I'm writing in response to May's article about Zero Energy Homes ("A Zero Energy Home for the Rest of Us").

This is a nicely written article; however the headline is wrong. During the last energy crisis in the 70s dozens of zero energy (and some closed cycle) houses were built under $200,000 all over the country. Most State departments of Energy have documentation about these houses and most are still zero-energy today, which is very impressive as these houses need extensive maintenance to stay functioning. While of course material costs are more expensive now than in the 70s, technology costs have gone down.

It would be nice to see some documentation of the history of zero energy houses. And again, closed-cycle houses are even more impressive through time — and the zero energy house numbers produced correlated to energy prices.

Please pay attention — there are lots of us builders who did this in the mid-70s who are still building today. This is a "been-there, done that" for all of us, not a first for Mr. McKown. He certainly did a nice job, no question, and a valuable service. It's just not a first.

Kricket Smith-Gary, Lawrenceburg, Ky.

Anthony Trella of Deerfield Beach, Fla., makes use of several facts (Letters, May 2006) supposedly concerning development in the U.S. that may or may not be correct. He and the development industry at large seem to have been blindsided by the emerging fact: a future of higher energy costs.

Energy costs are going to inflate exponentially over the coming months and years. This is going to fundamentally change the lifestyle and land-use patterns of our country and the world. Builders and developers who realize this will have a step ahead of the competition.

Author and social critic James Howard Kunstler recently wrote: "One day soon, America will wake up from its infotainment-fueled sleepwalk and start desperately looking for answers to the predicament it finds itself in. A lot of that will revolve around the basic question of where we live and how things in it are arranged."

Trella may wish he had followed the New Urbanists development design when this new reality sets in. Kunstler said: "When that wake-up occurs, the New Urbanists will be ready, reliable, confident and congenial as always — something like our country used to be."

Good luck. We are going to need it for what is coming.

Steve Blackham, Centerville, Utah

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