybrid vehicles more than their counterparts in the Midwest and on the East Coast, cities in the South lag behind most major cities in the country, with Houston, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Birmingham and Miami rounding out the bottom five.

Low Impact Living.com has launched a groundbreaking new Household Environmental Impact Calculator and rating system. These tools will help Americans understand their environmental impacts and chart a course to a more eco-friendly home and lifestyle.

This new calculator allows homeowners to input information about their homes and consumption habits and get a full picture of their environmental impacts. The tool calculates not only carbon emissions but ALL environmental impacts including energy use, water consumption, trash production, urban run-off production and more. It is the most comprehensive environmental impact calculator available online.

Cruising around in the latest hybrid may be the most visible demonstration of how eco-savvy one is, but the mom-reviewers at Mother Proof know there are other ways families can go green on the road without buying a hybrid.

“Making an environmentally friendly decision with your car doesn’t have to stop or start with buying a hybrid,” Mother Proof’s chief mom Kristin Varela said. “In reality, there are a lot of other car-related ways to contribute to a greener lifestyle.”

Keeping it Clean and Green

There are several eco-conundrums associated with washing your car, ranging from water waste and energy consumption to the harmful chemicals and cleaning byproducts that get washed into waterways. There are environmental pros and cons both to washing your car at home and doing so at an automated car wash.

In preparation for Earth Day on April 22, 2008, Penton Kids Press announces the January release of "My Bag and Me," a children's book designed with an Earth-friendly focus to help reduce the use of plastic and paper bags. Because it comes with a reusable tote bag, this engaging illustrated board book demonstrates to children the crucial need for recycling. "We believe it is important to help young children understand and participate in going green," says Penton Marketing Director Tom McGrew. He adds, "'My Bag and Me' follows a child, and his reusable shopping bag, on a trip to the grocery store. By the end of the story, the child is ready to say no to paper and plastic and prove it with his own reusable bag."

The facts associated with the negative effects of paper and plastic bag use are staggering with well over a billion plastic bags a day or 500 billion bags per year used globally. Made from petroleum and natural gas, they are non-renewable. The costs of bags given away "free" by retailers can top $4 billion dollars a year and are passed on to consumers in other ways. Worse, plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to decompose. As litter, they break down into tiny pieces that contaminate soil and water, and can harm or kill thousands of animals that may mistake them for food.