Thursday, 07 July 2011 00:00

Thanks to Treehugger, this post is reproduced.  I'm always finding myself draggin up excuses not to ride my bike to work, but of course I have several jobs in several places across town...so until I get that figured out, I'm going to be driving my car to works.

But as for the rest of you....read on.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/07/6-lame-excuses-not-bike-commuting.php?campaign=daily_nl 

Wednesday, 06 July 2011 00:00

The long-awaited return of an offical Co-op storefront to Gainesville has some holding their breath.  It's been a big dream for the founders, and a long-road to next week.  Don't forget to come out and support them.

Start shopping on Tuesday, July 12th and join the Grand Opening on Friday, July 15th.

Click here for the details 

Tuesday, 05 July 2011 15:45

Don't forget that Green Drinks is tomorrow at the home of Deb and Tim Harrell- 6728 NW 34th St. (Sutter's Landing).  

Directions: Turn into Mile Run subdivision off of NW 53rd. Go to the back & turn right into Sutter's Landing. We are the 3rd street on the left, and 3rd house on the left. It's a small cul-de-sac so if people could park outside the neighborhood and perhaps carpool in, parking will be more manageable. There's plenty of parking outside Sutter's Landing as that is a dead end.  They've got solar PV and tower gardens you can come learn about, so check out some real sustainability in action if you can.

Contact Trish Riley for more information:

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

. 

Friday, 01 July 2011 17:51

If you have a Florida home built in the 40's or 50's you might have the old jalousie windows with aluminum framing that might be argument enough for replacing them.  But in the summer in Florida there may be other solutions than just replacing old windows, no matter how old they are.

Check out this thread from Green Building Advisor on solutions (although this is mostly geared towards cold-weather, heating climates), there are some reader responses worth considering.  And although "newer and better" might be a patriotic chant, consider other options besides filling up the landfil with older windows and replacing them with plastic vinyl.

Happy 4th everyone!

Thursday, 30 June 2011 00:00

A new company in (where else?) Cal-i-for-ni-a is taking another approach to net-zero homes:  affordability for everyone.  Getting production costs down through modular building, ZETA Communities announced a deal with Visionary Home Builders for a 22-home NetZero Energy community in San Joaquin County.  

To stretch that sustainability further,  the company is offering qualified workers the unique opportunity to participate in an employee down payment assistance, homeownership program. This will enable ZETA’s factory workers to buy the Tierra del Sol homes that they are building.  Pretty smart.  They are claiming that their modular homes take 70% less time to build than traditional buildings and can save homeowners 45% on their PG&E utility bills.

Wednesday, 29 June 2011 00:00

How's this for the best of multiple sustainability benefits?  Building-integrated Solar Ivy from SMIT in Brooklyn is using PV as attractive solar collectors as well as wind harvesters.  What's more they provide shade for decreased heat-gain on the sides of buildings or wherever they are located.  Click here for the slideshow.

Tuesday, 28 June 2011 00:00

A new study out of Berkley Lab shows that California homes with solar panels installed on them sell for more than their panel-free counterparts:  

http://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/lbnl-4476e-rs.pdf

Monday, 27 June 2011 15:50

A HERS Index, or Home Energy Rating can be a useful tool to calculate energy savings on an existing or even a planned home.  What is it and how is it calculated?

Click here for a complete review of it's effectiveness and drawbacks from Green Building Advisor (dot) com.