You may have heard something about “white roofs” in the news, but you may not know how they can help our planet, or a maintenance budget. Most all of the commercial buildings in the world use black roofs. Because they are black, they soak up the sun’s energy like a sponge.

Vegetation blankets can be used to create green roofs, but they aren’t limited to just that. A vegetation blanket consists of a layer of fiber covered in a substrate on which plant life can live; with various plant species growing on it.

This is a great video from a single mom who built her own straw bale home for $50,000 while working still full time and livin on the land. She gives some great advice here for anyone who is considering building their own straw bale home, from labor, to coding, to construction.

Wooden decks and railings are hard to maintain, not to mention being splinter territory. What’s more, they’re not usually environmentally sustainable due to their use of premium forest products. For this reason alone Recycled composite decking is by far the best and coolest alternative to wood. This stuff looks like wood but feels like heaven. Manufactured from old plastic bottles makes it durable and resilient.

Hemp is the all-purpose material long-championed by Thomas Jefferson and 1960s American counterculture alike. Food, textiles, paper, and fuel—there is a growing trend to cultivate this miracle crop and turn it into more eco-friendly versions of common products. Why is it so sustainable? Hemp can be grown rapidly and easily, like bamboo, without any herbicides or intensive labor. It regenerates, it regrows.

Pearly white molding neatly lining the ceiling and floors — a classic interior decorating touch that we all know and love. Most homeowners choose different types of wood, painted white, for their molding in their new homes—and why wouldn’t they? That has been the only option . . . until now, that is. We now have a new product that looks identical to wood, but has recycles wasted materials—Introducing recycled styrofoam molding.

A green kitchen begins with the most eco-friendly countertop. You want something that is as durable or beautiful as Corian or granite, but measures up to the highest standards for your family’s health and the environment. Luckily, many products you thought were not “green” may actually surprise you, as more countertop companies are now making their entire manufacturing operations sustainable.

Okay, toilet talk probably isn’t your favorite topic. When you think about the fact that the average American wastes 7,665 gallons of water each year just flushing the toilet—suddenly toilet talk raises to the level of appropriate and relevant conversation.

It’s easy to finish construction of even the most environmentally sound building, and even easier to demolish one, without regard to the waste products of construction. Astonishingly, building waste accounts for nearly HALF of all trash in landfills across the United States. This can be quite easily avoided—and should be.

Trying to figure out how to heat your house without wasting energy? Try installing direct heat beneath the floorboards or in the wall panels. Known as radiant heat due to its transmission of thermal energy from one object to another (i.e. heat flows from the floor directly to objects and people), this type of system is more efficient than traditional baseboard heating since much less heat energy is lost in the piping system.