Playing catch up: Spring fling

Can't wait for spring's arrival? Here's a week's worth of green home news to keep you preoccupied for the final two weeks of winter.

Fri, Mar 06 2009 at 10:36 AM

Related Topics:

Energy Efficiency, Green Architecture, Green Building, Green Design

It’s official: Spring arrives in exactly two weeks. It’s going to be 60 degrees in New York City this weekend, news that's prompted visions of chirping birds, blooming daffodils, and short-sleeved polo shirts to start dancing in my head. In an attempt to cope with my rampant spring fever, I bundled up and wandered down to Pier 41 in Brooklyn —home of the fabulous Sunset Liberty Garden Center — for a little sunshine, fresh air, and green inspiration earlier this week. I also snapped a photo of a creatively repurposed boat.

To mark the 14-day end-of-winter countdown, here are 14 bits of green home goodness that you may have missed this week.

Jetson Green gives us a teaser of a special green solar episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to air on ABC on April 6th. My primary concern: Will Ty Pennington shriek into a bullhorn made from recycled materials?

WorldChanging goes back to school to report on an innovative project underway at Clemson University. Architecture students (along with their visionary profs) are designing affordable housing repurposed from Caribbean-bound shipping containers.

Architectural Record also goes back to school with the news that many out-of-work architects are weathering the recession by heading to graduate school.

EcoGeek detects a case of greenwashing in the case of the Coolerado solar-powered air conditioner.

Ecofriend plugs-in to a new line of LED light bulbs from GlacialLight.

The New York Times goes on holiday to Barcelona to visit the apartment of Petz Scholtus, a 28-year-old product designer and TreeHugger contributor. Says Scholtus of her pad: “Here people have an idea that sustainable is for the rich or that it’s something horrible and low-quality hippy. I wanted to see if it was possible to make it inexpensive but also, you know, cool.”

Planet Green enlightens with 10 interesting, money-saving ways to use … drum roll, please … salt around the house. Mold prevention and mop refreshment are just two of them.

The Wall Street Journal shares five expert-recommended "future-proofing" home remodel tips.

Ideal Bite heads to the john with a post on recycling toilet paper rolls.

Re-Nest summons the Village People with this burning question: Navy showers ... are they hot or not?

TreeHugger is relieved by the possibility of a standardized "international language" to make green building-speak and rating tools from varying countries (specifically the US, UK, and Australia) less confusing.

Ecorazzi plays a game of celebrity real estate speculation. It's confirmed that Mamma Mia warbler Pierce Brosnan is building a tricked-out Malibu mansion. But will it be eco-friendly? The gods of celeb real estate seem to think "yes."

Designboom gets jiggy with the South Korean design for "Dancing Apartment," a striking residential building with ample green space.

Slate wonders if the Obama administration's promise of 5 million green jobs to be created over the next two decades, many of them in the building sector, will indeed save the economy and the environment.

Boat photo: Matt; flowers photo: VenkySham

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