A Leafy Retreat
Living in the trees is no longer just a childhood dream—organizations like Forever Young Treehouses and Out "n" About Outfitters make it possible to build a treehouse that’s designed with adults in mind.
House & Home
The Cooler Kitchen
Energy-Saving Kitchens: How to find a fridge that’s not an energy-hog, and other planet-friendly kitchen appliances.
Who Let the Dogs (and Cats) Out?
People are creating spaces on their property for local wildlife but leaving birds, rabbits and other creatures at the mercy of the family pet.
Buzz Cut
Gas mowers are wreaking havoc on summer air quality (one hour of mowing is the equivalent of driving 350 miles in terms of volatile organic compounds). Fortunately, the electric models have been upgraded, with more power and better cutting.
Cooling Off
Heating and cooling systems in the U.S. together account for 150 million tons of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere each year. Discover more efficient ways of cooling your home this summer.
A Lean, Green, Cleaning Machine: Deirdre Imus Talks to E
Deirdre Imus may not do her own house cleaning, but she knows the chemical makeup of name-brand cleaning products and the environmental and public health dangers they can cause.
Wet and Wild
A growing number of homeowners are realizing they can use water’s natural energy to cut down on greenhouse gases. Microhydro for the home may be an ideal option for those who want to generate their own electricity.
With a Little Help
Growing a garden, however, not to mention learning to prepare the food one grows, can be a daunting proposition. Enter co-gardening, the act of gardening with friends, family and neighbors. Co-gardeners plan, till, plant, weed, water and even cook together. Like urban community gardeners, they share garden space, and like Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSAs), they share produce.
Spic and Span
There’s nothing like a cleanser that actually works as advertised, bulldozing through dirt and leaving a surface sparkling clean. But conventional cleaning products can actually leave indoor air polluted with a toxic smog of petrochemical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the synthetic fragrances used to mask them. Here are some ingredients to avoid in cleaning products, and safer, simpler alternatives.
Pest Patrol
Growers who want to avoid or reduce the use of pesticides have to find alternative ways to deter or eliminate pests from destroying crops. One technique that organic farmers and gardeners have been experimenting with for years is biological pest control—using beneficial insects, birds and bats to control pests in gardens and on farms. Introducing friendly insects, or building houses for birds and bats, has proven effective, but many warn that biological pest control should be seen as just one part of a gardener’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan.