Vaxjo, Sweden: The World's Greenest City

Last month, Sweden was declared the greenest country in world. This survey, conducted by Yale, Columbia, NEWSWEEK, and LinkedByAir, considered many factors into what qualifies as "green". "Sweden: Going Green", published by The Sydney Morning Herald is an excellent article by Louise Williams that describes the hundreds of changes that Vaxjo, the greenest city in Sweden, has made and how it can be taken as a model for not only the rest of the country but also the world. One Green Goal is to entirely eliminate the country's dependence on oil by 2020. That's right, less than 12 years from now. With the U.S. ranked at #66 greenest country in the world (behind Iran, Mexico, Israel, Russia and Cuba) maybe we should be looking at the countries ranked higher as models economic sustainability instead of "sticking the course" with our current oil-dependent economy.

Eco-Home Design

Calculate Your Ecological Footprint

Calculate your Ecological Footprint and begin to comprehend the effect that we have on the environment. It's difficult to swallow but the results will make you think twice about everyday activities and how we could change our habits for the benefit of our planet

AltBuild Expo 2008 - Santa Monica, CA

Anyone interested in learning more about green building, material and construction alternatives and living a healthier lifestyle should consider attending the 5th annual AltBuild Expo in Santa Monica, CA. It is presented by the City of Santa Monica and will be located in the Civic Auditorium Friday and Saturday (4/25-4/26) from 10a.m.-5p.m. This event is free to the public and will consist of green building exhibitors, non-profits, guest lecturers, panels, professional classes and other special events. Check out the website at www.altbuildexpo.com and we hope to see you there!

Eco-Home Design

With the continuing growth of environmental-consciousness and the awareness of the effects that global warming and unsustainable development have on human health, people are looking for ways to not only create safe and healthy environments for their families at home, but also work and school. Considering most of a child's lifetime outside of the home is at school, shouldn't the educational environment be a safe, healthy environment and not one where chemcial cleaners, unnatural, unhealthy meals and poor indoor air quality inhibit the quality of their education? Eco-Home Design is broadening its focus from creating healthy environments not just in the home and office, but in the educational arene as well. There are many things that can be done to develop a more sustainable, natural, toxic-free campus and Eco-Home Design is committed to encouraging the development of these schools across the country.