Sustainability

There are many new products entering the marketplace made from recycled materials, such as this countertop sample, called SHETKA-STONE, made by All- Paper Recycling of New Prague, Minnesota.

"Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing awareness that as a society we have to redesign the systems that produce and support our way of life so that we don't continue to squander the Earth's resources. This concept is called sustainability. Before the Industrial Revolution, the only pollutants entering the thin layer of film around the earth came from the movement of the Earth's crust, such as volcanoes and earthquakes. But over the past 200 years, that biosphere has been undeniably affected by the mining of fossil fuels. Nature's cleaning mechanisms, the green-celled plants that cover our planet, cannot keep up with the increase in pollutants."

"And with a new emphasis on sustainability and renewable materials, there is an enormous amount of recycled materials entering the marketplace--from waterproof countertops made from recycled cardboard to interior trim made from wood scraps. All of these products are quite beautiful, taking on the colors of what they were originally and exhibiting natural textures all their own. Unlike plastic, they have some personality. Like a beautiful piece of wood, they tell us something about their origins."

--from The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka

Sustainable Sources

Wiser Earth
WiserEarth serves the people who are transforming the world. It is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects non-governmental organizations and individuals addressing the central issues of our day: climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more.

Architecture 2030
Architecture 2030, a non-profit, non-partisan and independent organization, was established by architect Edward Mazria in 2002 in response to the global-warming crisis.

Alliance to Save Energy (ASE)
ASE represents a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient use of energy.

Worldwatch Institute Online
Worldwatch is a nonprofit public policy research organization dedicated to informing policymakers and the public about emerging global problems and trends and the complex links between the world economy and its environmental support systems.

US Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices.

Green Building Initiative
The mission of the Green Building Initiative is to accelerate the adoption of building practices that result in energy-efficient, healthier and environmentally sustainable buildings by promoting credible and practical green building approaches for residential and commercial construction.

The Biomimicry Institute
The Biomimicry Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to naturalize biomimicry in the culture by promoting the transfer of ideas, designs, and strategies from biology to sustainable human systems design.

Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA)
Nonprofit organization that promotes energy efficient and environmentally responsible buildings and communities.

Sustainable Buildings Industry Council
The SBIC is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the design, affordability, energy performance, and environmental soundness of residential, institutional and commercial buildings nationwide.

greenhomebuilding.com
A website that is devoted to all aspects of sustainable architecture and natural building.

The Natural Step
The Natural Step is a non-profit environmental education organization working to build an ecologically and economically sustainable society.

Rocky Mountain Institute
The mission of RMI is "to foster the efficient and sustainable use of resources as a path to global security."

GreenBuilding Pages
A sustainable building materials database and design tool for the environmentally and socially responsible designer, builder and client.

Environmental Building News
A newsletter focusing on environmentally responsible design and construction, it includes lots of interesting sites on its links from past issues.

Environmental Protection Agency
The home page of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

Sustainable Building Sourcebook
Another resource from those great folks in Austin, this is the online version of their sourcebook, chock full of information, references, and sources for those interested in pursuing attractive, resource efficient, low environmental impact homes.

Earth Pledge Foundation
A sustainable development site.

NCAT Web Sites for a Sustainable World
Looking for in-depth information on sustainable development? A family of websites created by the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) offers information and links to other resources on sustainable energy, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable community development.

Residential Environmental Design and Sustainable Architecture
An internet magazine on green architecture.

Sustainable Building Sources
The Greenbuilding Professionals Directory is a place for you to look for a building professional. We encourage all architects and building professionals interested in Not So Big House issues to register with this site. This site also offers a calendar of events.

Green Building Information Council
This is a Canadian site, whose mission is to disseminate information about energy and environmental issues in the building sector.

Ecobuild America
Sustainable, green and high-performance solutions for the built environment.

GreenFaith
GreenFaith inspires, educates and mobilizes people from diverse religious backgrounds to deepen their relationship with the sacred in nature and to take action for the earth.

Patterns of a Conservation Economy
It is modeled after the idea of A Pattern Language, the seminal work by Christopher Alexander and colleagues, and it attempts to define a sustainable pattern language for a bioregion, namely the North American coastal temperate rainforest, from Big Sur to Kodiak.

EnviroLink
The beautiful site of "the online environmental community".

Linkages - A Multimedia Resource for Environment & Development Policy Makers
This is the links page of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, publishers of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

Environmental Resources
The Electronic Green Journal is one of the first peer-reviewed digital journals promoting an open access publishing model. Since its inception in July of 1994, the EGJ has allowed all Internet users unrestricted access to original articles and book reviews on international environmental topics.

Climate Ark
A climate change news and information portal and archive.

Northwest EcoBuilding Guild
This is an education forum and its mission is to encourage building practices that protect human health, encourage sustainable resource usage, and foster long-term economic vitality.

Great Plains Institute
Harnessing the creative power of cooperation by bringing together key public and private leaders from across the northern plains to accelerate progress on critical development issues.