Saving the Trillium Forest – Racing down to the finish

While it does comes down to money, it’s about so much more than that. It’s about watching people from all over Island County and beyond, work together to save this giant piece of land. You cannot walk into a local store, cafe, or lumberyard without seeing donation jars with “Save the Forest Now” buttons and postcards on them. Hikers, joggers, birders, photographers, horseback riders, and other groups lead talks and rides through the property. Even small schoolchildren are not spared, helping raise funds and teaching people about why we need to Save the Forest Now [...]

Graphics Plus brings bright lights to a White Center neighborhood

David had standard eight-foot fluorescent tubing in an old T-12 format with magnetic ballasts (the connections at the end of each fixture). They took out the old bulbs and recycled those at Eco-Lights in South Seattle; then installed two four-foot efficient bulbs and new ballasts by Phillips GE. The new bulbs are brighter and cleaner. That helped reduce the electric bill by about 50 percent. The building skylights also bring in natural light. [...]

Four Products at GLOBE 2010 Innovating Ways to Build Greener

As an owner/builder, I’m always on the lookout for new products that make a difference in how we build or use materials. Walking the tradeshow floor at Globe 2010, I found four products that caught my eye as we look toward the future of the built environment. [...]

Overhead and Underfoot: Building a green roof upside down.

It is so large at six acres that you never feel as if you are on an actual roof, and therein is the real beauty of it. Now in its second year of growth, the illusion is so surreal in an urban environment that it’s easy to disregard what lies beneath the top layer. [...]

Transforming the Global Footprint of American Business

Last Thursday, 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. [...]

Green automotive is ultra cool, but featured Green Zone gets cold highlight at SEMA 2009

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 Super Cuda collaboration was stunning. The guys from Galpin Auto Sports (GAS) and Ford rebuilding a 69′ Mustang live for the MTV crowd had all the right glam. But what was really disappointing was the fact that SEMA’s “Making Green Cool Zone” might have referred to the Siberian-like space it occupied at the back of the South Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center. This was a shame because this area was the most exciting in terms of design, innovative engineering, and new eco-friendly automotive products. Continue reading Green automotive is ultra cool, but featured Green Zone gets cold highlight at SEMA 2009

The foundation of a good marriage—big power tools

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. [...]

When will Philips lamposts bloom?

by Jen Pennington

I can’t help but remark on a concept Philips is promoting for an outdoor lighting structure that transforms from a solar flower during the day to a wind turbine on cloudy days to a nightlight. It’s been out for a few months, but as a designer, I’m drawn to both it’s functional and [...]

The Green Green Owner/Builder: The sustainable marriage test.

When the road to building a “green” house is paved with a little mud.
by Jen Pennington

The sustainable marriage test.

Okay so my husband and I know enough about construction projects to make ourselves very dangerous. Though we’ve never actually built a house before, Bob is extremely mechanically inclined and I’ve done my fair share of art installations, and light construction on other people’s homes. We’ve both read a bunch of owner/builder books, articles, and said to ourselves, “pishaw…we can do this.” Continue reading The Green Green Owner/Builder: The sustainable marriage test.

Editor's Notes

By Emily Corey

As children, we learn to mix yellow and blue to make green. As the colors merge before our eyes, we are astonished at the transformation. And so it is with the green movement today. While we maybe easily overwhelmed by the enormity of the global problems facing us, in the simple mixing of small ideas and quiet actions, a greener planet can be reborn. Continue reading Editor's Notes

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