Group items tagged

I thought I would throw this in here, for people who live in Mass. NED offers salvaged building materials from old homes, which can be reused in new or existing structures. A cool way to reuse materials and also add style to your home.

I think this non-profit is pretty cool. They have drastically improved the lives of African women who used to risk their lives and waste many days looking for firewood or burning feces to cook, and so has the Aid For Africa, http://www.aidforafrica.org/member-charities/solar-cookers-international/ Solar cookers could also be built into the side of a home and used indoors! I am thinking of maybe getting or building one for my home to reduce our use of propane. We are mainly solar-powered but we have a gas range and a back up generator that run on propane and I really dislike that. This solar cooker could really help us out though there is a lot that it can't do. I still think it is interesting and worth looking into. Perhaps it is something that more of us could use.

New science which addresses heat transfer can make any home super efficient.

Here is another company building fully sustainable, fully "green" buildings. Last I heard from one of the founders who has been a long-time friend and mentor to me, they are piloting an Eco Dome Community in Japan. I loved Wilde's post about Earthship Biotecture and it reminded me of the eco domes.

I love the dome shape! We live in a circular house that is much like the dome and it feels very different than living in a "box".

This app allows you to access your smart home enabled utility and appliance usage. Turn off the lights you forgot about, turn down the thermostat. You can even review what is running and what isn't.

Great site if you are into energy saving homes

A consumers guide from MSN's Real Estate webpage. Options for home use in mind, MSN offers three categories of best in show. Most efficient, most innovative, and best bang for the buck have examples of photovoltaic solar panels.

Austin Texas, arguably America's Greenest City, posts all resources, ratings and other useful info on this site. An easy way to get a little taste of how they maintain their reputation as the Greenest City.

great blog from a first-hand source!

With drought becoming more serious here is a good article with some water saving tips

This is a very cool site, that focuses on Sustainable Design. Great stories and photos of amazing projects from around the world, that convert old buildings into new living spaces, new home designs using interesting materials (check out the article of Love Nests) and also articles on sustainable building designs for the future.

Systems you can build or install yourself, to simplify sustainability practices in your garden.

Breaks down the pros and cons of the systems most used for sustainable heating and cooling.

Institute for Technology Assessment - We analyse the effects of new technologies on society, the environment, politics and economics.

We could all do this and share our findings ! - online carbon footprint calculator. Calculate CO2 emissions from Cars, Flights, Home and Public Transport.