How Sustainable Building Creates Affordable Housing

Housing costs are a crucial part of your household budget. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] describes housing affordability as anything 30% or less of your gross salary. Still, when calculating expenses, you must include insurance, taxes, and utilities into the final equation. As a result, anyone spending over 30% on their …

How to Design a Zero-Net-Energy Home

People are starting to build more eco-conscious residences, and zero-net-energy homes are becoming increasingly popular. They can be designed in any style or size, connect to a traditional power grid, and are suitable in all climates. Their versatility makes them incredibly attractive, especially to those looking to save on their utility bills.

13 Ways You Can Save the Planet from Home

It turns out that when it comes to saving the planet, you don’t have to trade in your gas-powered car or even shell out a bunch of cash – you can do it right from the comfort of your own home. In fact, making a few small upgrades to your home and tweaking your everyday …

Will humans go extinct? For all the existential threats, we’ll likely be here for a very long time

Will our species go extinct? The short answer is yes. The fossil record shows everything goes extinct, eventually. Almost all species that ever lived, over 99.9%, are extinct. Some left descendants. Most – plesiosaurs, trilobites, Brontosaurus – didn’t. That’s also true of other human species. Neanderthals, Denisovans, H. erectus all vanished, leaving just H. sapiens. …

Harnessing Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy taps into and harvests the heat released from below the surface of the earth. It’s a renewable energy that doesn’t contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal energy reduces our carbon footprint and doesn’t take up a structural footprint, either. Unlike the endless fields of wind turbines or solar panel arrays, most of the …

Sustainability After Death? 5 Eco-Friendly Burial Methods

Adaptation to climate change will be the most significant disruption to our personal and social lives since the last Ice Age. Green living decisions are already affecting the way we construct our homes, get to work, and travel abroad. As our personal habits adjust to include carpooling, recycling, and energy conservation, so too are social …

The Mechanics of the Greenhouse Gas Effect

Did you know that there used to be palm trees in the Arctic? It was 56 million years ago, but it was caused by greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere at an alarming rate. It’s hard to imagine palm trees swaying in a place we think of polar bears and glaciers, but …