Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere

The Window In Winter: A Cool Little Microclimate

Side-by-side office windows. Window on right has thermal shade drawn, window on left is uncovered. Photo: Zone 6 Energy.

Nate Gusakov

“We really need new windows. There’s always a draft coming through them!” I hear this a lot from clients who are looking to improve the comfort and efficiency of their home. In […]

Passive House at Maple Corner: Part 2

E. Montpelier, Central VT Habitat for Humanity PH project. Montpelier Construction builders. Image: Chris Miksic.

How to build your own passive house or remodel

Barbara and Greg Whitchurch

In this article, we’ll describe how you might go about building your own Passive House (PH) or remodel.

First: Get a certified PH professional. Try […]

Passive House at Maple Corner: Part 1

The Dawkins Passive House built by Montpelier Construction. The porch roof keeps the summer sun off the windows, but allows winter sun to heat the home. Photos: Kurt Budliger, for Montpelier Construction.

Barbara and Greg Whitchurch

In the world of Passive House (PH), it is often said that a PH can look any […]

U.S. On Track to Pay Climate-Pollution Tariff to the E.U.

The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act uses this three-part approach to reduce climate pollution. Image: Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

Katharine Gage

When we purchase gas for our cars, food, clothes, and other everyday essentials, we pay the price listed on the items’ price tags. When deciding among similar items, customers will naturally pick […]

Capitalism, Courage, and Justice

Alan Betts

The response of the United States to the confrontation with the COVID-19 virus has been revealing. The strengths and weaknesses of America’s core values of freedom, justice and courage have been exposed, along with the blatant immorality of capitalism and white racism. Little has changed since the famous “Tale of Two Cities” speech […]

What Climate Change in the Far North Means for the Northeast

Iceberg floating away from Greenland. Brocken Inaglory, Wikimedia Commons. https://bit.ly/3aLJgXn

George Harvey

With a changing climate, we are increasingly seeing extreme weather. A tiny amount of that is extreme cold. Most is hot. Hot, dry weather produces droughts and wildfires. Hot, rainy weather produces floods. In all of this, one thing we can […]

New England’s Coming Climate-Refugee Challenge

John Bos

When you turn on the evening news each night, you see various maps of America with each state color-coded to reflect some aspect of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One section of the country stands out in relief from its neighbors. New England.

New England provides geographic relief […]

Building with the Sun

House from northwest: Visitors arriving see nothing to make them aware that this is a passive solar house. Images: Russ Lanoie.

Russ Lanoie

Like many first-time do-it-yourself homebuilders, I made lots of mistakes when designing our solar saltbox home. Not enough closets, family and dining areas not adjacent to each other, primary chimney […]

No-Till Gardening: Good for Crops and the Environment

Image: rootsimple.com

Jessie Haas

Most people don’t realize that we are living through two carbon crises (plus a pandemic, plus mass political craziness. I know, right?) We have too much carbon in the atmosphere and not enough in the soil, and there’s a connection: between 50 and 70% of the carbon in world […]

Choosing Insulation for Carbon Value

Why More is Not Always Better: Part 2

Mineral wool board insulation, blown in mineral wool, and mineral wool batt insulation. Courtesy photos

Catherine Paplin

In Part 1 (see issue #60 of Green Energy Times), we discussed XPS (extruded polystyrene) board and closed-cell polyurethane spray foam insulation, which are produced with blowing agents […]