The Climate Crisis: Is there anything you can do?

Denver, Colorado Why do we have green lawns?   Habit, I suppose as well as perceived peer pressure from neighbors.   And yet, some 20 years ago when my partner, Judy, tore out part of our front lawn replacing it with xeriscape (drought-tolerant) plants, a local garden club gave her an award.   Instead of criticism, some neighbors have been inspired to take their lawns in several different directions, replacing grass with native plants, shrubs, trees, flower beds, and rock gardens. Thanks to Judy’s efforts, our front yard in southeast Denver is dominated by drought-tolerant plants and trees.  Fortunately, there are no neighborhood covenants that stopped us from tearing out our mostly crab-grass lawn more than 20 years ago.   Photo by Judy Greenfield In relatively dry Denver, the recommended approach 20 years ago was xeriscaping.  But rather than drought-tolerant plants in general, plants native to a local area are now preferred for natural landscaping...

Denver, Colorado In my blog post last week, I railed against real estate developers who build unnecessarily large homes and the people who buy them.   One anonymous reader submitted a comment asking about developments to accommodate people who need more modest housing?   He/she wondered if I see a place for real estate development at all, and if so, how can it be done sustainably?   I am forced to admit that as long as the population keeps growing especially in metropolitan areas which are perceived to be highly desirable places to live with a healthy job market, new real estate developments will be necessary.  But why can’t we have new developments that provide homes the middle class can afford; meet their needs in terms of size, proximity to work, and basic amenities; and also be “climate-friendly”?   They don’t built them like they used to:  A 1950s “starter home” in southeast Denver.  It’s probably only 800-1000 square feet in size which is p...

The elderly father of one of my good friends once said to me, “People should buy as much house as they can afford.”   In other words, the bigger, the better up to the maximum you can afford in monthly payments.   I suppose this thinking makes sense from an economic perspective because a home is good place to put one’s savings.  It’s a stable investment and comes with a mortgage interest deduction on income tax assuming you have a loan on the property.  Real estate developers, agents, and lenders are pleased that many people embrace this positive outlook as it means more dollars in their pockets. But from an environmental perspective and especially with regard to the climate crisis, it’s a rotten idea.  People need a place to live but do they really need the largest house they can afford?  Consider the following contrasts between a “McMansion” and a modestly-sized home: - It takes more energy to heat and cool it and often that energy comes from greenho...