Photos: Green buildings for the rest of us

Around the neighborhood, I'm known as the "green guy," always happy to explain the difference between solar electricity and solar hot water. In honor of Earth Day, I've assembled a photo gallery with some tips on how to green up your home, from electronics to fuels, without hiring an architect.

What's this? Rabbit food? Well, not exactly. It's my fuel--pellets, made from compressed sawdust. Pellet producers and stove vendors say that pellets are "green fuel" because you are recycling a waste product of mills and furniture factories.

But is it actually green, renewable energy? Generally, yes because you are using a waste product from a resource that can be grown sustainably--forests. The stoves themselves burn very clean and don't give off unhealthy smoke as old-fashioned wood stoves do. And everyone loves a fire in the hearth.