Miami rides a green wave toward a 'bike friendly' city

Miami leaders have ambitious plans to turn the city into a bicycle-friendly metropolis. They start with Bike Miami, an event next month the city hopes will become a regular happening.

Water-sipping succulents offer interesting vistas

Succulent plants are hard to love. They tend to be parsimonious about offering shade and seem rather pointedly inhospitable so that pleasure-seekers are disinclined to settle among the yuccas for a leisurely afternoon glass of wine.

Thin rooftop panels help house produce its own power

Flexible, thin film solar panels offer increased efficiency, better hurricane resistance and can be installed like conventional roofing materials.

Two women who run Little Green House use the products they sell

Two South Florida women have created a virtual Little Green House -- an online business selling eco-friendly products for activities ranging from walking the dog to remodeling the kitchen.

LIVING GREEN

Here's how to save on your electric bill

As the temperature rises, so too does the cost of cooling your home. Last week Florida Power & Light revealed plans to seek a 16 percent hike in electric rates in August. That makes it even more important to conserve energy. The following suggestions, put together by the U.S. Department of Energy and Alliance to Save Energy, can both help residents stay cool and save on electric bills.

Ruling favors animals over insurance

A court ruling requiring FEMA to consider endangered species before issuing federal flood insurance could have ripple effects in other states

GOING GREEN

In experiment, hydrogen power fuels Miami home

A switch was pulled and the shelves of equipment murmured softly and turned on the lights. A house in Miami's Bay Heights quietly went off the grid and onto hydrogen power.

Couple lives green in their Key Largo dream

South-facing small windows and Bahama shutters, light paint and a white roof offer clues to the character of this house within a hammock: It is a ''green'' home that proudly wears a photovoltaic system and thermal water heater on its roof and envelopes a 7,500-gallon cistern within its walls.

Kendall house is a model of efficiency

Albert Harum-Alvarez, a software designer and consultant, grew up in Kendall and has spent years planning his home among the trees. Now under construction, it will catch the southeast breezes, use a geothermal pump for optional air conditioning, and employ a composting toilet system. Harum-Alvarez believes it's the greenest home in Miami-Dade County.

How to build a green home

If you are building a home, there are ways to make it energy-efficient: Orient it so the long axis runs east and west. Limit west-facing windows.

CERTIFICATION

Interest in going green is growing

Standards now qualify homes, commercial buildings and neighborhoods to be green. Certification is gaining in popularity.

BUILDING GREEN

Habitat homes designed with efficiency in mind

Pompano Beach houses will reduce water use and energy costs.

Two '60s houses are models for green living

This is one in a series about living green. Next week, we explore contemporary green homes. Forty years ago, Gwladys and Eugene Scott combined their lives and families and set out to design their dream house: a Japanese-inspired home in a South Florida hammock. It was to be without air conditioning, using salvaged pine beams, and open to the trees.

ARCHITECTURE

Parker honors nature in his work

Legendary architect emphasizes use and beauty.

How to retrofit older homes

How can you retrofit a concrete block house with few windows to be more resource-conserving? ''It may not be practical to add a porch, but it might be practical to add shade trees on the south and west sides,'' suggests Janet McIlvane with the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa.

Air conditioning changed everything

Half a century made all the difference. We went from designing with the climate to defensively shutting it out while shutting ourselves in, and today we are paying the energy price.

Tips for living without air

Living without air conditioning has its challenges, and with experience, Joyce Gann has learned how to do it.

Go native: Florida friendly landscapes thrive with less water

Wise use of native plants can go a long way toward reducing outdoor water use while celebrating the place you call home.

APPLIANCES

Switch to water-friendly appliances is on tap

How many times a day do you flush a toilet? How long are your showers? How many loads of laundry do you wash a week?