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Stephen and Rebekeh Hren, authors of The Carbon-Free Home: 36 Remodeling Projects to Help Kick the Fossil-Fuel Habit, address the carbon footprint of meat production.

Sam Clark has been building affordable homes for decades. He is the author of Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way. In this video, Sam gives an overview of some design aspects to think about when building your own simple, affordable, energy-efficient home.

Tomm Stanley, author of The Big Tree at George and Charlotte's House and Going Solar, has a green tip to save energy and maintain the cool temperature in the refrigerator with bottles of water.

Tomm Stanley, author of The Big Tree at George and Charlotte’s House and Going Solar, has a green tip to save time and money in the kitchen, and space in the refrigerator: cook less!

Builder Sam Clark (Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way) explains how to construct and design a simple, affordable, energy efficient house, using solar power, native materials, and imagination. He takes us on a tour of how to envision what methods, techniques, and economic constraints make a home a warm, inviting, and unique place. He gives great tips on how to live well using less space, and combining ecological methods without the economic stresses of high cost projects that won't save you money in the long run. Instead, Clark provides us with helpful expertise on how to save money and build green.Here, Clark walks us through the first steps in building a home. He stresses the importance of building within your means, so as to conserve economically, and about the need to think carefully about the site—for example, tuck your home into the land, with the goal to preserve it, not hack away at it. He urges us to consider where the house is in terms of the local water source, the electricity pole, and how to build from a solar point of view. To Clark, bigger isn’t better—small spaces are easier on the wallet, and create warmer, friendlier rooms. He’ll tell us: Where should your favorite workspace be located? How can you make the most of light and solar power? Watch this for new energy and space efficient tips, including a shelf that doubles as a dish rack, and windows high up on the wall to make use of morning sunlight. Clark's style, where utility combines with ingenuity, can be affordable for just about any homeowner. Watch this and learn how to let the land and its resources work for you in a cooperative relationship between your home and habitat.

Builder Sam Clark (Independent Builder: Designing & Building a House Your Own Way) explains how to construct and design a simple, affordable, energy efficient house, using solar power, native materials, and imagination. He takes us on a tour of how to envision what methods, techniques, and economic constraints make a home a warm, inviting, and unique place. He gives great tips on how to live well using less space, and combining ecological methods without the economic stresses of high cost projects that won't save you money in the long run. Instead, Clark provides us with helpful expertise on how to save money and build green.Here, Clark walks us through how to save on costs when building your home. Watch as he points out cost efficient methods such as coordinating trim into every room to tie details together—a cheap yet visually important technique. He points out the benefits of porches as inexpensive space to make a house seem larger, and to create visual interest. Positioning walk-outs and windows towards morning and afternoon light is an inexpensive way to create a feeling of grandeur, and sheetrocking methods can make ceilings look larger without the added cost of raising them. Contrary to what one might think, Clark feels that economic constraints make building a house better, as it limits one’s imagination and focuses. Learn how to salvage local materials and make the most of what you have.