If you read this blog, it's likely that you have at least a modicum of care for the natural environment.  Like some of you, I grew to love everything about nature through hiking and camping and various Boy Scout activities.  So after being approached by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, I jumped at the chance to give away a couple copies of DisneyNature: Earth.  Drop a comment below, and we'll randomly choose 2 people for the giveaway.*  Earth was just released on DVD and Blu-ray, and it looks fascinating. 

Read more »

In the mid-1980s, Amory Lovins, co-founder, chairman, and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, built an efficient, 4,000 square foot home in Colorado for living and working.  By today’s thinking, the home is a little larger than most greenies would prefer, but it was built to be 90% more efficient than a traditional home of its size.  That’s pretty impressive, especially at a time when the panels on the roof of the White House were being taken down for “repair.”

Read more »

If you haven't noticed, the big news today is Microsoft Hohm, a free online beta application that's rumored to launch sometime next week.  Microsoft Hohm will be a web-based service that takes information about your energy use — not just electricity — and examines it to provide recommendations to save money and energy.  Here's what you can do:

Read more »

Transportation is inextricably linked with (green) buildings.  And for a number of reasons — peak oil, national security, price gouging, and concern for the environment — the current oil-based transportation system is dying.  Its death started with hybrids, and to a certain extent, continued with natural gas vehicles.  With the advent of electrical vehicles, we will all witness the slow, prolonged, and painful death of oil-based transportation.  Tonight Dateline NBC gave us a glimpse of the next generation of transportation in Tesla Motors.  The future of electrical cars is bright, but let's be clear: it's complicated, too.

Read more »

The urban space station is a project taking aim at local environmental health, one building at a time.  Described by the designers as "parasite architecture," the semi-permanent structure sits atop any roof as it filters air, grows food, and re-uses organic waste for inhabitants.  

Read more »