What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation: A Guide to the New Relationship

Written by the University of Colorado's Center of the American West and Boulder conservation group Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, the report relates to readers through humor and wit, while presenting the dire need for energy efficiency, a very serious subject.

Low Energy Communal Housing: the Virtues of Living in a Cave without the Depravities of Living Underground
By Larry Kinney, Gary Cler et. al.

This paper describes a variety of ideas on designing buildings suitable for communities whose members share concerns for living as lightly on the land as possible—and a process for discussing them. Design concepts include Permaculture; Tight, Well-Insulated Envelopes using Recycled (or at Least Recyclable) Material; Radiant Heating and Cooling Supplied by a District Loop Largely Fueled by Solar; Ventilation and Better Bathrooms; Fenestration Strategies; Daylighting Systems; Cooking; and Solar Greenhouses. The ultimate aim is to develop sound strategies to influence groups of people to live less energy intensive lives that are both creative and fulfilling.

On Payback
By Seth Portner

Written for the Boulder Tour of Solar Homes Guidebook, this article argues against the commonly asked question about "payback time" for solar panels.  Payback is used to refer to how long it will take for the panels to generate enough energy to offset its original cost.  While its understandable that payback was first used as a financial incentive for consumers to adopt new technologies, Portner questions its applicability today.