From the monthly archives:

June 2011

Tweet The persistent beeping of an alarm under the floor woke us up at midnight the other night. We’d had a tremendously hot 101 degree day for the summer solstice and all of a sudden, we had a monster rain storm. What we found, was that

Tweet Your Turn: My house is so dusty. The family room carpet is especially hard to keep clean.  My husband covered the air filter with cheesecloth. He says my three dogs might be part of the problem.  – Cheryl, Fayetteville, NC My Turn: The US Green Building Council cautions that a majority of dust and […]

Tweet Along the time when tea was dumped into the Boston harbor to protest Britain’s rule over the colonies, naturalist William Bartram filled his breakfast tea cup in the Carolina Piedmont. It was the 1770’s. He sat reviewing his plant journals recently inked while traveling throughout southeastern North America. One spectacular native plant he observed […]

Tweet Isn’t it true that most folks treat their front yard like some department store display? Look but better not mess it up! Unlike Victorian homes, modern houses lack comfortable porches so little time is spent loitering there. Visitors step from the car into an invisible ‘front yard’ zone that urges them straight to the […]

Tweet Orchids living in trees harvest rain in a clever way. Their v-shaped leaves catch and guide water to the main stem then down to the aerial roots. You too can mimic nature by capturing rain landing on your garden shed roof with a v-shaped wooden gutter. A slight tilt in one direction guides it […]

Tweet Relative Humidity is part of indoor air comfort Your Turn:  How come I’m comfortable with the air conditioning temperature but my husband keeps complaining that he’s still hot?   Maria, Fayetteville, NC My Turn: To a green builder, your family’s comfort is a critical part of indoor air quality. It’s said Americans spend an average […]

Tweet What IS true green vs. greenwashing? This label in a duct cleaning company ad caught my eye last week. Got any idea what the image means? I do and now, you’ll know….

Tweet My water bill last December doubled and I blame my kitchen faucet. When the bill came I wasn’t surprised actually, just annoyed.  Six months later and it still bothers me. It did have something to do with the 17 house guests that stayed for Christmas. (yes, of course I love my relatives) The fact […]

Tweet Attention: Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia & West Virginia Residents Here is the updated 2011 State list of Rebates for Energy Efficient Appliances. It’s a sign of the times, my friend… just five southeastern states are currently offering appliance rebates. But hey, if you are ready for a new refrigerator, clothes washer, dish washer or […]