No More Electric Bills? Zero-Energy Homes - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com
Aug. 15, 2005 issue - Nicholas and Loan Gatai used to cringe when they received power bills that routinely topped $200. Last September the Sacramento, Calif., couple moved into a new, 1,500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens, a subdivision of 95 “zero-energy homes” just outside town. Now they’re actually eager to see their electric bills. The grand total over the 10 months they’ve lived in the three-bedroom, stucco-and-stone house: $75. For the past two months they haven’t paid a cent.

How Artists Can Skip the Offline Middleman
New, Web-based production and distribution models give entrepreneurs–creative or not–ways to bypass traditional companies and turn a profit

Last year, New Jersey indie rockers Maybe Pete released their debut CD Between the City and the Stratosphere. However, when it was time to make a full-length album, the group didn’t pursue a recording deal with one of the big music labels or even one of the boutique independent companies

Michael Franti got his guitar, then headed to Iraq. Any requests for anti-war music?
No one can accuse Michael Franti of armchair activism.

When U.S. and British troops invaded Iraq three years ago, lots of musicians spoke out with songs, letters and freshly peeled bumper stickers. But the lead singer of the Bay Area soul-funk group Spearhead handled the situation in his own typical way. He turned off CNN, grabbed a guitar and started pricing tickets to Baghdad.

“I knew I wasn’t getting the whole truth on TV,” he says. “I wanted to see with my own eyes what was going on there.”

Award-Winning Green
The buildings also may be harbingers of change. More green buildings emphasize long-term evolution, and what Lindsey calls a “regenerative” stance toward context. While Susan Maxman & Partners renovated the Motherhouse convent in Monroe, Michigan, with an eye to ecological targets, it was also prepared for reuse when its order of sisters can no longer use it.

Green Buildings | US EPA
The buildings in which we live, work, and play protect us from Nature’s extremes, yet they also affect our health and environment in countless ways. The design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal of buildings takes enormous amounts of energy, water, and materials, and generates large quantities of waste, air and water pollution, as well as creating stormwater runoff and heat islands. Buildings also develop their own indoor environments, which present an array of health challenges. Where and how they are built affects wildlife habitat and corridors and the hydrologic cycle, while influencing the overall quality of human life.

Inhabitat » Blog Archive » GREEN BUILDING 101: Materials & Resources, Part II
Last week we dug into the LEED-H criteria for sustainable residential materials and resources. Now that we’ve given you the low-down, it’s time to get specific. While the variety of options and applications in this category can be overwhelming, it happens to be one of the easiest avenues for going green at home.

FSEC - Zero Energy Buildings
Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) are homes designed to use zero net energy from the utility grid. The concept is simple — couple the maximum possible building energy efficiency with the best available renewable energy resources in a way that maximizes the effectiveness of both. FSEC’s first Zero Energy Home was built in Lakeland, Florida in 1998. Click above or on the image at the right to learn more about this innovative home.

USATODAY.com - Building ‘green’ reaches a new level
Developers and builders aren’t joining the green revolution purely out of a sense that it’s the right thing to do. They can’t afford to be left behind. By year’s end, at least 6% of the nation’s non-residential construction, a $15 billion chunk of the industry, will be green, says Greg Kats, a green-building consultant in Washington, D.C. Six years ago it was less than 1%.

BCNG Portals Page
“I want to demonstrate that ‘green’ design doesn’t necessarily have to be cost prohibitive or on the fringe,” he said. “It’s becoming very common place, especially on the West Coast, as more people incorporate sustainable practices into their lives.”

Good resource on how to make a house energy efficient and variances in insulation.

The design and construction of a new house according to current environmentally thoughtful, sustainable, “green” practices offers many rewards but entails a variety of ironies, compromises, frustrations and practical problems as well. This website is intended to document the process involved and lessons learned in building this lakeside house in Evanston, Illinois. The owners, architect and builder hope to encourage and assist other owners, architects and builders with “green” intentions who are considering a project in this direction. more…