Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere

Emerging Frontiers in Bioenergy:

From Ponds to Fuel Tanks: The Role of Algae in our Energy Future

By Sarah Galbraith, program manager of the Vermont Bioenergy Initiative

A great deal of interest about the potential of oil-rich algae as a bioenergy feedstock has surfaced in recent years. It’s already big business in certain parts of the world. In the […]

Effortlessly growing plums in Vermont

By David Fried

Everyone is planting gardens. But who is planting fruit trees and nut trees?

While you have to plant a garden every spring, you only plant a fruit tree or a nut tree once, and it bears fruit for a long, long time. Let your tree’s roots mine the moisture and nutrients it […]

Moretown’s Second Passive House is Underway

House can be heated with the equivalent of fifteen 100W light bulbs

By Indigo Ruth-Davis

Head north leaving Montpelier, Vermont, hang a right, and before you know it, you’ll be lost on the dirt roads that crisscross the foothills of the Green Mountains. On the side of one of these hills, a crew of workers […]

BuildingEnergy 14: A Culture of Curiosity

Speakers and attendees swapping stories on the show floor of BuildingEnergy 13 before joining a special alumni session of the BuildingEnergy Masters Series.Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh

By Travis A. Niles

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) and its members are organizing the BuildingEnergy 14 Conference and Trade show at the Seaport World Trade […]

Time to Break Out of New Hampshire’s Energy Efficiency Doldrums

By Laura Richardson

When the thermometer reads 10º below zero and four inches of poor insulation separates you from the bitter cold, you might consider what it takes to raise the interior temperature 70º to keep your home or business reasonably warm — and what impact that has on everyone else.

At a […]

Building Beyond Efficiency – Breaking the Net-Zero Barrier

By George Harvey

How would you feel if you heated, cooled, and lighted your home with electricity, but when the utility statement came, it included a check made out to you? How would you feel if the check covered the cost of all other energy used in the house, such as the propane you used […]

Energy-Efficient Windows, part 1

Energy-efficient windows provide space heating and lighting to this sunny kitchen.

The windows in your house let in light and air if they’re operable, but they can also be weak spots in your home’s thermal envelope. When replacing windows, purchase the most energy-efficient windows you can afford, because they will pay for themselves over their […]

Rock Wool

By George Harvey

When rock wool was invented in the1840’s no one was especially interested. It was re-introduced in the 1870’s, but mostly passed from use. Now it is being brought back to market, with a new set of “green” credentials, and people who understand it are paying attention.

Rock wool, also called mineral wool […]

News Programs Ignore Climate Change

“News Programs have Devoted All of EIGHT Minutes to Discussing Climate Change in 2012”

Sanders Joins New Climate Action Task Force

Asks Why Network Sunday Shows Ignore Global Warming

On January 14, 2014, at a Capitol Hill news conference, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and 15 other senators, announced the […]

State Dept. Turns a Blind Eye to Ugly Reality of Tar Sands

“The State Department study turns a blind eye to the ugly reality that extracting and refining dirty tar sands oil will spew into our atmosphere more and more of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. To my mind, global warming is the most serious environmental crisis facing the world today and President Obama should […]