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	<title>House Plans.info &#187; self sufficient</title>
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		<title>Why so Big?</title>
		<link>http://www.houseplans.info/why-so-big/</link>
		<comments>http://www.houseplans.info/why-so-big/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Mar 2007 15:59:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>engjake</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Green Building Info.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[extreme makeover]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[green building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[home building]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[self sufficient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sustainable]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[So my little girls love to watch this show on ABC called &#8220;Extreme Makeover: Home Edition&#8221; Some of you may have heard about it. The idea behind the show is great, and it&#8217;s really neat to see people&#8217;s lives changed for the better. But i wonder sometimes if they go a little overboard with the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>So my little girls love to watch this show on ABC called &#8220;Extreme Makeover: Home Edition&#8221; Some of you may have heard about it. The idea behind the show is great, and it&#8217;s really neat to see people&#8217;s lives changed for the better. But i wonder sometimes if they go a little overboard with the homes. I know there is probably a lot network politics, influences to keep ratings, and advertisers probably determine some things as well. </p>
<p>Some of these families have had terrible tragedies, others are destitute, and some are both. I wonder if building them a smaller, nice home that was equipped with solar panels and/or other systems to make the home and family self sufficient might be better than just building them a huge home. A huge home comes with huge heating bills, power bills, higher taxes, more maintenance etc. Would it be better to help the family out by providing a nice home that is low on maintenance, taxes and energy costs be better for the family in the long term?</p>
<p>Just some thoughts for anyone at ABC that may read this [doubtful]. Either way, it&#8217;s a neat program and wonderful that they are able to help so many families in need. And I guess many of them now have fund raisers to help pay off the mortgage, or help give the family a nest egg to help them out in the future.  And, if the homes weren&#8217;t as big and spacious, the ratings might not be as good. Still, i&#8217;d like to see them build a modest, modern and self sufficient home for someone, sometime.</p>
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