"The city of Austin, Texas, has begun requiring homeowners to conduct energy-efficiency audits before they can sell their house. [Such audits] can include a review of a home's air-conditioning and heating systems, insulation and air-tightness, and generally cost owners from $200 to $300... The Austin ordinance requires residents selling single-family homes more than 10 years old to obtain an audit and provide the information to potential buyers.. [T]he new law doesn't require buyers to follow through with improvements... [The Austin Board of Realtors agreed to support the audits after that provision - a requirement in similar Berkeley and San Francisco, California laws - was removed.] City leaders say the required audits would help keep Austin from having to build a 700-megawatt power plant by 2020 by alerting residents to energy- and money-saving options.."

Energy Audits Vex Austin's Home Sellers | By TOM BENNING | The Wall Street Journal | JUNE 8, 2009

As outlined by Austin Energy, the city's public electric utility company, the audit must be performed by an auditor who is a certified Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) Rater or a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Building Analyst Professional. Other details are about the new law on Austin Energy's website.

Redfin's website has a nice, clear exposition of the current administration's $8,000 credit upon purchase of a first home. Key points:
• You're only eligible for this credit if you buy between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
• You're defined as a first-time home buyer if you haven't owned a home in three years.
• There are restrictions based on modified adjusted gross income levels e.g. Filing jointly with a gross income of between $150,000 and $170,000 means you're eligible for a reduced credit.

More information is available from the IRS.

“…The family of Charles and Ray Eames invites you to a weekend celebration to honor and help preserve a key facet of the Eames legacy: the Eames House—Charles and Ray's home and now a National Historic Landmark. In honor of the 60th Anniversary of the Eames House, two exciting events in two cities will provide you with an exceptional entrée to the Eameses' life, work and philosophy: “ Members Appreciation Day on Saturday June 20th in Pacific Palisades, CA and an Eames Foundation Fundraiser on Sunday June 21st in Petaluma CA . See also The New York Times article.

“…The release of "The Sundown Salon Unfolding Archive" by Evil Twin Publications will be celebrated with an event at the Schindler House in West Hollywood, California on June 20th. This will also be the first public viewing of the book documenting the thirty Sundown Salon events from 2001-2006. One continuous 140 foot long sheet of paper folds up to become the 380 page volume with color photos on one side and text on the other. A 150 foot long table will be set up in the Schindler House driveway with copies of the book fully unfurled providing the unique opportunity to view the entirety of the book at once. Contributors to the book, including Trinie Dalton, Ken Ehrlich, Marc Herbst, Robby Herbst, Kelly Martin, and Matias Viegener will read passages from their stories and essays, and a few Los Angeles artists and performers including John Barlog & John Burtle, Bodycity, Hawkwind Screenprinting, John P Hogan, Hot Knives, and L.A. Fog will lead activities for the afternoon, each stationed in a geodesic tent headquarters located in the gardens...” MAK Center for Art and Architecture, L.A. at the Schindler House / 835 North Kings Road, West Hollywood, CA 90069 / Saturday, June 20 / 4:00 - 7:00pm
More about the exhibit
More about the house:
More about the Fritz Haeg: He was interviewed by NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO [LISTEN] and the NEW YORK TIMES [READ]. His work was included in New York's WHITNEY BIENNIAL 2008 [SEE]. He has a book out called EDIBLE ESTATES [BROWSE] and another on the way. There's more on FRITZ'S WEBSITE [VISIT].

Phrases and Words heard at the Convention
Urban Hairpiece
Bicycle Library
Harvesting Ideas
Inspired Generalist (Architect)
Trying on your House
Swimming Upstream
Human|Nature
Integrative Design (X10!)
Described qualities in built projects:
-Animated
-Porous
-Fine Grained

"...For the past twenty years the voice of the architecture profession has mainly been drowned out by the computer generated sky-piercing towers of luxury... a new younger group of professionals began to question why we build and who to build for... On a global level 1:7 people live in unplanned settlements, favelas, refugee camps or internally displaced camps. Close to 5 billion people live in inadequate living conditions and have little access to education, health care and adequate sanitation. Almost none of these communities utilize the services of design professionals... There is immense opportunity for architects to work in the service of humanity..."

The Huffington Post | The Architect's Dilemma: The Architecture of Excess vs. an Architecture of Relevance | Cameron Sinclair (Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Network) | April 9, 2009

Zillow compared the widely quoted Case-Shiller index, which includes foreclosure sales, with it's own, which does not. Not surprisingly, the Zillow index looks a bit less bleak.

Zillow.com | Case-Shiller: Is it Really THAT Bad? | Stan Humphries | April 2, 2009

"...Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday..."

Earth Hour Website.

See also: LA Is WWF’s Flagship City for Earth Hour’s Lights Out below.

"...Less than one week after officially announcing Los Angeles as a flagship city for World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour 2009, many corporations, government organizations, educational establishments, restaurants and hospitality organizations, entertainment venues and Angelinos from all parts of the city have committed to turning off their lights for the first ever global vote for action on climate change. On Saturday, March 28th at 8:30 p.m. the city of Los Angeles will cast its vote by turning off non-essential lighting and joining the global movement for change for one hour, Earth Hour... Real estate giant, CB Richard Ellis, is encouraging lights-out participation in the more than 2 billion square feet of its global management portfolio. Additionally, CBRE will observe Earth Hour in its more than 300 offices around the world, and encourage personal participation among its more than 30,000 global employees..."

"... cities like Palm Desert lobbied to change state laws so that solar power systems could be financed like gas lines or water lines, covered by a loan from the city and secured by property taxes. The advantage of this system over private borrowing is that any local homeowners are eligible (not just those with good credit), and the obligation to pay the loan attaches to the house and would pass to any future buyers... In California, about a half-dozen cities including San Francisco and San Diego are already committed to their own solar programs. And outside of California, at least a half-dozen states, including Arizona, Texas and Virginia, have introduced bills to allow municipal financing. Colorado has already passed a version of the law, and the City of Boulder is on the verge of beginning a program... California residents receive a straight rebate for about 20 percent of the cost of a solar power system. In addition, a federal income tax credit for 30 percent of the cost of installing solar panels was extended to participants in the municipal loan programs as part of the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress. And there are efforts to change the federal tax code further so that cities can borrow the money to lend tax free..."

The New York Times | Harnessing the Sun, With Help From Cities | By LESLIE KAUFMAN | March 14, 2009


"...the financing technique that gave Europe an early lead in renewable energy is starting to cross the Atlantic... the idea is to pay homeowners and businesses top dollar for producing green energy... The new payment method is referred to as a “feed-in tariff” in Europe... a mandate by the government telling a utility to pay above-market rates for green electricity. It shifts the burden of subsidizing green energy from taxpayers, as is common in the United States, to electricity ratepayers... despite generous state and federal incentives, the United States still lags far behind Europe in solar power... Wind power and other sources of renewable energy are generally included in the European payment systems... Generating power from the sun using rooftop panels can cost four times as much as coal... If a utility commits to paying a higher rate for renewable power over a period of years, it can offer those with solar panels or wind turbines a steady return that helps defray the initial cost of the equipment... For now, at least, solar-power advocates do not believe they have the votes in Congress to adopt a national feed-in tariff system..."

The New York Times | Europe’s Way of Encouraging Solar Power Arrives in the U.S. | By KATE GALBRAITH | March 12, 2009