It’s fitting that the word “eco” comes from the ancient Greek “oikos” meaning home. Our homes use significant energy. Whether you are building a home or remodeling, there are myriad ways to go green, increase your comfort, and lower your bills.
We’ve included some info for renters, too. For inspiration, learn the impact of your home energy use by calculating your CO2emissions at carboncounter.org, and use our newfangled EcoMetro Decoder in our book to record your results.
New & Used Green Products
Our area is a leader in green building, so there’s no shortage of workshops and classes to learn new techniques or explore possibilities. Many classes are available through Portland Community College, which has a non-credit environmental studies department offering workshops in bottle walls, lime stucco, and solar ovens and hot tubs.

The City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development has local information on every topic from permits to materials, and hosts the ReTHINK series, a green building seminar not to be missed, starting in February. Through their case studies of local homes we found incentives including 24% off the cost of weatherization and several hundred dollars off energy efficient Energy Star appliances, plus many ideas. Environmental Building Supplies (819 SE Taylor St) has everything from PaperStone, a post consumer recycled “stone” for countertops, to FSC flooring and natural oils.

In Eugene, BRING ReUse Warehouse (4446 Franklin Blvd) has salvaged materials, while in Portland the non-profit ReBuilding Center (3625 N Mississippi Ave) is a local favorite with a warehouse of materials ranging from windows and doors to chandeliers and reclaimed glass that can be cut on site.