Semi-permanent floating homes may be the future in Coastal areas.

The Netherlands, which for years has fought the encroaching ocean, is now considering how to embrace the waters in future city design, Reuters reports.

A number of prototypes for floating cities are being considered. Indeed, the Netherlands may well become a laboratory for such thinking.

A goal is to be able to remove or relocate a building without harming the surrounding environment; the ultimate in sustainability.

Watch Reuters video here.

What is your carbon footprint?

What is your carbon footprint? Huh, you ask? What is a carbon footprint and why should I care?

• What - Carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse gases we individually produce in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
• Why care - Two reasons: 1) Fossil fuels are limited - they are being used faster than they are formed (formation takes millions of years!), so they are referred to as non-renewable. 2) The rate we are burning fossil fuels is twice the rate that natural processes can only absorb, resulting in a net increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases that contributes to global warming. (Why care about global warming, you ask? That's another discussion....)

So, how do you figure out what your carbon footprint is and how to reduce it? Being a database techie geek, I found three notable website calculators, ranked by my preference:
#1 http://www.thecarbonaccount.com/
Easy to navigate. Definite cool factor.
#2 http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
Easy, big buttons.
#3 http://www.earthlab.com/carbonProfile/LiveEarth.htm?ver=14
Clumsy, but good tips.