Some people get rich by creating good things, and they support many people. But some people -- they used to be called robber barons -- succeed at others' expense. So just as wealth isn't necessarily bad, "efficiency" isn't necessarily good.

"I don't know if I could have a car without a bed in it." San Francisco artist Jay Nelson has put beds into nearly every vehicle he's ever owned, including a semi-totalled Honda Civic (bought for $200) and a tiny rowboat (found on Craigslist).

The open-style house had five bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a loft-turned-rumpus-room that was the ideal rainy-day space for the couple's three active boys. But as soon as the youngest had gone off to college, they sold the place.

He builds small and he works with a micro-budget. His Gottagiddaway AKA "$100 homeless hut" was built for about that.

What is an appropriate number of square feet per person to live comfortably yet sustainably?

I know many successful boomers who are now moping around their 8 to 12,000-foot monuments to capitalism. But has America's long-standing love affair with this type of -- not very green -- home finally run its course?

In 2010, Americans will look for ways to save a penny or two, and with a few years of practice under their belts they'll get more thrifty. We'll see the following green trends emerge in 2010.

Here are five common-sense ways in which Americans will reduce residential energy consumption this year.