http://denver.yourhub.comThe latest blog posts in The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.comen-usnews@yourhub.com(c) 2009, YourHub.com5"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." Ben Franklin Water is a gift. Without water there would be no life as we know it. It is the vital life blood and circulation system of ecosystem earth. It comprises over 60% our bodies, and sustains all of the earth's flora and fauna. ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~446117.aspx3/24/2008 1:50:34 PMJohn Van Doren Solar water heaters are one of the most commercialized renewable energy technologies in the world and yet on a per capita basis, U.S. implementation ranks 28th in the world behind relatively undeveloped countries like Albania and Slovenia. China leads the world with an installed base equivale...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~427848.aspx2/12/2008 12:45:59 PMJohn Van Doren Energy Star is arguably one of the most successful government programs of our time. The program was created in 1992 by the US Environmental Protection Agency and began life as a voluntary labeling program designed to promote the use of energy efficient products. The results achieved by Energ...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~414817.aspx1/14/2008 10:38:38 AMJohn Van Doren In 1934, during the depths of the Depression, Congress passed the National Housing Act to strengthen a deeply troubled housing market. This act created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) which was amended in 1938 to create the Federal National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) which was...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~406175.aspx12/19/2007 11:27:56 AMJohn Van Doren "Indoor air pollutant levels are 25-62% greater than outside [pollutant] levels," according to California Air Resources Board. "...levels of about a dozen common organic pollutants [were found] to be 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were loc...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~282127.aspx3/21/2007 3:03:23 PMJohn Van Doren In 1661, activist John Evelyn wrote his anti-coal treatise FUMIFUNGIUM: or the Inconvenience of the Aer and Smoake of London Dissipated , in which he pleaded with the King and Parliament to do something about the burning of coal in London. "And what is all this, but that Hellish and dism...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~259485.aspx3/6/2007 2:06:27 PMJohn Van Doren Where Does the Energy Go in a Typical Home? If you're setting out to build and design an energy efficient home, one that greatly exceeds the current standard for construction, then its a good idea to know your baseline. In other words, where does the energy go in a typical home? As you m...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~255587.aspx2/26/2007 2:26:53 PMJohn Van Doren In 1946, the average house was 1100 SF, and housed 5 people In 1996, the average house was 2200 SF, and housed 2.6 people Our homes now have 4 times the area per person compared to 50 years ago When I was a young man and studying engineering and then architecture, I was obsessed...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~183094.aspx2/14/2007 9:45:08 AMJohn Van Doren "...buildings in the U.S. are the largest energy consuming and greenhouse gas emitting sector." I'm writing this on the same day that the U.N. Released the 2004 Report on Climate Change. There is now very little doubt that human carbon emissions are dramatically changing the climate and that...http://denver.yourhub.com/Conifer/Blogs/Archive/Blog~180111.aspx2/7/2007 11:05:24 AMJohn Van Doren