For those who missed seeing this on the news (grin) there is a student competition on the Mall in Washington D.C. this week.  Some 18 colleges have brought houses to the Mall and re-erected them for the competition.  Not only must the solar panels power the house (including fridge, hot water, air conditioning etc) but it must also power an electric car.  One might say it is a little more immediately practical than the solar car race that DOE also sponsors.  

At present Colorado appears to be winning the competition.  I won't get there until Sunday (for another meeting) so will miss seeing them before they are disassembled, but for those who have the chance, it may give you the ability to see what sort of a lifestyle we may have to adapt to in the not-to-distant future.  And, to be honest, apart from being a little cramped it is not all that bad. But go and judge for yourself.  ("Cos, since we are not winning, ol' grump here thinks they may be scoring aesthetics a bit too high, relative to efficiency).