There’s an ongoing debate in my house over what constitutes a “too small” dwelling, so I’m always on the prowl to bolster my position that we can live well in small spaces. Evidence: The Portland Garden Cottages designed and built by Jeffrey Gantert and Brad Bloom. Gantert and Bloom built two small, (364 square-feet) cottages from mostly used building materials. The cottages took advantage of an empty lot in the Mississippi Historic District of the upper Albina neighborhood of Portland. They are designed to fith with the history and character of the neighboring structures, a mixture of ordinary working-class homes and ornate Victorian-style architecture. From the outside,…
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Bottled Water: A Shrinking Market
Some cities have gone as far as outlawing the sale of bottled water. Some states charge a refund deposit on water bottles in an effort to corral the burgeoning number of discarded one-use water bottles. Here are some facts from TwilightEarth.com: Bottled water costs up to 4,000 times more than tap water. Bottled water is essentially tap water Bottled water does not fall under FDA guidelines, and often has more mercury and other pollutants in it than public utility water. 80% of water bottles end up in landfills, streams and the environment. It takes 5 bottles of water to create the plastic for 1 water bottle. The good news is…
