Warren Buffet's company, Berkshire Hathaway, has bought a green building company that produces well-designed, energy efficient manufactured homes for the developed world - what the company that makes them, Clayton Homes, calls an "i-house".  The house was featured at his annual shareholders meeting in Omaha on May 2-3.  Clayton Homes is the nation's largest manufactured home company; last year they built about a third of all manufactured homes sold in the U.S.    

The i-house roof supports solar panels and provides a rainwater catchment system for recycling; the Energy Star-rated design features "heavy insulation, six-inch-thick exterior walls, concrete board and corrugated metal siding, energy efficient appliances, a tankless water heater, dual-flush toilets and lots of "low-e" glazed windows", according to the AP in an article in the Lakeland, Florida Ledger.  Cost for the house will be $100 to $130 per sq. ft., depending on the configuration, less than half of what it would cost to build on-site.  Buyers can design their home online.  A 1000 sq.ft. home would cost about $140,000.

Innovation to the rescue here at home too.