As the days become longer and we daydream of fresh spring air, many couples are planning their upcoming weddings.

Ah, the American dream! Tie the knot, buy a house, have a few kids, work hard to pay off your demanding mortgage and work even harder to pay your utility bills. Yes, the American dream slowly turns into the American nightmare.

Generation after generation America's newlyweds follow suit like a lost flock of sheep. We've all been there or will be there some day. We think emotionally not rationally. Why do we do this, what makes us throw common sense out the window after we "kiss the bride"?

Gratitude can be a funny thing. You really don’t feel gratitude until you push away the thoughts of your daily life and think about what you are thankful for.

Without question we are all thankful for our homes, but do we ever feel a sense of gratitude for what our homes give us?

I can imagine that the Pilgrims were truly grateful for their homes. In a world that had no indoor plumbing, thatched roofs, dirt floors, un-insulated wood sided walls and a horribly inefficient fireplace as its only source of heat the Pilgrims were ironically happy and thankful. They had shelter!

Being sustainable doesn’t mean you have to go to extremes, it means making intelligent choices about the materials and methods used to live our lives. Picking the proper fireplace or wood stove is a perfect example of how to make a “green” choice without going overboard.

While they have been hard to find, some economic stimulus funds are starting to trickle their way into our local municipalities, cities, schools and community colleges among other organizations. This is great news for these organizations that have buildings that are in need of upgrades and/or repairs or even possible expansion.

However the stimulus funds may come with some “green” strings attached, and depending on your project(s) your stimulus allocation may not cover your entire project budget. Not to mention that the entire country is watching where every stimulus penny is being spent!

We have been conditioned to think that more is better and bigger is the best. Never could this be so far from the truth, especially when it comes to your home!

When we embark upon a design for a home we take the path less traveled. Less is always more! Less waste+ less energy consumption +less clutter +less stress = a better life. This is the philosophy of the recently designed Concept Z Cape. See plans.

The advantages of a net zero energy home are endless and because of this they will become the standard in the future. For example, the Concept Z Cape will pay for itself over time through energy savings. Basically you will get a free house!

I don’t want to be an Architect! In fact I don’t want to be remotely related to the term. Sure, in the technical sense I am an Architect, but what is in the meaning of the word Architect is not what I want to be defined by. I am a Life-a-tect!

Architects and Life-a-tect’s are separated by what type of experience they create through their designs and how they make the end users of their buildings feel. They fall into two categories, experience creators and experience suppressors.

For over a century mankind has scurried around planet earth searching for more oil to fill our ever increasing need for basic energy. To onlookers from outer space we might look like ants building an ant hill, feverishly tripping over each other for the sole purpose of “advancing” our colony. We would certainly be classified as “ambitious idiots” by our space friends!

It’s hard to believe in a struggling economy where everything appears to be getting cheaper that we should have to worry about increasing costs in energy. Perhaps this is just the calm before the storm!

Why are energy prices important and how do they relate to our buildings?

According to the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org) buildings in the United States account for 79% of electricity consumption 39% of total energy use and 38% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

One of the longest standing debates in the world of "green" centers around the validity of global warming.

Some say that the threat of global warming is a hoax. Others say it’s cyclical. Or that no one really knows if the temperature is going up or down. Some scientists think that it’s related to sunspots.  I say who cares! Does the argument really matter?

Why global warming is happening doesn’t matter as much as the fact that our current lifestyle choices are exacerbating the problem and damaging the environment.  If we make environmentally conscious choices the argument will not matter. There will not be any validity to either side of the argument. The world would not know what "global warming" meant or what a greenhouse gas was, or that automobile and power plant emissions even existed.

Every year when Earth Day approaches I tell my wife my solution to save the environment for one day.  “We should give the earth a day off, no cars, no pollution, minimal natural resource consumption.   Everyone worldwide should stay home and use limited amounts of natural gas and electricity!” Sure it’s completely unrealistic, but shouldn’t we give Mother Earth a day off too?