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Redefining “Sustainability”: Re-Empowering the Term Sustainable
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102078″ media_width_percent=”100″ shape=”img-round” uncode_shortcode_id=”154094″][vc_column_text] “Sustainability” as a term is not as powerful as it used to be. It has been incorporated, some would argue co-opted, to such a degree that the very idea of “sustainability” can now refer to everything from water bottles with the use of less plastic, to corporate boardroom growth forecasts.…
Read MoreSmart Green – “Intelligent Efficiency” Offers New Source of Energy
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102076″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”122203″][vc_column_text] While politicians, pundits, and activists yammer on about the future of our energy security and what it means for the environment, green technologies and practices continue to play a dismally small role in America’s overall energy portfolio. Coal and natural gas generate 67 percent of the nation’s electricity; renewable contributes a measly…
Read MoreGreen Upgrades in a Tough Economy
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102074″ media_width_percent=”100″ shape=”img-round” uncode_shortcode_id=”170331″][vc_column_text] In tough economic times, and even when times are rolling, many homeowners simply cannot justify the installation of solar panels on their rooftops or the drilling required for geothermal heat pumps. Many of us do not live on acre lots with space to set up the infrastructure to efficiently farm…
Read MoreMostly Sunny Forecasts for Solar Power
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102096″ media_width_percent=”100″ shape=”img-round” uncode_shortcode_id=”363978″][vc_column_text] Despite the slow economy, 2012 is looking like a good year to invest in solar tech: Sunny Forecasts for Solar Power. Solar panels are the key technology to a sustainable energy future based on renewable energies – this is old news. What’s revolutionary is how the decentralization of energy production…
Read MoreDeep Green In The Heart of Texas
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102093″ media_width_percent=”100″ shape=”img-round” uncode_shortcode_id=”119350″][vc_column_text] A rusted pumpjack oil rig, its equestrian head nodding tirelessly, sits silhouetted against the burnt-orange western sun. This could be no other place than the American Southwest, in particular, Texas, that hulking epicenter of the petroleum industry. The oil rig in question could be any one of thousands that dot…
Read MoreDefining Net-Zero
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102091″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”157102″][vc_column_text] When it comes to residential housing, the process of selecting just the right house that fulfills your needs at an affordable price, can be quite difficult. Sustainable housing options often add another layer of unwanted, and frankly unneeded, complexity and cost to an already laborious process. Despite the relative opacity of…
Read MoreThe Whole Package – Green Home Materials
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102088″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”952323″][vc_column_text] Sometimes finding that perfect house seems a lot like finding the perfect partner – nigh impossible. A house has to have character. It needs to be located in just the right intersection of any number of sociological and political boundaries ranging from school zones to ethnicity. It needs to be the…
Read MoreCool House, Cool Down
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102115″ media_width_percent=”100″ shape=”img-round” uncode_shortcode_id=”196857″][vc_column_text] All the signs are extant that another Texas summer has arrived – the beads of sweat mustering on my forehead, the AC in my car turned up to 11, and of course, frightfully high energy bills. Based on information provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 20% of the average…
Read MoreThe Solar Alternative to Solar Panels: Solar Thermal Heating
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102113″ media_width_percent=”100″ shape=”img-round” uncode_shortcode_id=”134308″][vc_column_text] Solar photovoltaic panels are the relatively young rock stars of the green technological movement. When most people think green, they picture rows and rows of sparkling silicone semiconductors harvesting the limitless power of the sun and converting it into clean, free electricity. What about solar thermal heating? Solar Thermal Heating…
Read MoreThe Incredible Green Net-Zero Home
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image media=”102111″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”118818″][vc_column_text] Astounding! Watch as your electric bills vanish before your very eyes! Your incredible green net-zero home will save you bundles of money! Average Americans looking to buy or build an environmentally friendly home have probably run across any one of the previous or related claims – usually attached to buzzwords like…
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