Source: Mariah Tauger, Los Angeles Times

Kendrick Harris, a high school dropout who has been homeless and jobless, has had more pressing things to worry about than the environment. But in the last year the 22-year-old South Los Angeles resident has planted community gardens, cleaned up abandoned industrial sites and learned how to install solar panels. Harris is one of 200 local residents taking part in an innovative program designed to help bridge a green divide.  Many residents of low-income neighborhoods say they’ve been left out of the environmental movement and that clean-tech businesses are avoiding urban neighborhoods while they pitch green advances elsewhere. That frustration has given rise to an “environmental justice” movement encouraging homegrown, grass-roots industry. Click here to learn more about this urban green movement!

Source: Bill Haber, Associated Press

50 homes have been completed so far in the Make it Right development, spearheaded by actor Brad Pitt, which aims to incorporate renewable energy and efficiency into every element of design. Similarly, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s Global Green project in the Lower Ninth Ward’s Holy Cross neighborhood has five low-energy homes. And the Pontchartrain Park Neighborhood Association, organized by actor Wendell Pierce, also is aiming to rebuild with solar and geothermal energy in every home. Making use of Louisiana’s new incentives for renewable energy—among the best in the country—the projects aim to show that the up-front effort and investment in clean energy will pay dividends for the community, and for the individual homeowners, for years to come. Click here to read more about this green development project and how it is helping to revive a devastated area.

Source: Jay DeChesere

One of the nation’s greenest home rehabs — in Wilmington, N.C. — has perhaps a surprising origin: the housing market’s collapse. When Jay DeChesere’s parents recently moved into an independent living facility, he tried but couldn’t sell their home. So he and wife Heather bought it and set out to showcase eco-friendly renovation. He didn’t just change light bulbs or faucets. He took the house down to the studs, creating an ultra-efficient home that has earned one of the highest points (113.5) ever for a gut rehab from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. Click here to read all about this extreme green home remodel!