The image above has been floating around the green forums for a few days. Although it is not the most futuristic in appearance, I think it is likely a first step toward green dwellings for the average person.

The EcoFriend website has a list of 10 modern home design ideas. My other favorite is a completed building, they have a lot of great photos taken in and around it - Trendir

If you are interested in the rest of the list, see the related link below.

Ok, I know the title is a little morbid, but I just couldn't come up with anything creative. Ecoffins USA is providing coffins that are made to rejoin the ecosystem. Using materials like banana sheaf, the coffins break down quickly and apparently the body does not require embalming. This makes a reduction in the chemicals released into the ground as well.

There is an article in the Huffington Post

If you want to go straight to the companies website, click the related link below.

Welcome back from a long holiday weekend. I hope everyone had a fun but safe holiday. I enjoyed this weekend with my kids. We watched the fireworks over College Park High School, but were not fortunate enough to get in close.

Now that everyone is back to work, I am back at working on reducing our water use, electrical use and redirecting any and all materials I can for recycle or reuse. As part of my research, I like to share some of the more interesting things I find here.

Today I thought I would share this article on InterHome. This is a system being developed by University of Hertfordshire in the UK. What is different is the ability of the system to learn the habits of those who live there. This learning allows the system to increase efficiency while also hopefully increasing the comfort level.

For a detailed article, follow the related link below.

There is so much information on the original article that summarizing would be difficult. Follow the related link to get the details. Basically someone went to the trouble of figuring out which veggies save the most money and gives a complete breakdown from greatest return to least.

Many people know that little steps add up when we all make an effort. There are differences in what people consider a little step. Some think of turning off lights when you leave a room and converting to florescent wherever possible as a little step. Others think of having a compost pile and finding ways to reuse everything as a little step. While we should all be doing these things as a matter of course, there are many more steps to take.

Something in the news right now is -

The Composting Toilet...

In Austin, Tex., a group called the Rhizome Collective has built a commode that uses no water. Instead, when you're finished, you pour sawdust down the toilet.

My first question about this is wheather or not it is meant to replace every toilet eventually or just those in certain environments. If we all start flushing with sawdust we might be cutting down a few extra trees which are needed to scrub CO2 from the atmosphere. We must always consider the sustainability and moderation of any new approach to a problem. This may be an option for areas with a regular drought cycle.

I am interested in seeing a chart with the whole lifecycle process for the toilet. I would think it needs emptied eventually too. I would not want it on my list of chores. However, as with cat litter, there will be improvements as more people are exposed to the system.

Now, just a reminder, we are in a drought. Remember to fix leaking faucets, running toilets and be frugal with your water use.