Green Living columns are published bi-weekly in the Las Vegas Review Journal, appearing every other Thursday in the Home section. They are written by GreenDream Enterprises president, Steve Rypka.

In the list below, the left side has links to the columns and the right side has links to further information relating to each particular column topic. The list is in reverse chronological order with the most recent column at the top. You can also read past columns from 2006 and 2007. Reader comments are welcome via email.

Green Living Column

• Springs Preserve
• Springs Preserve Class Schedule
• Springs Preserve Sustainable Living Classes
• Springs Preserve Library
• Springs Preserve Cafe
• List of LEED certified projects in Nevada.

• Home Energy Checklist, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
• Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Dept. of Energy
• Home Energy Conservation, Nevada Power
• Tips to Lower Your Energy Bills, Alliance to Save Energy
• Check out the film "Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America" by Jeff Barrie
• UNLV's Zero Energy Home project with real-time data
• EPA's Energy Star site with lots of great information

Energy Star Tips

• HowToCompost.org
• How to Make Compost, a Composting Guide
• Envirocycle Backyard Composter (This is the one I use and I like it.)
• Composting for the Homeowner, The Science of Composting
• Indoor composting system
• Path to Freedom. An inspirational family with an incredible urban garden!
• See a row of mature trees that sprouted from a nurse log in the rain forest.

• AIA Nevada web site
• Download the Blueprint for Nevada directly (PDF)
• AIA Las Vegas web site
• AIA National web site on Sustainability
• Sustainable Architectural Practice Position Statement from AIA (PDF)
• State can be green power exporter, article in Reno Gazette Journal by AIA Nevada president Ric Licata
• Position on New Power Plants in Nevada from AIA Nevada

• Green For All is a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.
• Green Collar Jobs Campaign, an Ella Baker Center Intitiative
• Find out more about Van Jones.
• Van Jones compared to MLK on Energy Smart blog.
• Green Jobs article on The Oil Drum.
• The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of business, labor, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution in America.
• Listen to a recent discussion on KNPR's State of Nevada on Green Collar Jobs.
• The Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee of Southern Nevada has an excellent training program for solar installers.
• Good Jobs - Green Jobs, National Green Jobs Conference, a strategic partnership between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club!
• Report on green economy and jobs from the American Solar Energy Society. (PDF)

Van Jones - Eco-Equity

• Plugged In: The End of the Oil Age considers the future of a transport sector now 95 per cent dependent on liquid hydrocarbon fuels: World Wildlife Fund news release with links to the full report.
• Smart Grid Consortium to Develop Smart Grid City; Support for PHEVs with V2G Part of the Design: Green Car Congress
• Xcel Energy's Smart Grid City project. This is a utility with leadership and a vision for a better future!
• PG&E, one of the nation's largest power providers, is teaming up with Tesla Motors and Google to test V2G technology.
• V2G: Vehicle to Grid Power: A research program at the University of Delaware.
• Vehicle-to-Grid Power: Executive summary of V2G research that analyses the feasibility and financial benefits of the concept. (PDF)
• What does Wikipedia have to say about V2G?
• Find out more about Plug-In Hybrid cars at CalCars.org and Plug-In Partners.

• Koyaanisqatsi - Life Out of Balance (film web site)
• Stop Toquop - Mesquite's battle for justice and clean air
• On "unbalanced interests," Granny D. From "Americans Who Tell the Truth" portrait series by Robert Shetterly
• One Hand Clapping in the Coal Fields by Robert Shetterly

We Cannot Eat Money

• The Green Home Guide: Green homes for everyone. From the U.S. Green Building Council.
• REGREEN: Green Home Renovations. Download the free guidelines. (12 MB PDF)
• From Megawatts to Negawatts, Living on Earth interview with Amory Lovins of RMI (transcript or MP3).

• Solar 2008 conference web site
• Post Carbon Institute - Learn about the transition to a post-carbon society.
• Post Carbon Cities - A program of the Post Carbon Institute that focuses on urban transformation toward sustainability.
• Comparison chart: One YEAR of Solar to ALL Fossil & Nuclear Fuel (PDF).
• NPR Radio: The Potential of Solar Power

• FACE IT: There IS a solution to Global Warming (watch or download the web cast)
• Architecture 2030 and the 2030 Challenge
• Warming to the truth, Las Vegas Sun editorial
• Nevada doesn’t need coal-fired plants, ‘green’ report says, Las Vegas Sun
• NEVADA VIEWS: A better approach to energy policy, Las Vegas Review Journal
• The Energy Challenge: Turning Glare Into Watts, NY Times
• Conservation, 'small power' can make energy debate moot, Reno Gazette Journal editorial
• New economic outlook possible with investment in renewables, Reno Gazette Journal editorial
• U.S. coal power boom suddenly wanes: Worries about global warming and rising construction costs give the edge to natural-gas and renewable-energy plants, Christian Science Monitor
• U.S. scraps ambitious clean-coal power plant, Christian Science Monitor
• Coal Industry Spending on Election Ads, Associated Press

• Note: The Solar Home Tour is on April 5, 2008 - Some of the articles below are about previous tours with different dates. Don't be confused! Check Solar NV's web site for the latest details.
• Solar NV - Southern Nevada Solar Home Tour (info & registration)
• Green Living column about the 2006 Solar Home Tour .
• American Solar Energy Society - National Solar Tour
• Review Journal article about the 2006 Solar Home Tour
• KNPR piece on the 2005 Solar Home Tour
• KNPR's State of Nevada including the 2006 Solar Home Tour

• U.S. Dept. of Energy, Moving Toward Zero Energy Homes (PDF)
• UNLV's Zero Energy Home Project in Las Vegas
• Zero (or close) Energy Homes Around the Country:
  • Going Green at the Beach (Oregon Coast)
  • Maine Solar House (Northeast)
  • Borrego Springs, CA (Hot desert)
  • Creve Coeur, MO (Midwest)
  • North Texas (South)
  • Cerritos, CA (N. California)
  • New Jersey Near ZEH Home Video (East)
• Florida Solar Energy Center on ZEH (Southeast)
• Near Zero Energy Housing Community, Builder includes solar array on EVERY home

• Origin of Human Species, Wikipedia
• The Redwood Forest and the humbling size of one tree.
• Deep Economy by Bill McKibben, an alternative to constant growth (an excellent book)

Watch this video of David Suzuki, a well-respected scientist, speaking on the economy and the environment. (If you are in a hurry, jump to 2:02 minutes into the video.) There are six clips in this series for those who want to see the entire speech.

• Springs Preserve, seeking LEED Platinum
• Molasky Corporate Center, LEED Gold
• Mayor's Climate Protection Center
• Clark County's "Eco-County Initiative" (PDF)
• UNLV's 2007 Inaugural Energy Symposium
• UNLV's 2007 Urban Sustainability Initiative
• Nevada Solar One (CSP)
• Nellis AFB Solar System (PV)
• U.S. Green Building Council - Nevada Chapter
• AIA Nevada's Position Statement on Coal Power Plants
• Nevada Renewable Energy Report (PDF)
• Climate Change and Peak Oil
• Who are the Skeptics? 1, 2, 3, 4
• Alex Steffen: Don't Just Be The Change, Mass-Produce It
• Remember This: 350 Parts Per Million, by Bill McKibben