JP Green House

How a simple renovation turned into the "Big Dig" of rehabs

Home Economics of the JP Green House, Part 1 0
Posted 1 day, 22 hours ago From an initial budget of $25,000 to a revised estimate of $200,000, the JP Green House has taken on Big Dig proportions -- but the new reality will mean a smarter eco-model in the end.
They Nailed It

Slideshow: Reinventing the JP Green House 0
Posted 1 day, 23 hours ago By Andrée Zaleska, Ken Ward Ken Ward and Andrée Zaleska are turning an old Boston store into a new model of eco-living -- here's a glimpse at the work underway.
Knock Me Over With a Paradigm Shift

The best part about climate change 1
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago Sure, climate chaos has wreaked havoc on the planet and on our correspondent's personal life, but there are glimmers of hope -- most recently, in the form of strangers wielding hammers.
Tree Spiker, From Earth First to Lowbagging: My Struggles in Radical Environmental Action

Roselle’s Rollicking Tale & Moral of the Story 0
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago
Killing it cleanly

Climate SOS campaign aims to defeat ACES for the right reason 1
Posted 2 months ago
As Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s comment makes clear, there will be no climate bill this year.
Dispatch from the virtual front lines of parenting

The fight to save childhood 8
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago
What happens when sustainability and internet addiction collide? At the JP Green House, an experiment in unplugging commences along with the new school year.
Humbly lining up behind Thoreau

Blood, sweat, and vision: The JP Green House in its ugly duckling phase 3
Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago
You can't tell from the tall grass and gutted interior that the JP Green House is going to be a model of sustainable living, but its creators still believe -- and most of their visitors do too.
Oh, those pesky existential questions!

Puppies and bunnies and carnivorous eco-curmudgeons 7
Posted 3 months ago
Should the JP Green House raise and slaughter bunnies in their back yard? That's just one of the questions they're struggling with. Weigh in!
The not-so-trivial carbon impact of pet ownership

Should Kuba have a puppy? 19
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Kuba is cute! Puppies are cute! Kuba wants a puppy -- how cute! But pets come with carbon impacts attached ... does that mean no puppy? Vote now.
Heating the JP Green House with a hairdryer

The amazing promise and many challenges of passivhaus construction 4
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Imagine a building so energy-efficient that it actually gets dinged by LEED and Energy Star -- you've just imagined passivhaus, and we're putting it into action at the JP Green House.
...or, how we fight over the kids, housework, and money like everyone else!

Love in a time of cataclysm 5
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Everyone told us that building a house could wreck a relationship. And from past experience, we knew it to be true. But we plunged ahead despite our fundamentally different ways of navigating this warming world.
The Hillside Strangler

You and me and a billion tiny spores 6
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
One of the toughest tasks at the JP Green House renovation is not inside the house at all -- it's in the yard, where a stubborn invasive species refuses to yield after a year of battle.
Showing the Flag

Fourth of July musings on symbols, patriotism, and identity 3
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago
As Ken Ward and his family march forth with their greenovation project at the JP Green House, they make sure the U.S. flag is part of their plans. No kneejerk patriotism, this display is an effort to reclaim the sort of unity needed to face the climate-addled future ahead.
Sunday on Bourne Street

Getting to know the neighborhood — through its trash 0
Posted 5 months ago
What do the contents of curbside trash bins say about a place's past, its present, its future? Plenty -- you just have to know where (and how) to look.
Recycling a House

How we found 133 Bourne St., and how we almost lost it 3
Posted 5 months ago
Andrée Zaleska explains how she and Ken Ward bought the JP Green House just as the real-estate bubble was bursting, how their own bubble burst not long after, and how they got back on their feet.
Love in a time of cataclysm

Fighting climate chaos with a hammer and a heart 4
Posted 5 months ago
Activist Ken Ward finds that his emotional responses to the climate crisis vary wildly, from despair to hope to anger. But one feeling remains constant: his love for partner Andrée and their JP Green House undertaking. He explains -- and invites others to share their experiences.