No More Electric Bills? Zero-Energy Homes - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com
Aug. 15, 2005 issue - Nicholas and Loan Gatai used to cringe when they received power bills that routinely topped $200. Last September the Sacramento, Calif., couple moved into a new, 1,500-square-foot home in Premier Gardens, a subdivision of 95 “zero-energy homes” just outside town. Now they’re actually eager to see their electric bills. The grand total over the 10 months they’ve lived in the three-bedroom, stucco-and-stone house: $75. For the past two months they haven’t paid a cent.

How Artists Can Skip the Offline Middleman
New, Web-based production and distribution models give entrepreneurs–creative or not–ways to bypass traditional companies and turn a profit

Last year, New Jersey indie rockers Maybe Pete released their debut CD Between the City and the Stratosphere. However, when it was time to make a full-length album, the group didn’t pursue a recording deal with one of the big music labels or even one of the boutique independent companies

Michael Franti got his guitar, then headed to Iraq. Any requests for anti-war music?
No one can accuse Michael Franti of armchair activism.

When U.S. and British troops invaded Iraq three years ago, lots of musicians spoke out with songs, letters and freshly peeled bumper stickers. But the lead singer of the Bay Area soul-funk group Spearhead handled the situation in his own typical way. He turned off CNN, grabbed a guitar and started pricing tickets to Baghdad.

“I knew I wasn’t getting the whole truth on TV,” he says. “I wanted to see with my own eyes what was going on there.”