Anticipating Climate Refugees
At first, all eyes were on Hurricane Harvey. Then attention turned – momentarily – to the wildfires raging out West before riveting on Hurricane Irma. Cascading natural disasters in a warming world raise the...
Category: Housing
The Great Promise of Tiny Homes
“Life started feeling very much like a double-edged sword – to be working so much to pay for a house we don’t own, are never at, and don’t have time to enjoy because all...
Mud Season Solace
I have a bowl of paper whites, Of paper-white narcissus; Their fragrance my whole soul delights, They smell delissus. E.B. White, “Window Ledge in the Atom Age,” 1946 Winter may finally be over,...
Beating the Heat without AC
It’s been a summer to savor—with an abundance of sunny days, dry air and invigorating breezes. The searing heat waves afflicting other parts of the country and globe can seem like shimmers of a...
Less Lawn, More Food (and Wildlife)
The lawn at our house is disappearing nearly as fast as delectable desserts do. Our half-moon metal edger has a big appetite. It nibbles back turf to enlarge perennial beds. It carves around the...
Right-sizing Our Homes
From food and beverage portions to vehicles, we’re a nation with a penchant for super-sizing. Our homes have succumbed to this trend – with the average new home size growing from 983 square feet...
Efficient Homes: You Can Get There from Here
“What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” — Henry David Thoreau, “Familiar Letters” (1895) As reports pour in of intolerable climate change –...
Create a Thriving Backyard Community
See your yard as habitat, not lawn. Landscape planners encourage us to visualize the area around our homes in terms of rooms that act as external living spaces. If we extend this idea, going...
