Our good friend and longtime reader, Brent Heppner, sent the following to me regarding the article yesterday on the trends toward downsizing and green living:
    "Great article, Larry.  Much like [your wife], my wife and I want to build green and "Simplify, Simplify, Simplify."  You are right on point about the smaller houses stacked right on top of each other.  I do not like it either.  One of the things I struggle with is the fact that the developers scalp the land to make small home sites; this practice is far from green. 

    The competition to get the most amount of money out of the land by golf community developers lends itself to the smallest lots they can get away with, and still sell.  This can be seen at many communities.  The challenge is finding a community that is environmentally sound, yet not so ridiculously expensive that only a few can afford to live in it. 

    Keep up the good work."
    As he prepares to move in a few years to a golf community, Brent has done way more research on the subject of building green than anyone I know, and I look forward to hearing about and reporting on his progress.