More than 1,000 real-estate agents have taken a $395 course, offered by John Beldock, director of environmental analysis for the Department of Energy for three years until 1992, on the basics of what makes a house green, the Wall Street Journal reports. The agents can advertise themselves as “EcoBrokers” on their business cards and Web sites.

It’s hard to say why agents need to be “certified” to sell green homes and whether or not this provides any clout.

Georgette Chapman Phillips, chair of the real-estate department at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, says green credentials are a “selling point, just as much as the pool and the garage.” She says brokers may not need to be certified to promote eco-friendly houses. “This is more common sense than scientific learning,” she says in the article.

“That’s like saying NYU and Cornell aren’t necessary and you can get all your English and psychology training on the Internet,” says Beldock.