Links
Primary Sources- Our local organization for home remodel and design is the NW EcoBuildng Guild. See the web site at http://www.ecobuilding.org for your nearest Chapter, Public Talks, Workshops, and the Green Pages online for ecologically-minded designers, contractors and suppliers.
- A great resource and compliment to the Not-So-Big-House books by Sarah Susanka is her website: http://www.notsobighouse.com.
- The grand-daddy of the Not-So-Big approach is the Pattern Language developed by Christopher Alexander. For details of his radical approach, go to http://www.patternlanguage.com. You can join his site for $5.00/month to get detailed information on remodel design, and help rebuild society!
- Learn more about forest-friendly lumber at the Audubon special site: http://forestfriendlylumber.com. See my link under Retailers/Designers.
- Energy Savings: download the Home Energy Briefs (E04-11 through E04-14) from the Rocky Mountain Institute at http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid171.php#LibHshldEnEff. They are a great non-partisan think tank working on "Winning the Oil Endgame." They coauthored the seminal book: Natural Capitalism. See them at http://www.rmi.org.
- Another energy savings site that is more local is from WSU: http://www.energy.wsu.edu/site/info.cfm. See their Energy Info button.
- Seattle and the Pacific Northwest are fortunate to have the premier purveyor of green building materials, the Environmental Home Center. See them at: http://www.environmentalhomecenter.com.
- Out of Olympia is Green Depot for your energy saving and resource saving needs: http://www.greendepotinc.com.
- Recycled items for your home and remodel can be found at a few different places: http://www.seconduse.com, http://www.earthwise-salvage.com, and http://www.re-store.org/ballard.htm.
- Education for the homeowner is important. A great source of a variety of classes for the homeowner are offered at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, http://www.phinneycenter.org. Watch for my classes from time to time.
- Another interesting resource is the Lighting Design Lab. The lobby and public areas are designed as an open classroom. You can see many types of lighting, all labeled and explained. http://www.lightingdesignlab.com.
- Sick building syndrome? Multiple chemical sensitivity? A gem of a resource here in Seattle is Dan Morris of EHS International. He and his team have years of experience sleuthing out problems that no one else can solve. Contact them at http://www.EHSIntl.com.
- For the deepest green of all, take a few minutes off and meditate. Support is available at your local Shambhala Meditation Center. They are good people who offer free instruction in an open setting. Take a restorative break at http://www.seattle.shambhala.org (with links to the national website). Some people connect deeply with buddhist nun Pema Chodron; see her books at: http://www.shambhala.com/html/learn/features/pema.
