He was shortish. And oldish. And brownish. And mossy. And he spoke with a voice that was sharpish and bossy.

My absolute favorite children's book of all time is being made into a full-length animated film.  Its plot and message were almost singlehandedly the basis for my curriculum as a science teacher.  It contains powerful and insightful lessons for not only children, but all of us.

The Lorax will be out sometime in 2012 and will feature the voice of none other than Danny Devito.  I couldn't have dreamed up a better fit myself.

Counting the days until I can introduce MY LITTLE BOY to this gift from Dr. Seuss.

Texans for Energy Efficiency

Chris and I will hopefully soon be in the market for new appliances when we become homeowners, but unfortunately that won't happen soon enough to meet the deadline for these rebates.  Hopefully someone out there reading this will!  Pass along if you know anyone who might be interested.

As part of the federal stimulus package, Texas received $23 million and started the Texas Trade Up Appliance Rebate Program.    Here are the rebate deets:

• Refrigerators - $240
• Freezers - $180
• Room Air Conditioners - $45
• Clothes Washers - $150-180
• Dishwashers - $185-215
• Central Air Conditioners - $600-1,000
• Air-Source Heat Pumps - $,1200-1,600
• Hot Water Heaters - $375-715

In addition, you'll receive $75 more for recycling each of your old appliances.  The new appliances must be Energy Star certified.

From the Texas Trade Up website:
The program officially begins on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 7 a.m., when rebate reservations will be accepted online or via toll-free call to 1-877-780-3039.  The purchase period for all appliances begins April 16, 2010. Appliances must be purchased from a Texas retail location or contractor. Online purchases are not eligible.  For refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers, dishwashers and room air conditioners, the purchase period ends April 25, 2010.

 Kudos to our state for providing an additional incentive for residents to use efficient appliances!

There are also federal tax cuts available for purchases of Energy Star appliances, Memorial Day Weekend Sales Tax Holiday on Energy Star appliances, and don't forget about our local rebate programs from Austin Water Utility and Austin Energy.

Calling the Container Home

Chris and I are in the market for a home, and look what I found today! I don't know how I'm just hearing about these, but WOW - shipping container homes :)

My grandparents had a container on their property in New Orleans. Grandpa was a farmer, and he used it to store tools, tractors, crops, etc. All of us grandkids used to play in there, but we never thought about sleeping in there. But if it would have looked like this...

...I don't think we ever would have left!

If you've ever been to a major port, you know how many shipping containers exist in this world. What a great secondhand use. And they are earthquake, hurricane and fire resistant. Some of these homes are designed and delivered (all-in-one of course) for only $17,000! And of course they are extemely portable.

Here are a few really neat homes.






...And this one is a DORM in Amsterdam

See more shipping container homes here and here.

The Greenest of the Green

National Geographic recently published its list of the 25 Greenest Cities in the US. I'm proud to call Number Two home! Here's a glimpse of what the Top 25 municipalities are doing.

1. Eugene, OR (score 9.0375, pop. 137,893)
- Sustainable business incubator
- Renewable energy supplying 85% of city's power
- Extensive wetlands program

2. Austin, TX (score 8.5325, pop. 656,562)
- Green Builder program
- Smart growth initiative
- Committed to solar power

3. Portland, OR (score 8.24, pop. 529,121)
- Green building
- Excellent public transport
- Smart growth

4. St. Paul, MN (score 7.805, pop. 287,151)
- Green space makes up a quarter of urban area
- Significant greenhouse gas reductions
- Affordable housing

5. Santa Rosa, CA (score 7.785, pop. 147,595)
- Green building program
- Clean air and water
- Bicycle paths and lanes

6. Oakland, CA (score 7.3675, pop. 399,484)
- Building local food production
- Green building ordinance
- Public transport

7. Berkeley, CA (score 7.285, pop. 102,743)
- Green building requirements for municipal construction
- Well used public transport system
- Community gardens

8. Honolulu, HI (score 7.055, pop. 371,657)
- Clean air and water
- Biomass power generation
- Green building standards

9. Huntsville, AL (score 7.035, pop. 158,216)
- Green space makes up one-third of urban area
- High public transport use
- Excellent public education program

10. Denver, CO (score 7.0325, pop. 554,636)
- Greenprint Denver, sustainability initiative
- Large hybrid municipal fleet and nation's largest light rail system
- Clean water and access to wilderness

11. Boston, MA (score 6.99, pop. 589,141)
- Green building
- Excellent public transport
- Smoking ban

12. Lexington, KY (score 6.785, pop. 260,512)
- Comprehensive growth management plan
- Clean air
- Smoking ban

13. Springfield, IL (score 6.7225, pop. 111,454)
- Clean air and good water
- Green design
- Green spaces

14. Irvine, CA (score 6.72, pop. 143,072)
- Comprehensive green building program
- Smoking ban
- Pedestrian oriented

15. Cambridge, MA (score 6.72, pop. 101,355)
- High rate of public transport use
- Green design
- High percentage of green space

16. Anchorage, AK (score 6.705, pop. 260,283)
- Excellent air and water quality
- Smoking ban
- High public health

17. Syracuse, NY (score 6.66, pop. 147,306)
- Good air
- Smoking ban
- Commitment to reduce greenhouse gases

18. San Francisco, CA (score 6.6, pop. 776,733)
- Municipal composting
- Green design
- High percentage of renewable energy use
- Very high public transport use

19. Minneapolis, MN (score 6.58, pop. 382,618)
- City-specific minimum wage
- Smoking ban
- High percentage of renewable biomass energy

20. Milwaukee, WI (score 6.5125, pop. 596,974)
- Green housing development
- Green space

21. Rochester, NY (score 6.43, pop. 219,773)
- High percentage of renewable energy
- Clean air
- Smoking ban

22. Albuquerque, NM (score 6.3475, pop. 484,607)
- Clean water
- Smoking Ban
- Wind power

23. Ann Arbor, MI (score 6.2875, pop. 114,024)
- High percentage of public transport and bicycle commuters
- High yard waste recover
- Green space

24. Seattle, WA (score 6.115, pop. 563,374)
- Large number of green buildings
- Very high percentage of hydroelectric power use
- Clean air and smoking ban

25. Kansas City, MO (score 6.055, pop. 441,545)
- Clean water
- City specific minimum wage
- U.S. Mayors Climate Protection signatory

Popsicle, Anyone?

It's been really hot in Austin lately. I think today we reached 105 degrees and it's not expected to change anytime soon.

Did you know that Austin's per capita water usage is higher than that of both Dallas and Houston? I know - completely shameful (although it's quite possible that Lance Armstrong alone pushed us over the edge last year).

As your friendly Austin Water Utility employee, just sending a quick reminder to think about your water usage so we can get through the summer without maxing out our water and energy. Here's a list of 100 ways to conserve water. Many of them are not only easy, but also have many benefits beyond the actual water savings. Cheers!

Revolutionizing Car Insurance

Though I haven't usually thought of Dallas as an innovative city, my assumptions have shifted in the past few years. Now that I'm studying transit-oriented development, I've learned that Dallas has proven itself among the ranks of world-class cities providing transportation options that benefit the city (and planet) as a whole.

Now there's an auto insurance company out of Dallas that is revolutionizing the way people think about car insurance just as ZipCar did with the way we think about car use. MileMeter allows customers to purchase car insurance by the mile! That's right, here comes another great incentive for people to drive less. This company is not only providing cost savings to consumers, but it's encouraging them to think about how much the drive and give them a financial reason to decide against it.


I can get on the MileMeter website right now and purchase 1,000 to 6,000 miles of insurance. That means if I decide to take public transit or muscle power to get around, my insurance will last a lot longer than if I get around purely by car. GENIUS. I'm thinking about giving State Farm the boot.

But actually, it's not genius. It's common sense. How do we pay for electricity? For water? Food? With this new model, the old model of paying for car insurance whether it's sitting in the garage or not seems ridiculous.

Thanks to the founder, Chris Gay, Texans are some of the first people in the world to be able to purchase auto insurance by the mile. That makes me a happy girl.

Thanks for putting this on my radar, Ondre!

Bartering and Freecycling

Bartering is making a comeback, especially in economic times like these. Remember the "one red paperclip" a few years ago? Kyle MacDonald made 14 barters, starting with one red paper clip and ending with a house! Well, he's now looking to barter the house.

Even beyond bartering, there is freecycling - getting and giving away things for free.

Free things posted on Austin Craigslist today:
- huge Baloo stuffed animal (from Jungle Book)
- elm trees
- waterbed
- antique piano and bench (!)
- jacuzzi
- office cubicles
AND.... a toilet!

Many similar items are posted on Austin Freecycle Network, a yahoo group dedicated to freecycling.

I love that these sites are the ultimate example of recycling. Recycling doesn't have to be only for former packaging of new items...all of the things above would take up a lot of space in a landfill!! Why resort to that when someone out there is bound to want what you don't?

My goal is to both give and receive through these channels more often. I've only really posted moving boxes and stuff like that before, but I'm going to think more creatively in the future.

Join Austin Freecycle Network here.
Browse Austin Craigslist free stuff here.