Laura and I, and an aircraft carrier in the background!My name is Justin Stewart. My wife and I took over this website after an unfortunate accident involving the website's founder, Jay Fretz. Jay was struck and killed by an SUV while bicycling on his way home after work. He had given up his car two years earlier to commute to work to reduce his carbon footprint. Jay started this website as a way to share ideas on reducing ones carbon footprint, especially around the house. My wife, Laura, and I plan to continue in his spirit and spread his message the best we can, yet at the same time make this into a growing community that shares ideas with each other to improve the eco-friendliness of everyone.

We both live in College Station, TX right now, while Laura gets her Masters in Wildlife at Texas A & M University. Laura is a wildlife biologist that studies birds, and has worked with such birds as Willow Flycatchers, Yellow-Billed Cuckoos, Bald Eagles, and currently Golden Cheeked Warblers. She is also studying an infectious tree disease called Oak Wilt, that is prominent here in Texas. I graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a Bachelor or Arts in Interdisciplinary Humanities with a specialization in Film and Arts Management. We both hail from Michigan, myself Metro-Detroit and Laura from the Grand Rapids side of the state. We moved to Tempe, Arizona and lived there for four and half years before moving to College Station. That is where we met Jay. I have always been passionate about the environment but it wasn't until I met Laura that it took me up one level, and until I met Jay that it took me up another level regarding conservation and conservation techniques, especially at a local level. I am currenly experimenting with organic urban gardening, and loving it! Hopefully this blog will help out everyone and continue Jay's message loud and clear! Thanks for reading!

Below is Jay's original about me message:

"My name is Jay Fretz.  I've been a homeowner in Tempe, AZ for 10 years.  I've been steadily improving my home's energy efficiency and comfort since moving in with my girlfriend, Angie, in 1999.  We've since married and have a four year old daughter, Anika.  There's nothing like parenthood to awaken one's desire to clean up the environment and leave a habitable planet for future generations.  And there's nothing like a "Great Recession" to awaken one's desire to send less of our money to our electric utility! 

It is with these goals in mind that we decided to share our knowledge with others who can benefit from it.  We also want to learn! Home Energy Xperts is the name of our business and web site, but we hope to gather a community of experts together, in order to save money and help save the planet.

I hope you'll join us."