by Jen Pennington and Mary Rose

Last Thursday, January 21st, a panel of business leaders spoke at Antioch University to a full room of entrepreneurs, students, faculty and members of the business community. Each gave a great presentation on how their company is working to create social and environmental benefits through innovative practices.

NBIS presented the program as part of Antioch University’s Center for Creative Change series on Global Issues and Perspectives. Karl Ostrom, Co-director of the Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability (NBIS) moderated the discussion with Seattle-based executives from a variety of businesses with global footprints. Continue reading Transforming the Global Footprint of American Business

by Jen Pennington
Originally posted on the This Old House site’s call for Holiday DIY disaster stories.
Our holiday disaster was just last year, 2008. We drove through snowstorms from Seattle to Salt Lake City to get to our small 600 sq ft., 1-bedroom condo there. The condo was previously being used by my Mother-in-Law, who had [...]

Part of the Green Green Owner/Builder series
by Jen Pennington
Since I’ve been writing about efficient alternative vehicles and recently with coverage of the November SEMA 2009 show, it’s probably only fair that I share some of our own auto choices. While purchasing a hybrid would surely be nice, it was not practical for us at the [...]

by Jen Pennington
Photos by Robert J. Pennington

When you think of mobile home travel, a really big, gas guzzling RV or motor home comes to mind. The kind that needs a hook-up to a water and power supply and seeks to impose itself on the very environment it’s meant to enjoy. At SEMA 2009 amidst all [...]

by Jen Pennington
Photos by Robert J. Pennington
This year at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturer’s Association (SEMA) 2009 show in Las Vegas, there seemed to be a great gathering of beautifully customized and enhanced Mustangs and Camaros. All I can say is, what Mustang or Camaro isn’t sexy with a body like that? But to most motorheads [...]

by Jen Pennington
photos by Robert J. Pennington
Today at the Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association (SEMA) 2009 show in Las Vegas, in the midst of some very sweet cars, parts and accessories, it’s easy to get sucked into the shiny beauty of gorgeous machines. An unveil by color master/designer Chip Foose and builder Peter Klutt on their [...]

By DeJay Noy, Integral Consulting Inc.
If you’ve recently picked up a newspaper, browsed through a magazine at the doctor’s office, or watched football games on the tube, you’ve no doubt run across ads or articles about green computing, or “virtualization” of computer systems. You may not have given this topic much thought, or maybe dismissed [...]

Part of the Green Green Owner/Builder series
by Jen Pennington
When you first start to think about building a house, you think in large sweeps. How you move about a space, what it should be made of and how it should breathe. A concrete floor, radiant heating system, energy efficient windows, doors and appliances, good room flow, [...]

Now that my husband Bob and I have built two small sheds and a 110 sq. ft cabin, it was time to take on the Big House. A term generally reserved for a jailhouse, the locked in feeling to this project both financially and physically has us doing two to five with some time off for good behavior.

A home performance contractor is the GP for your home. “Home Performance” is the term used to describe how well a house functions in terms of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and durability. Because all of these elements interact, the science-based, whole-house approach taken by home performance contractors is the best way to solve problems with a house.