Part 1 of the coverage: http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/02/214476.php

Above: a solar collector in the back of the Eco-Home, which has been in place since 1982.

Julia of Eco-Home told us that this system has been in place since 1982. She made a juxtaposition between solar systems and cars. Both are costly investments upfront, but with a car, you keep spending more and more money to maintain it. Whereas solar panels become increasingly economically advantageous, over time.

These batteries are charged by solar during the day and power the Eco-Home at night.

As soon as this picture was being taken, it began to rain. It was thus decided to truncate our tour.

Liz (not pictured) explained that this "SUV" carries 60 pounds on each side.

“If I want to go to Whole Foods, or Trader Joes—or even Ralphs—I can carry a heck of a lot of things in this, and I don’t feel it,” she said. “I have all kinds of accoutrements and accessories, and people in L.A. love accessories. [T]he bicycle is something that people can accessorize and personalize. . . . I can carry lumber, I’ve got trailers.

“Also, a lot of us want to be stars out there, we’re in L.A., and this is a great vehicle to be that shining star. Now this looks kind of "homeless." right now. We’re going to update so that we don’t look homeless. One of things that we built is called the teardrop trailer, and that’s on our site.”

Liz leads the tour on her bicycle well-equipped with sound.