" The 2/5 issue of Newsweek has an article by Anne Underwood, titled "This Ecofriendly House," in which she announces that the next eight-part series of "TOH" will be about enlarging and re-designing a bungalow in Austin, consistently using environmentally friendly options.  The article does not specifically mention insulation, but there is this: the owners "are expanding the bungalow more than 50 percent ... yet the renovated house will actually cost less to heat and cool.""

" Underwood writes: "The National Association of Home Builders maintains a list of residential green building programs (nahbrc.org).  And thisoldhouse.com is posting a list of resources next week.""

" "We hope it will inspire people," says the show's host, the ever-bubbly Kevin O'Connor, who himself never fails to inspire, in every context."

"Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!"

"I recently discovered that our attic is not insulated. While I live in the fairly warm climate of San Diego, we've been hit by a cold spell the last few weeks and I've cranked on the heater. I'd really like to insulate my home and was wondering what is the most planet-friendly method of doing so. I know it is good to reduce energy output, but I've heard that the insulation itself is not so environmentally friendly. Any ideas for the average do-it-yourselfer?"

"You're right that insulating is, in itself, very planet friendly. I can't think of anything jocular to say about it, because I coincidentally have that kind of head cold that feels like someone shoved insulation behind your eyeballs. But I can say that if you insulate properly, you'll keep your house warmer during chilly periods and cooler during typical San Diego heat, and reduce your heating and cooling bills, which are a large part of the financial and environmental costs of your household."

"There are many steps to take on the road to an energy-efficient home, and in this paragraph I must mention an oft-skipped beginning step, the energy audit. An energy audit is a household evaluation looking for leaks, evaluating appliances and faucets, measuring square footage against furnace BTUs, things like that. An audit is meant to focus one's home-improvement dollars and energy toward the most effective home-improvement actions. You can either hire an audit expert, who will have special lights to shine into crevices, do an audit yourself using Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's "

", which I can't be bothered to de-acronym any longer. Suffice to say they are a government agency focused on energy efficiency. "

"Again, insulating is such a lovely idea, really central to home efficiency, that I can't imagine your audit would tell you not to insulate. After your audit, the next bit of assistance also comes from the acronymerific EERE. (I'll let you in on a little secret: the EERE is usually where you should go with any home remodel question. I'm jauntier than the EERE, because I'm not a subunit of the Department of Energy, but oftentimes I jauntily point you to EERE.) The "

" of the agency's site will introduce you to the basic concepts, the types of insulation available, and a "

" advising you on what R-value to buy. What's R-value, you ask? Well, insulation works by thwarting the equalizing instincts of temperatures. Your warm living room wants to share its warmth with the attic, until the attic and living room are equal in temperature. R-value rates insulation's ability to resist this heat generosity. "

"As far as materials go, fiberglass is now out of favor in the green crowd for several reasons. It is an inhalation hazard and hard to handle, what with all those tiny painful fibers. There is concern that fiberglass is the new asbestos, vis-a-vis lung damage
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