Going without the AC

I just saw this article in the NY Times: “The Unchilled Life: Breezing through the recession without air-conditioning.”  It made me laugh because we unwittingly joined these people this summer.  Our central AC died right in the middle of a heat wave in mid-June, and we couldn’t afford  to fix/replace it.
We have been very fortunate [...]

Book review: Building Green

Building Green: A complete how-to guide to alternative building methods
Authors: Clarke Snell and Tim Callahan
I checked this beautiful book out of the library because Adam and I are talking about building a shed/playhouse next spring and I wanted to do a little green building research.
The whole book is basically a complete and well-photographed documentation of [...]

Urban farming on the rise

I direct you to the NY Times’ optimistic story about how much produce is being raised on rooftops in San Francisco, Chicago, and NYC, with some inspirational pictures.

Book review: Toolbox for Sustainable City Living

Authors: Scott Kellogg and Stacy Pettigrew
This book is full of ideas for really hardcore people who want to practice radical sustainability and preferably live in a mild climate.  The whole time I was reading it I kept picturing the people on the high bikes in the Minneapolis MayDay parade, and what they must do in [...]

A green remodel

Story in today’s Star Tribune about a home remodel right in my neighborhood.  I walk past this house quite frequently and have been wondering how it looked on the inside.  I wish they had more pictures of the yard; the rain garden is really cool.  Money quote from the homeowner (who did much of the [...]