Planet Varner

Whether you agree with it or not California’s new green building code (CALGreen) is looming on the horizon (going into effect January 1, 2011) and developers, architects, planners, engineers, plan checkers, inspectors, building officials and others involved in designing and approving new construction are scrambling to wrap their arms around the new code and what […]

Ever wonder about those people who spend $2 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backward.  — George Carlin Everyone needs water and most of us are concerned about where our water comes from, not to mention our addiction to the convenience factor, that’s why we Americans choose bottled water to […]

By Brett G. Varner For the five years we have lived in our house, I have thought about composting.  Our relatively small yard has 3 large and mature trees:  a fruit producing mulberry, an elm and a California Oak.  All three, combined with the lawns, are very prolific at producing green waste.  It is far […]

Sustainability, Organic Grapes, Green Building and Fine Wine Venturing into the heart of the picturesque Rutherford region of Napa Valley we wine “disciples” meandered past an old historical red barn towards the Frog’s Leap Winery “green” hospitality farmhouse. We weren’t here looking for green wineries or organic wine, nor were we looking for frogs.  We […]

Your home improvement may be green without your knowing it. “The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.” – Mark Twain The tax man cometh, so in an effort to help you gain back some of your hard earned green and reducing your energy bills I […]

These are several excerpts from my diaries in the Peace Corps.  I was a Natural Resources Volunteer in the town of Tarariras, Uruguay, South America in early 1990. Peace Corps Diaries – Fire While in the Peace Corps I was sitting in my little Uruguayan home staring through the door of my “salamandra” (wood burning […]