In my job I attend a lot of community events to share the same energy conservation message THIS SPACE is dedicated to: simple steps can cut your electricity use and keep a few extra bucks in your pocket.

One of the best and easiest options is to switch from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. They use about a third of the electricity and last up to 10 years, which can save as much as $33 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. More...

I think we’re all in agreement that trying to recycle Syrofoam is a pain. With the holiday season coming, there’s bound to be an avalanche of this material surrounding our gifts and arriving at our doorsteps. Not even my huge recycling facility takes that stuff, so I had to dig a little deeper. It seems that polystyrene’s blessings are also a curse. Its light weight and durability make it such a great packaging material, but also give it a low scrap value. Currently in the USA, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam packaging is being recycled at a rate of only about 10-12% each year. More...

I’ve been looking to replace the flood light in my small backyard because it makes a loud annoying buzz and puts out a cold unwelcoming light. I suppose these are not bad qualities to keep burglars away, but I’ve wanted something a bit quieter and warmer, while of course making an environmentally conscious purchase.

So I started checking out floodlights powered by their own little photovoltaic cells. I was surprised to find a pretty wide selection. SmartHome.com and SolarHome.org were two of the sites I spent some time on comparing features and prices. Both sites are pretty cluttered and a bit tough to navigate, but while SmartHome has better product information, SolarHome (as the name would imply) has a broader product selection. More...

A man does not plant a tree for himself,  he plants it for posterity. - Alexander Smith

With little effort and zero fancy equipment, I’ve reduced my average water consumption by three percent. Long, hot days of summer have slowed me down and drained ME of energy, but not the weeds. The weeds are running riot and lustily propagating faster than I can eliminate them. I am mostly watering only the plants which I planted this spring and summer, plus my tomatoes, the containers, and of course the hydrangeas. More...

A planet-friendly trend appears to be taking off around some new thinking in how we use energy.

There are many activities from manufacturing steel to storing data on computer servers that require significant electricity or other power and generate heat as a byproduct. Until recently, much of that heat was considered a problem to get rid of. Data centers use air conditioning to cool server rooms and the furnaces of a steel plant are vented after melting the metal. Now, some organizations are recognizing how that heat can be put to additional use. More...

Picture the scene: Saturday, a sunny day in springtime. Birds singing, children laughing and playing. Me, swearing and sweating, pushing as hard as I can, and yet not budging. More...

Your iPod has been a faithful travel companion, guardian of your most sacred digital music and status symbol among today’s technorati. So what will you do when it reaches its golden years and the screen begins to flicker or the battery begins to fail? Repair or Upgrade? You have more options than Apple might like you to know. More...

If the term CSA brings visions of communist era youth groups, you are only partly correct.  CSAs, otherwise known as Community Supported Agriculture, enable the average person to become a seasonal shareholder in a farm, or a group of farms.  Could it be any easier than this to become a “farmer”?  CSA shares let you enjoy the farmer’s bounty without the long grueling hours and dirty work.

For me it is my chance to remedy my angst over never being sent to work on a kibbutz in high school! More...

The dark of night has an incredible impact on humans. It limits our vision and heightens our sense of vulnerability. Neighborhoods that are friendly, bustling or eclectic during the day become vacant no-walk zones after sundown. More...

Need building materials, craft materials, or maybe just to get out of the house? Have you heard of the ReBuilding Center? Trust me, once you visit this place, just off Fremont, at 3625 N. Mississippi, you will never go back to that horror of all horrors, Home Depot.

This weekend, Jeremy, Selah, and I all piled in the Volvo and headed out. Jeremy needed some building supplies for a volunteer project he is heading up, and thought he would at least start at the ReBuilding Center. I was just curious. Selah is an involuntary participant in whatever we do. More...