Three weeks ago, I’m standing in Maria Santos’ kitchen at 7 AM, watching her make coffee using electricity generated by her own solar panels, with water she collected from last…
My water bill last month was twelve bucks. Not a typo – twelve dollars. My neighbour Sandra cornered me at the mailbox yesterday, waving her $340 bill around like evidence…
My neighbour Maria knocked on my door last Tuesday around 8 AM, still in her robe and clearly annoyed. “Sarah, I need you to look at something,” she said, marching…
My neighbour Carol caught me wrestling with PVC pipes in my driveway last month and asked the question that’s been haunting me ever since: “So Jennifer, when are you ditching…
My neighbour Sarah showed up at my front door last Tuesday morning looking absolutely defeated. Her hands were caked with dirt, and she had this look in her eyes that…
Last April, I drove out to this farm near Tucson after getting an invitation from a woman named Maria who claimed she’d built what she called a “closed loop paradise.”…
You know, I spent years thinking green roofs were just some trendy European thing that would never work in the Southwest. I mean, come on—putting plants on top of buildings…
Standing in my client Sarah's Phoenix home last Tuesday, watching her kids actually play in their living room during the afternoon for the first time in three summers, I was…
I was reviewing material specifications for a custom home project in Scottsdale last month when the architect casually mentioned they were incorporating "sustainable design principles." The builder, meanwhile, kept referring…
My nephew called me last Tuesday, completely overwhelmed about his first apartment renovation. "Uncle Mike, I want to do this green interior design thing, but everything I'm reading online sounds…