Green Living – Signing Off (from the RJ)

Green Living - Signing Off

As George Harrison sang in 1970, “All things must pass…” and so it is with my involvement as the originator and author of the Green Living column in the Las Vegas Review Journal (though this site will remain active). After nine years and 234 consecutively-published RJ columns I am hanging up my Green Living keyboard (for the newspaper anyway). The reason? I wore the letters off the keys and can’t type on them anymore! http://youtu.be/ebtC3ORg9fU GreenDreamWeb is a Priority Actually, it’s really about priorities. Change is the one thing that’s guaranteed in life and this one feels right. In my other, non-writer life, I have a small business that is also green. In fact, it is called GreenDreamWeb. It makes a difference in its own way and right now things are going well. I want to focus ... Read More

Energy Slaves of Modern Culture

Energy Slaves of Modern Culture

When I explain to people that I have not purchased electricity for ten years, they are envious. When I tell them I have not bought gasoline or oil or a smog check for four years, they are amazed. When I tell them they can do the same thing simply by shifting their priorities, they yawn. Understanding the critical nature of our energy use is vital to our future well-being. Ancient Sunlight Fossil fuel is a form of ancient sunlight. Formed over millions of years, it is the product of the compression and heating of massive amounts of biomass, creating a highly concentrated form of energy. Tremendous amounts of carbon were removed from the atmosphere and safely sequestered underground. It helped form the atmospheric conditions in which we have evolved and thrived. This natural process was ... Read More

Climbing the Ladder of Awareness

Climbing the Ladder of Awareness, time for alarm

Reflection is common at the end of the year. Reviewing the Green Living columns for 2014 led me to take stock of almost nine years of consecutive biweekly publication. This is column number 232. Their purpose is to plant seeds of awareness that will ... Read More

Important Home Maintenance

Important Home Maintenance - don't ignore it!

What happens to a home when it is not properly maintained? After a while, things tend to start falling apart, don’t they? Most of us take care of our homes. We take pride in them and want them to last. We care about how they look. And we certainly ... Read More

Top 5 Things To Do

Top 5 Things To Do - Cut the carbon.

Living More Responsibly From my perspective, there is quite a gap between what is occurring in the world and the actions, or lack thereof, of the general public in the United States. Even those who understand the severity and potential harm of things ... Read More

Local Food Movement Growing

Local food in the form of a Mesquite pancake breakfast by Great Basin Permaculture

Local food production is one of the most important elements of a sustainable community. Since we are situated in the Mojave Desert, most of our food is grown elsewhere and that needs to change. Fortunately, the local food movement is well underway ... Read More

More Humans, Less of Everything Else

What rape looks like. Halliburton fracks the Earth.

The extraction of “unconventional” fossil fuels, whether through fracking, deep-water drilling or the unimaginable waste of Canadian tar sands, has provided much of the motivation in my personal life to methodically reduce our family's CO2 footprint. ... Read More

The Real Value of a Solar Home

Real Value of a Solar Home

Solar energy systems are becoming increasingly popular. Many factors are driving the trend: lower system costs, improved performance, environmental awareness and new options for system acquisition. I’ve received a ton of calls and emails about the ... Read More

Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour – 2014

Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour

The largest climate change march in history recently took place in New York City. Over 400,000 people joined together to demand genuine action on the issue. Hundreds of thousands more participated in coordinated events around the globe. This is no ... Read More

When You Get, Give

When you get, give! Walter Bracken Elementary garden.

Helping Others is the Key to Your Own Success What’s the best way to live a satisfying, fulfilling life? It’s simple. Do your best to help others achieve the same. Would you like to live in a greener, healthier home but you need some ideas or ... Read More