Green Options

With the economy on the downturn, more and more people are starting gardens to help ease grocery bills. Growing one’s own food is a step towards living sustainably, so this is great news. However, more gardens mean more water use,  and 40% of water used during the summer is used outdoors. So, as you plan your garden this spring, be sure to keep water in mind and take measures to reduce water usage.

Reducing water usage in an organic garden not only conserves our most precious resource, it also lowers costs and in many cases, benefits the plants as well. By paying attention to how your garden is watered, you can be sure to give plants just the amount of water they need to thrive without overdoing it. Many of the water saving methods mentioned below also benefit the soil and enrich your garden in other ways. Water should be a key part of your garden planning from day one. Read on for ways to garden sustainably and save water.

Hats off to the Salt Lake Tribune, which published an excellent editorial this week on the folly of having lawns in Utah.

“We live in a desert,” the editorial reads. “Precipitation is sparse. And still we try to make Utah yards look like lawns in Ohio … Ultimately, our attempt to paint the desert green is unsustainable.”

The third project in the Green Builder VISION House series is taking on some special challenges. Unlike the previous two VISION projects in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and St. Louis, Missouri, this year’s house is being built in a steamy, hurricane-prone environment: Orlando, Florida.

Members of the public will have a chance to check out this latest VISION home toward the end of the International Builders’ Show [...]

Wildfires aren’t usually on my radar, because I don’t live in a region that is much susceptible to them. But, in the past couple of weeks, everyone has become more aware of them. They have been widely across the news because of the number of serious wildfires in southern California recently. At the same time, recent news coverage has also looked at drought conditions which are being felt in Georgia

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