Entries from January 1, 2007 - February 1, 2007

Another Hoots Group Home Performance with Energy Star Project

1051 Curran Street 2.jpgMatt Hoots and The Hoots Group are in the process of applying Home Performance with Energy Star best practices to one of his properties at 1051 Curran Street [MLS # 2065558] in the historic Home Park subdivision near Georgia Tech., MARTA, and Atlantic Station.  The home is already location-efficient and will soon be more energy-efficient after Matt and his crew have applied their skills.

Home Performance improvements will include:

  • sealing air leaks and adding insulation, including blown cellulose in the attic
  • improving heating and cooling systems
  • sealing ductwork
  • upgrading lighting and appliances
  • all new super-insulated windows installed

The home has 5 bedrooms and 2 baths and will include an updated kitchen with stainless steel, Energy Star appliances.

Contact me at 404.421.9968 for more information.

Posted on Sunday, January 21, 2007 at 05:50PM by Registered CommenterBurke Sisco | Comments2 Comments | PrintPrint

The Green, Green Grass of EcoHome Guy

me and my wheatgrass 2.jpgFood eventually becomes a major consideration for anyone desiring to go to the next level of eco-living.  Those seeking to move towards organic and localized food sources soon discover it can be a perplexing, expensive, time-consuming proposition.

Wheatgrass is being touted as the superfood of the new millennium, and for good reason.  One ounce of the juice has the nutritional equivalence of 2 1/2 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.  I mean, have you ever tried to eat two pounds of fruits and vegetables in one sitting?  Have you checked on the price of organic fruits and vegetables?  2 1/2 pounds will cost you.  Or what if you wanted to grow your own?  How much time, land, and resources would be required to harvest this kind of poundage on a daily basis? 

Of course the carbon inputs required for growing and transporting our food to the local grocery have become oft-quoted cases for an unsustainable future.

Wheatgrass makes healthy nutrition accessible to all in an amazing, inexpensive and ecological way.  The 10" X 20" tray of wheatgrass you see in the picture will provide the same nutritional value as 10 pounds of raw fruits and vegetables!  I grow a tray of wheatgrass indoors, in about 10 days, in one inch of soil from our compost pile.  It's very easy to do.  You just soak hard red winter wheat berries in water and sprinkle them over the top of the soil when they start to sprout.  Water once a day and harvest when the sprouted grass grows 6 - 8 inches tall.

If you're feeling a bit skeptical about the validity of wheatgrass juice as a food, consider that God originally designed us and all other living creatures to eat seed bearing green plants for food -- our only source of food aside from fruit. The Book of Daniel reports that King Nebuchadnezzar lived on grasses alone for seven years. Maybe the green pastures of  Psalm 23  weren't meant to be as metaphorical as we thought. In any event, for Jesus to promise that we needn't worry about what we eat and drink implies that God has a solution that is ubiquitous to the planet and close at hand -- quite possibly right under our feet.

Just another reason I like to say "welcome to the other side of the fence".

Posted on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 07:42AM by Registered CommenterBurke Sisco | CommentsPost a Comment | PrintPrint