Lights Made from Soda Bottles

...Via Make Blog, a clever homebrew solar light made from soda bottles. I’m a bit skeptical about how you could make these watertight, but for an outbuilding or patio roof they might make for a nice low cost alternative to solar tubes or skylights....

Read…

Mistakes we have made . . .

...l rooms, and before scum and slime clogged up the pump. While the pump was solar powered, the profligate use of water was not the best example to set here in draught prone Los Angeles. After a few months we gave up, filled it in with soil and now strawberries grow there happily. We hear that Materials and Applications, a neighborhood landscape architecture firm that runs an amazing outdoor gallery, has stopped designing water features unless they...

Read…

Bubble Wrap Your Windows

Photo by Nick Lowe From the remarkable folks at Build It Solar comes this heating conservation tip – bubble wrap your windows. Simply cut sheets of bubble wrap to fit your windows, apply some water with a spray bottle and before it dries stick the bubble wrap on the glass. While you can buy special bubble wrap designed for greenhouses, according to Build It Solar, regular bubble wrap will probably work just as well. If you number the pieces you u...

Read…

The Original L.A. Urban Homestead

...e house is a charming bungalow full of warm dark wood. It features a small solar array, a fabulous greywater system and many other features that make this cozy home worth a visit. The most educational part of the Eco-Home, in my humble opinion, is Julia’s actual lifestyle. Sure, technical features such as solar and greywater are great, but living lightly is more about how you live and small simple choices you make everyday. Julia is in her 70’s an...

Read…

Village Homes: A Model for Sustainable Suburbs

...rowth coupled with the reduced asphalt surfaces makes the whole development 10 degrees Farhenhiet cooler in the summer than the surrounding suburbs. I could go on and on, but perhaps the best way to get a feel for it is to watch the 10 minute video above. It’s hosted by Permaculture guru Bill Mollison, who’s a big fan of the development. It’s well worth the time to watch it all the way through. Also, here’s a short paper on the development, which...

Read…