Green Leaf Report

I just attended a one-day solar seminar, taught by a gentleman who works on various aspects of the California Energy Commission’s Renewable Energy programs.  I enjoyed it; I didn’t know what I didn’t know about net metering and grid-connected solar. But one of the most eye opening discussions was the household wattage analysis. Before we discussed […]

On a lighter note (getting away from nuclear war, the end of mankind, blah blah blah), let’s talk about gardening. Specifically, let’s talk about adapted plants that are more aggressive than our own native flora.
This article highlights an ongoing problem in the South: kudzu vines grow a foot a day and were introduced into the US […]

  Dale Julin writes an interesting article about growing pains in the solar industry: “The Utility Fox is Guarding the Solar Henhouse.” The California Solar Initiative’s earmarking of around $2B for solar energy production is a program that should be repeated across every state, in whatever form of renewable energy is most appropriate for the […]

With all of the debate about global warming, I’m happy to see religions jump into the fray. The argument so often is an economic one, it’s good to sometimes see the religions pull back to the big picture: economic growth aside, what is the right thing to do for our fellow man and our planet?  Pollute […]

Another Atlantic hurricane season starts today, but the fearful headlines started weeks ago.  Will this year bring another Hurricane Katrina…? I won’t belittle the effects of Katrina.  It was a nasty storm that brought a lot of damage into my home town, we lost family members also.  But I don’t believe the storm alone caused […]

I’ve seen several articles recently about solar panels made from plastics.  While I agree a lighter weight solar panel option can open greater possibilities for the technology, I’m uncomfortable with the idea of solar panels made through any association with the petroleum industry.  Doesn’t this seem like a contradiction of basic principals: reduce our dependency […]

Yesterday I attended a Green Home and Garden Show. It was a little surreal to see the growing marketplace for green products and services first-hand. I debated with a gentleman over why he thought waterless urinals weren’t as good as very low water urinals (ask me if I’ll ever use a urinal in any ladies […]

The other day, a local radio station DJ went on a diatribe about wasteful plastic water bottles.  He mentioned that the equivalent of five or six bottles of water were used to cool the plastic while manufacturing a single plastic water bottle.  This doesn’t even include the amount of water lost in some filtering processes to create the contents of one […]

Checking out of the grocery store the other day, I was lured in by Vanity Fair’s 2nd annual green issue. I’ve held to my rule for about the last year of not buying magazines; I love them, but I read them in a couple of hours and then feel guilty about the wasted paper. I […]

This week I planted two native trees on the west side of my house: a Crabapple and Bur Oak. I’m inspired by the EPA: Carbon Dioxide. When trees and vegetation reduce energy use, they also reduce CO2 emissions from power plants. In addition, vegetation removes atmospheric CO2 by sequestration. Trees sequester – or store – […]

For so long, people have thought of water as free, this plentiful thing that falls from the sky. Things start getting a little nastier when water restrictions kick in and the North Texas homeowners want to protect their expensive petunias and banana trees.  Kudos to Brandon Formby of the Dallas Morning News for calling attention to […]

Yesterday I saw a commercial for one of those scented plug-ins - it’s a small plastic device which plugs into an electrical socket and makes the living room or bathroom smell like flowers. I wonder if I’m the only person in America who watched that commercial and thought of the coal or natural gas being […]

After three years of home ownership, we finally broke down and bought a lawn mower yesterday. Our lawn service uses such large, gas-powered equipment on our half-dead lawn- we were long-overdue for a change.  I’ve been trying to replace our grass with native plantings, but I’m moving slower than I had hoped.
I’m really surprised my husband agreed to get […]

Recently I read an article about a neighborhood in Dallas that was trying to have less of a negative environmental impact- the article listed all of the great things architects were doing in the area, then listed the starting house price: $700k.  For some parts of the country, this is not an unusual price, but in […]

Ah well, with all of the drought and extreme weather of the past year, it’s easy to forget about the locally grown Christmas tree farms.  Luckily for someone, the irrigation methods of North Texas tree farms have sustained most of these Christmas trees through the two-year drought.  So our clean water supply is dwindling while […]

Clive Aslet is another believer; I love his article on antique/vintage furniture vs. Ikea.  Fashion changes, furniture styles change, but any style can look eclectic and personal.  Over the years I’ve been into many friends’ homes and recognized which store they bought their furniture from, because I saw the same items in our mass produced furniture […]

I just read an excellent book: Requiem for a Lawnmower by Sally Wasowski.  It amazes me that this book has been available for over almost fifteen years and I’d never read it before!  I was tipped off to the book when I went to find plants at a local nursery.  I talked to the nursery owner and […]

Today a small man destroyed my cell phone through the careful pouring of kool-aid.  His aim was very precise and he went through most of the cup before we caught him.  This means I now move onto my third cell phone in a year, following the great chocolate milk debacle of December 2005.  Which raises the […]

We’re bad at moderation.  Stop hitting the buffets when you eat multiple plates just to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, stop driving your car across town to find cheaper gas, and stop turning your AC on 68 because you like to cuddle under your quilts.  Here in Dallas, a recent newspaper article highlighted the […]

Watching Fox 4 news tonight, I enjoyed a piece about the fines levied against local man Don Young. A neighbor was complaining about Mr. Young’s yard “I spend $300 a month to keep my yard moist!” while his yard was tall local plants/weeds.  The best part of the segment was the homemade sign in Mr. Young’s […]