Appalachian University Builds Home With Solar Flare

Image of the solar home

Appalachian State University, partnered with a French university, will be the sole representative of Appalachia’s green ingenuity in the third European Solar Decathlon Appalachian State University’s net-zero energy home, shown above under construction in Boone, N.C., will compete in the event.

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Considerate Consulting: Andrew Grigsby’s Vision of Sustainability

By Brian Sewell Andrew Grigsby is a leading sustainability consultant with more than 25 years of experience in residential construction and green building. But ask him what motivates his work to foster a more ecologically and socially sane world, and he’ll likely go back to his upbringing in Culpeper, Va. “It’s just how I was…

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Two School Districts Go Green to Save Green

By Toby MacDermott North Adams Elementary is one of the greenest schools in southeast Ohio. With solar panels on the roof, wild turkeys roaming the grounds, and a design based on LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, standards, this school exemplifies sustainability in action. But this building is not alone. The entire Adams…

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The Business of Building Green

What’s good for the earth is good for the bottom line By Molly Moore When dentist Kendalyn Lutz-Craver decided it was time to move out of her leased, musty office and build her own structure, she had three building goals in mind. She didn’t want the building to be square, she wanted all patients to…

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Energizing the Clean Economy

Political speeches, the nightly news and newspaper headlines are filled with reminders of the battered economy and the millions unemployed or underpaid. But as energy efficiency and renewable technologies advance, more domestic jobs are created that foster a sustainable economy, save money at home, and benefit human health and the environment. It’s an ambitious goal,…

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These Green Houses:
Green Building 101

By Jeff Deal Green building might just be the world’s oldest construction style. Caves, lean-tos, waddle and daub, mud brick, stone pyramids and temples, wooden post and beam, Devonshire Cob; all are green building styles, some dating back more than 5,000 years. While there’s not much new under the sun, the resurgent appreciation of these…

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Eco-friendly Living in Outdoor Spaces

By David Pferdekamper and Brian Sewell Considering the changing colors and the crisp air, autumn is as good a time as any to spend outdoors. If you don’t have an “outdoor living space” yet, it may be time to create that welcoming, comfortable and eco-friendly addition to your home. Humans have long incorporated garden spaces,…

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