A Little Insight for Earth Day 2012

By D H on Apr. 22, 2012 | Topics: Giveaways, Weblogs | 67 Comments

*Leave a comment below through the end of Monday, April 23, 2012, to be considered for the random giveaway explained below.

I hope you’re enjoying Earth Day and doing something to better your impact on the planet. Over the years, I’ve come to realize what’s important on this site is not to criticize others for not doing this or that but to curate and share good insight as much as possible. And the insight I’m most optimistic about for the future is green prefab. So I’m going to give away 10 copies of a great prefab book called Prefabulous + Sustainable by Sheri Koones.

But that’s not all. You may know Koones is hard at work on a second book about prefab called Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid. When that comes out in about October 2012, I’ll also ship a copy of the new book to the above 10 winners of Prefabulous + Sustainable. All I ask is you keep me informed if your address changes in the mean time.

This isn’t backed by Koones or her publisher or anything like that. I just want to give something back to you in appreciation for your readership on Earth Day. And I think many of you are interested in green prefab, so let me help you fill out your bookshelf on this topic. If you want to go ahead and buy these books, here’s links to purchase on Amazon:

[+] Prefabulous + Sustainable by Sheri Koones – $25.00.
[+] Prefabulous + Almost Off the Grid by Sheri Koones – $24.95.

*To participate in this giveaway contest, leave a comment here by midnight MST on Monday, April 23, 2012. One comment per person; use a valid email; available only in the United States. By leaving a comment, you agree to the terms and conditions relating to giveaways on Jetson Green.

About D H:

arjo

I like the combination of prefab & off the grid. Looks like a really interesting book
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000240293504 Amanda Bickford

We are looking at a off the grid prefab in 2013.
http://www.EricEstate.com/ Eric Estate

I’ve heard about that book, and been meaning to add it to my collection. Thanks for such a great blog.
David Sigmon

Thanks, Preston! Prefab is a great way to make building new green homes affordable. I hope we get more green prefab builders in the Great Plains. One of the drawbacks of buying prefab in this area is the large shipping distances from manufacturers on the coasts.
Timslucas

We are evaluating SIPs next week with a sustainable builder in our area for our addition. I’ve been reading your blog for years. What a great collection of sustainability information and inspirations. Thanks. I’d love the book!
http://twitter.com/yoursamrevel Sam Revel

I really enjoy Jetson Green and this book looks awesome.
ForOneForAll

Happy Earth Day Everyone! Please feel free to send me a copy if any are still available. Thanks!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=531140448 Laura Felstiner

Happy Earth Day from Canada’s first prefab LivingHome – Nexterra.com
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=514067729 Hannah Dwyer

I just put Pre-fabulous and almost off grid living on my wish list. Great choices for a give away, exciting.
keep up the great coverage.
Johnela

I have all of Sheri’s books and can’t wait for the next one. Prefab and green is the wave of the future. Her work is educating the world and making a difference. Prefab is evloving from a niche to mainstrem and Sheri is fueling the evolution.
slacker

We love this idea. We are going off grid as soon as possible. We want these books.
Portlandbirch

My favorite thing about contemporary prefabs is they look nothing like prefabricated homes. Most look like architect designed homes.
Andrew Willard

As someone that has done a full renovation on a 1800′s place making it more energy efficient (solar water, spray foam ceilings, screen porch, no AC) I look forward to my next house which I hope will be Passive design with Solar PV! Love this web site, some great designs and ideas.
SRP

Thanks for the heads up on these books, they look great. Keep up the good work!
Mountainmaddix

We are considering prefab construction for a lot we just purchased in Asheville, NC.
This book looks like something we would gain inspiration from.
Jodowa

I’ve been following your website for a while and enjoy the insight you’ve provided as we considerer our future home. It’d be great to have these books as inspiration.
Jill Matyastik

Prefab and green – what could be better?
H_hande

These books are inspiring me to think beyond a prefab second house to a prefab primary house.
Andrew S.

Would especially love prefab and off the grid in Emigration Canyon!
Andrew

I agree that Prefab will become the future of homebuilding. Once the first of this Country’s national homebuilders also comes to realize this things will really take off.
Girlfuturist

The swing away from McMansions is well under way. Now the pre-fab folks just need to prove that their offerings are just as good “as a regular house” and are also within an affordable range. How do we get a few major developers to go fully pre-fab? That would get us over the believability hump. Come on people!
Bnadine

My partner and I have just started thinking about moving out of the city and exploring our prefab options in the interior of BC. Good timing that I should come across your post

Sincerely,
Nadine
PDM

Planning on building a house in a few years and prefab is right up there with straw bale as the material I’ll use!
Vmacalpine3

I am happy to have found this webpage and look forward to reading about the new green buildings. Our family would enjoy receiving the Sheri Koones books but if we are not selected we are happy to the people who do!

Love the posts, thank you and happy
Ronnie

Thanks, Preston. Today (Earth Day) we are retrofitting our kitchen for solar. So excited about this because we will be one of the first in our upstate NY neighborhood. Love prefab and getting as close as we can to moving away from fossil fuels.
Pennyh1873

I am following all the prefabs for my future retirement. The books will come in handly.
Tom

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17788178
Nev1949

I live in the middle of Illinois. Prefab and green are both new concepts here. I want to create the possibility of both for my community to see, appreciate and want as their own.
Sfieldscullowhee

I just found this newsletter a few weeks ago and I am already anticipating each issue. My attitude has some ambivalence and skepticism about many of the companies and their products that I see. Nevertheless, I am confident that these are emerging trends that should be very good for the housing industry and the informed consumer.
Patrick

I appreciate the outreach and attentiveness
where options do exists.
Matthew Emerson

To celebrate Earth Day we planted (8) trees today on our urban block here in Philadelphia, where there’s a great pre-fab company starting construction on a series of houses. I’m not sure if we’re too late for the book give-away, but enjoying your blog as always.
Wendypenner

Looks great! Would love to have a copy! Started my new home composting system today <3
Pat

We are looking at an off grid pre fab within the next year. Looks like a really great book. Thanks
Tom Bures

I have been doing a lot of research on building a green house in a suburban neighborhood. This website is excellent for ideas and info and presenting this book is just another great example of that. Thanks for pointing out this book.
Joe Karten

Happy Earth Day – great articles.
David Lee

I’ve been long interested in simple sustainable efficient architecture and am particularly interested in building techniques afforded by systems using SIPs.
These books would be a great resource for many of these objectives. Thanks
for all the good work you do. I’d enjoy these books a lot!
Deborah

Jetson,
I am Board president of a local affordable housing nonprofit that rehabs 7-10 houses per year. As federal funding changes ( and the board) we are looking a prefabs as a way to bring quality affordable housing to urban infill in Louisville Kentucky. Your posts are already serving as a resource – we send links around to the board to bring them up to date, and try to convince them that today’s super efficient houses are not your father’s old solar places from the 70s.
The books would be a great help to remind and make real the idea that we need to make affordable housing efficient and attractive – leading the way for more and better urban neighborhoods.
Mark Kozaakiewicz

Friends are doing the ‘off grid’ thing and are struggling. This might make a great gift for them.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jane-Zook/706772747 Jane Zook

Thanks to Jetson Green for bringing Modern, sustainable, and usually affordable building to the planet!
http://twitter.com/RedMcGov Ryan McGovern

Just attended the NYC Green Festival to explore ways I can take my career into a more Earth conscious direction.
Tom Hollinden

Thanks Preston for your hard work and dedication to green prefab!
http://hacking-shindyapin.tumblr.com ph0rque

I’d love a copy of these books…
Ed Latson

Preston- I subscibe to a fair number of online newsletters and update services–many are rather bland and can also be annoyingly redundant. Jetson Green is always fresh-plus informative in a very open manner. I think the key to your sites’ appeal is that it’s personal, and you also tell a good story. I think many authors are forgetting that we are designing and building homes for people-our beloved friends and clients- and not for an assemblage of HERS raters and BPI building analysts.
I hope you continue with this excellence and very informative writing and reporting.
Thank you.
http://pchomeinspections.net/ Paul Burback

I love reading the books by author Sarah Susanka and these books are right up my alley too. Thanks for the great blog Preston – I really enjoy the read
Whats

Keep up the good work with your Jetson Green information! It’s prefabulous!
Stephen Gibson

Preston, thanks for your tireless enthusiasm for all things sustainable, and for letting us know about these great-looking books!
Jeffhopwood

Thanks for your website and work! I have found it a great resource as I plan our next home. I’d like to see articles/info on SIP’s and what they’re made of, especially the OSB regarding longevity – good and bad – and also on postframe / pole buildings.
Thank you!
Kathy Nokes

Thanks for your work! Love the blog
David

We are in the process of searching for a simple and durable off gridish home. Prefab would be great, but is anyone actually selling a reasonably priced prefab?
Jackmercer

I really enjoy Jetson Green and stop by every day to see what is new.
Brad

Prefab is the way to go, everything is put together in a controlled environment.
Chuck Newton

I would appreciate a copy of that book.
AP

Great work as always…books look very informative.
crumprg

Thanks, Preston! It’s good to see more of this sort of literature out there for those of us who are looking for ideas and inspiration.
james

Would love to have these books. I always enjoy seeing what’s possible.
M O Daby design

So that’s how you get ‘em talking Preston.
Larry

Preston, thank you for all your efforts to find, collect, and distribute relevant news to the community. Yours is one of the best green residential blog/news site I have found.
Tutty k.

Preston,
Thank you for all your efforts to bring forth news about latest developments in energy efficiency and innovative housing.
The books would help us to implement these ideas in SE New England
kikibee

I love this site. fall asleep at night designing a home in my head with all the great things I learn on here. Thanks
David Aine

green prefab is something that has the potential to solve a lot of our problems at once. wonderful to be witnessing the acceleration of it’s evolution…
Cindy

I enjoy the information you share!
Susan Mercer

I have the original book and it is a great book.
Brittani

I just found this news feed and it is everything I wish for my life and my community’s. Keri it coming, it gives me inspiration to do more.
Brittani

Keep* …autocorrect!
Ohheyokitsme

I own all of Sheri’s books and love them! The advice offered is functional and unpretentious
John

I’m getting the impression that prefab, is pretty much geared at putting architects out of work. We have spoken with many companies and they all seem to have their in house designers and more or less standard designs. Some who specialize in building parts, like walls, are able to work with an architect and a custom design, but it seems the trend is towards building homes like cars. A few designs fit all. Not unlike tract housing I suppose. It is interesting to note that on site construction can be every bit as green as factory built, often less expensive. The main advantage of factory built homes is that site construction time is generally much less.
Rick_Nelson

Awesome! I hope you (& Sheri) continue the great work show everyone this great movement in architecture/home building!

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