By Lynette Holloway

Jamie Swise, a Chicago-based weatherization expert, said President-elect Barack Obama made his job a whole lot easier when during a recent debate he urged Americans “to weatherize” their homes to save energy.

Obama made the appeal at a presidential debate last month before his election in response to a question about sacrifices his administration would ask Americans to make during these tumultuous economic times.

“Here you have the soon-to-be president of the United States stressing the importance of weatherization,” Swise said after the election. “He’s got a lot of people thinking about how weatherizing their homes can help save energy. You can’t beat that.”

[Read more →]

By John DeFore

The green roof concept — in which some form of plant is grown atop a building — is spreading in multiple directions in the States. Not just the realm of futurists (though we love this idea) or extravagant fashionistas (see some lovely examples here), the field is drawing interest from homeowners and corporations with a range of motivations.

Now a study by the University of Texas at Austin’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has quantified some of the issues motivating folks to put plants on the roof and found that the benefits are substantial, although results can vary widely depending on how the roof is composed and installed.

At the Wildflower Center, a team led by ecologist Dr. Mark Simmons studied roofs made by six different manufacturers with an eye toward helping the fledgling industry make better performing products. “Just having a green roof may not mean anything in terms of preventing water from reaching the street level, for instance,” Simmons has said. “Green roofs have to be done right, and our hope is to help manufacturers understand how to improve their designs.”

[Read more →]

The Alliance to Save Energy, a 30-year-old coalition of business, political, consumer and environmental leaders, today urged the U.S. Senate to adopt a bill that would grant or extend tax credits to consumers for energy-saving home improvements, while also potentially stimulating the economy.
The bill, The Jobs, Energy, Families & Disaster Relief Act of 2008, would [...]

[Read more →]

By John DeFore
“Critical mass” may not be the most comforting metaphor to use about coverage of radiation in kitchen countertops, but it’s hard to resist. After stories by such high-profile outlets as The New York Times and Associated Press, long-simmering concerns about granite counters have become sufficiently mainstream that Stephen Colbert can joke that, [...]

[Read more →]

Even those among us who spend a fair deal of time daydreaming about living in a solar-powered home may stop short of actually shopping for the required equipment. You can’t just hop down to Home Depot and pick up a photovoltaic rig, after all, and we all know it’s expensive.

Happily, some pioneers are making themselves guinea pigs and sharing their experiences with anyone who’s interested.

[Read more →]

By Paula Minahan
The idea of living in a truly sustainable green environment is a homeowner’s dream: Lower energy bills, healthier materials,

Photo: Barley & Pfeiffer Architects
Overhangs provide protection from the sun.
the satisfaction of “doing the right thing.” But with our slumping U.S. economy, many worry about holding onto their home — let alone building a [...]

[Read more →]

By Paula Minahan
Swimming pools are a big draw in summer, but when it comes to energy consumption, they can be a big drain. Award-winning green architect Peter Pfeiffer shared his own experience on how to reduce “pain at the pump”:
Here’s a great story about building my own home. We installed solar panels on the [...]

[Read more →]

By Paula Minahan
Peter Pfeiffer doesn’t mince words. His passion for green building takes an almost proselytizing tone at times. And it’s no wonder. The straight-shooting architect has spent the past 30 years at the forefront of the

Photo: Barley & Pfeiffer Architects
 
Peter Pfeiffer’s green house in Austin
green building movement. The award-winning work of his Austin-based firm, [...]

[Read more →]

By John DeFore
As counterintuitive as it sounds for those raised to think of all trees as environmentally precious, there are some varieties that prove a nuisance, possibly even a hazard, in certain areas.
Western juniper, for instance. While natural wildfire/regrowth cycles once kept juniper under control, modern firefighting efforts have sometimes allowed the trees [...]

[Read more →]

By John DeFore
This week’s consumer electronics event RetailVision saw the latest salvo in a war that should have been fought long ago but probably won’t end soon: The event’s “FRESH” exhibit, showcasing ten hot product innovations, included a display by a company founded on the idea that one plug is plenty for practically all [...]

[Read more →]

By Bill Sullivan
Nancy Riddick leads a visitor to the power meter on the side of her rural home, set on two acres of prairie land in Hunt County, Texas. The mid-April wind is whipping at 30 miles an hour or more, so the timing of this demonstration couldn’t be much better.
Nancy points as the [...]

[Read more →]

By Emily Speir

Photo: Phoenix Composting Toilet Systems
 
Outdoor venues such as Quail Ridge County Park in Missouri use composting toilets.
As a kid watching the remains of my latest goldfish swirling into oblivion, my thoughts were a mix of horror and curiosity. Where was my dear fish going? Where did anything go that got the flush? The [...]

[Read more →]