House & Home

Despite environmentalists" warnings, Americans spend large amounts of time and money on products that eliminate moss from their manicured lawns. This, along with unchecked commercial harvesting and damage by pollution, has caused a serious decline in the low-profile plant, even though moss is an important component of many ecosystems, from cave walls to the forest floor.

According to the Department of Energy (DOE), 25 percent of the energy used to heat and cool buildings goes right out the window. If windows aren’t installed properly or aren’t made of the right kind of material, you could end up losing a tremendous amount of energy. When installing new windows or window treatments, there are several rather simple environmentally friendly options that can help make a big difference.

Unplugging is back, baby! A whole new generation of back-to-the-landers are getting away from it all and living off the grid.

Given that most of us spend as much as two-thirds of our time at home, our environmental footprints are largely determined by the efficiency of our residential heating and cooling systems and the resources we consume to keep our houses up and running. Now a movement is afoot among real estate lenders to offer special mortgage purchasing programs and incentives designed to reward energy efficiency and sustainable building and restoration.

With summer right around the corner, installing a new deck may be the first step in planning your outdoor events. Fortunately, there are environmentally friendly alternatives to unsustainable and rot-prone wood-based decks.

Saving energy means saving pennies, but some energy-saving techniques such as adding insulation or installing new windows are costly for homeowners and unavailable to renters. Here are 10 inexpensive ways to save energy in your home or apartment without breaking the bank or launching major projects.

This is the first in a new series of columns about realizing environmental ideals on the homefront. For some people, it’s easier to talk about saving the Earth than it is to actually live those principles daily. The column will be about practical environmental ideas,from alternatives to the all-American lawn to non-toxic home insulation and water-saving toilets. In the first installment, Juliet Cuming tries to define what makes a house a eco home

As the need for electricity continues to grow faster than the average American waistline, people are tapping into a natural source that is as old as the world itself—geothermal energy.