House Energy Doctor

Dr. Chalfoun working in his office


I have been working on a story for TheCatScan.com about a program at the University of Arizona called The House Energy Doctor. It's a program run by Dr. Nader Chalfoun through the School of Architecture that teaches students how to build more energy efficient buildings. The really cool part of the program is that homeowners from around the city can sign up to have their house audited. This is where the students come in and spend two hours in the home and then present to them their conclusions or prescription.

I spoke to a homeowner who had the students come in about ten years ago now. But she has made practically all the changes the students had suggested. "The program helped us realize where our home needed to be upgraded first," Karen Young said.

She said her and her husband John were looking to update the home anyways but decided to do it in the best way they knew how. Their home used to have an atrium in it that at one time Young's daughter tried to have her pet iguana live in it. After House Energy Doctor, Young realized how easy it would be to update her home.

"We would rather have our home be more efficient than more attractive," Young said.

Young did it right I think. Both her and her husband took their time to do the remodeling. As with any remodel project it can seem daunting but they did it over time.

This is consumerism at its most energy efficient. The Young's made their home energy efficient by spending about 10 to 15 thousand dollars over the past 10 years or so.

That's money into the economy but the right way.

Dr. Calfhoun said that although the program has been around since 1986 it is still the only program like it in the country.

Why has it taken everyone so long to catch on to such a positive thing? The audit is free if your home is picked. It's up to the homeowner to make any changes they want.

This just shows a way how remodeling your home can be eco-friendly and also affordable. Think about it next time you are at The Home Depot.

I just think it's so great there is a free service in town that people here in Tucson can use. It's the only one like it in the country and it's free. What could be better than not spending a dime on a prescription? You can't get that kind of deal at Walgreens. People should really try to take advantage of this unique program.

Nicky creates an organic shelf

My sister, Nicky is a celiac. It is a disease where her intestine and digestive system cannot properly digest gluten or any kind of wheat or barley. She has been trying to change her life for the past year and a half and she has had some slip ups. 1 in 133 Americans is affected by the disease according to celiac.org.

I didn't know that she really decided to take control of her life this week. She cleaned out all the food that she thought was making her sick and bought the food she knows does not. I know its hard for her because myself and my room mate do not suffer from the disease. There is constantly temptation around her and I know if I was struggling with something like this it would be hard for me to turn away from some of my favorite foods. I mean I practically live off of carbs.

She has really been an inspiration to me. There was a time when I used to joke about people who shopped in organic food markets. It wasn't until my sister truly needed to shop in a place like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods that I truly started to appreciate these retailers for their presence in the marketplace.



Going green and the emergence of the organic food industry has truly been beneficial to people's lives. I see it directly on my sister's face when it lights up when they have the special peanut butter or bread that she eats at the local Fry's or Albertson's. It's because of people caring more about the environment and what they put in their bodies that has forced the mainstream industry to recognize the need for organic products.

If you could see the look on my sister's face when she knows what she is eating is safe and won't make her sick, you would understand how much these sometimes seemingly unnecessary products can be.

Dolce and Bentley go green

I spend a lot of money and time at the pet store. Having two dogs living in the house, it's always a circus. So Dolce's food was getting pretty low so I went on a mission to help the environment while keeping the puppies' tails wagging. There is an entire line of organic pets products at Petsmart called Pet organics.These products are created by Nala Barry Labrotories.

They also stock a lot of food from a company called By Nature these foods are made with all natural and organic chicken and cornmeal.

I found if you really want to shop for your pets the organic way the best thing is to do it online. Organic food is just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to eco-friendly items for your best pals. Happypetorganics.com is a website carrying everything from pet cookies to specialty gifts for your canine companion.

I'm fairly certain Dolce and Bentley would just adore some Wild Game Jerky from the site or some of the Canine Confections that look good enough to give to my mother for Valentine's Day.


Organic pet toys can even be found. More easily for sure on the internet. Onlynaturalpet.com has some truly adorable ones. You can even buy Chinese herbal Remedies at the site, now I think that is going a little bit overboard, but hey, there must be some kind of market for it.

In the end though, I decided to settle on an organic version of the same food I used to feed Dolce. Sarah, the employee at Petsmart was nice enough to go get me a bag from the back. Although the food cost me an extra 2 dollars Sarah informed me that she feeds her dog the same thing and her dog loves it. Sarah told me there was no way Dolce would even be able to tell a difference when it came to taste. He does have a pretty discerning palate though, so it will just have to be a wait and see kind of thing.

It seems simple to me. If we are all trying to live this greener lifestyle it has to be echoed in all areas of our lives. Pets are an important part of my family. So why not let them have the fruits of the organic market?


ps, they both loved the stuff!

Grocery Store Green

I swear. I spend more of my life at the grocery store than anywhere else. This weekend's trip I decided I would shop with green on the brain.
Back story: I'm not very green minded, this is I will admit. I used to make fun of my sister for buying organic foods calling her a hippie. Armed with my grocery list I decided I would see just how brainless it is to go green.

So there I was, like I am often at the Fry's Food and Drug on Wetmore in Tucson. I need to leave the store with the following items: fruit, cleaner, coffee, chips, pop, salsa.

The great thing about Fry's is they have a whole section devoted to natural and organic foods. Needless to say it made it very easy to find the items I was looking for but friendlier to mother earth. The first thing I found was the cleaner. It was called Holy Cow Concentrated Cleaner. The bottle said I could use it all over the house. Plus- it came in pink, so I was on board. And at $7.99 a bottle, it replaces all of my cleaners and is nature friendly.

I can't start my day without a cup of joe. Again, in the natural and organic food section of Fry's I came across Caffe Sanora coffee. Now, it's a little pricey because you only get a small bag for $7.99 but, it's all about reducing my impact and making it easy.

Buying organic produce at Fry's is so easy. They clearly label which products are organic so all you have to do is look at the price to know if you are buying organic product. Turns out the organic bananas are only ten cents more a pound than the traditional bananas which if you think about it is easy, and not that much more expensive.

What's a life without Cheetos and Tostitos? Oh, right nothing. Luckily for me, the Frito Lay company makes it easy to buy natural products. I was able to easily find Tostitos made with organic cornmeal, and to my surprise some organic salsa right next to it. And to top it all off, it was on SALE! Yes!

Last, but not least, POP! I think Diet Coke runs in the veins of my room mate Julia and I. Now there is no real option to go green in this respect. When we finish our cans though we'll separate them and actually recycle.

Now I just have to get through the check-out line without buying any M & Ms. Going green is pretty easy. If a sometimes ditzy blonde like me can do it anyone can. It really doesn't take that much extra effort.