The lucky man who actually gets to sit in this amazing Treetop Office is the designer itself — Peter Frazier, a custom experience consultant who chiseled out this monumental office amongst the trees above Chuckanut Bay in Bellingham, Washington.

This lofted cube serves as an office and a guest room (who would not want to be his guest) with a green roof atop. And not only does it look stunning, it’s also doing its little deed to protecting the environment as Peter doesn’t need to commute while his office won’t pollute.

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I was the first one in my neighborhood to get solar panels. That was when I lived in Japan and more than 20+ years ago. I wonder if I can be the first one in Sunnyvale (home to Yahoo) to have a wind turbine on the roof of my house. I wonder if I want to be the first person to have a wind turbine on house.

Image by stuant63

Home wind turbines are coming and in many cases are already here. But, in truth, call me shortsighted but if I live in a place where it’s windy enough for me to get the benefit of a whirlygig on my house, I think I might want to move. Perhaps if I lived alone out in the middle of a field in the middle of the plains of Oklahoma, or on a mountain top or, or…

About the only real reason I can think of someone wanting a wind turbine on their house would be the ‘cool factor.’ And what about noise? And they have to be big enough to really get some power generated out of them…and, and…

Am I really being too shortsighted here? I can’t see the forest for the wind turbines.

Generating electricity by harnessing the power of the wind in the most stylish possible way, here’s another rooftop wind turbine that offers a cost effective energy source for domestic, community and industrial use.

Designed by Cascade Engineering to be environmentally  sustainable, the Swift Wind Turbine uses a variety of patented technologies that makes it both safe and silent, and has a very sleek aspect. As for how effective it is, in just four years it becomes carbon and energy positive.

Aesthetically pleasing, the wind turbine is suited for both urban and suburban settings, and features a system that makes it easy to install and operate for every user. Here are more specs about it:

• Blade/Ring Diameter: 7 feet
• Minimum clearance from roofline: 2 feet
• Rated power output: 1.5kW @ 14 m/s
• Annual Power Supplied: up to 2000 kWh
• Electric power: 240VAC, 60Hz output voltage
• Noise: less than 35 decibels for all wind speeds
• Quiet mast mounting technology eliminates unwanted vibration to building/home

[SWT via DesignBoom]

It may sound weird, but a new bill in Hawaii was signed into law by Republican Governor, Linda Lingle. It refers to new homes and says that no building permits will be issued unless the new homes don’t include solar water heaters. However, there will be exceptions to the rule, for example if the area doesn’t allow too much sunshine.

Image by Rich Lem

Presented five years ago by State Sen. Gary Hooser, vice chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, when the oil barrel was costing a mere $40, Hawaii is the first state to take such decision.

Judging on the state’s dependency on imported fossil fuels which is higher than any other state, it seems like a very good choice.

“It’s abundantly clear that we need to take some serious action to protect Hawaii because we’re so dependent on oil,” Hooser said. “I’m very pleased the governor is recognizing the importance of this bill and the huge public benefits that come out of it.”

Though the energy-saving systems are a great solution to a greener environment and because of the high oil prices, I’d be very interested to know if there will be any incentives for those that install their rooftop solar panels or is it just “law enforcement”? I’m tempted to say Good Job Hawaii! Do you?