Must We Mow?

FROM THE EDITOR
My neighbors say nothing about the hip-high fleabane in our yard because they can’t see it. The gravel driveway dips from the road, and the shagbark hickories and brambles that surround our house help to camouflage the oasis of wildflowers that the family next door might consider unsightly weeds.
My husband, son and… »

Ecologically friendly building teaches about saving energy

By CHARLIE WHITE
The Courier-Journal
Ramsey Middle School on Gellhaus Lane off Billtown Road has been saving the school district more than $1,000 a month on natural gas and electricity since it opened last school year.
The 130,000-square-foot, two-story building was constructed with several ecologically friendly features that contribute to the savings.
School district officials… »

Driven to Slow Down

EARTH DAY

By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND
When I was 23, I spent the winter in the stripping room of a tobacco barn in Gravel Switch, Kentucky. The year was 1976. I joined a movement of young people concerned about environmental issues and sustainability who were taking to the hills to start organic gardens and build off-grid homes.
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Unplugged and Lovin’ It

FROM THE EDITOR
As a kid I looked forward to tornado season in Kentucky. Every spring brought the promise of stormy weather and, with it, the likelihood of losing our lights for an evening.
Nothing beat the thrill of watching those dark, ominous clouds roil in the western skies and hearing thunder crack so loud it… »

Don’t buy it

FROM THE EDITOR
Buy, buy, buy.
Being frugal, and especially in these tough economic times, those are precisely the words I don’t want to hear.
So the day my husband David came up with a plan to construct a much-needed hay shelter out of recycled materials, I was game. In his construction job, he’d torn down a customer’s… »

Going Brown

While the rich go green, the rest of us can jump on this bandwagon
By MICHAEL VAN HALL

I’m looking for people who live in low-cost to no-cost housing, by choice, to feature in my next book, titled Shacking Up. When I asked blog readers to send me leads, I was disappointed with their responses.
I did not… »

The Big Turn-Off

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