If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting! Please feel free to leave comments or search properties. Can you live entirely off the grid? It’s possible with a house designed specifically for zero net energy use. Local architects Scott Specht and Louise Harpman are developing just that: ZeroHouse, [...]

Texas is using $23 million in federal stimulus money to finance rebates for replacing older appliances with newer ones that are energy-efficient. According to the Austin Statesman, “rebates will range from $45 for room air conditioners to $1,600 for some heat pumps. Consumers can also get a $75 rebate for recycling the older appliances.” More [...]

Joe Biden is helping promote green jobs that stay at home, literally, through a proposal for a new program to boost energy savings for homeowners and help our environment, too.  The White House estimates greenhouse gas emissions could be lowered by up to 160 million metric tons by 2020.  Find more info in the Recovery [...]

As they graze, they eat lots of Omeaga 3. In the winter most eat corn or soy, but at Stoneyfield Farm they get flax, alfalfa, and other grasses that have cut their belches 13%. That’s 13% less of the 2% cows in general contribute to global warming in the form of methane gas. Plus their [...]

I’ve added a link under “Tools” to “Calculate a Property’s Walk Score.” The link is to Walk Score, a site where you can enter a property address and calculate its “walkability.” From the site’s “how it works” page: Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by [...]

Cars and trucks will soon be getting 10 mpg better mileage largely due to new technology coming online such as direct fuel injection and computer controlled transmissions. There will be more hybrids and lighter weight vehicles in more compact versions, costing an average of $1300 more. They claim it will only take three [...]

I attended the March 25th Texas Green Network meeting, where candidates for Austin City Council and Mayoral races discussed their green positions. Brief interviews with most of the candidates have been posted at the Austin Clean Energy blog. Please view these before you vote!

Lauren Maples of Green Life Eco-Consulting and Katie Sternberg of Green Edge Consulting have teamed up to offer the Living for a Healthy Planet seminar, which “gives each participant a clear understanding of which home and lifestyle changes make the biggest impact on our ecological footprint, while improving our bottom line. Additionally, participants will [...]

AMD’s Lone Star campus in Austin got a LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. This is the second highest LEED rating. LEED, or “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design,” is “a benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. For this certification, site selection, energy and water efficiency, [...]

An article in the Austin American-Statesman talks about the increasing demand for “hybrid” homes (the term hybrid relating to an analogy with fuel-efficient automobiles). In a slow housing market, energy features can add value,especially in Austin, where custom homebuilders like Ray Tonjes are adding energy-saving features like thicker insulation, sealed attics and ductwork, and dual-speed air [...]