Paint the white picket fence green, perhaps. A recent Yahoo! survey on home ownership found that one of the most desirable aspects of U.S. consumers’ “dream home” was energy efficiency. Whilst I personally find home ownership to be more of an American nightmare, the Yahoo! survey found that 81% of respondents do in fact cite home ownership as part of the so-called American dream, and 50% of respondents cited “green or energy efficient” as one of the top features of their dream home. Additionally, “60% of those in the market [for a new home] say that green/energy-efficient appliances are amenities they’d like to have in their next home; 27% of those in the market say that looking for a greener, more energy-efficient home is a significant reason they want a new home.” They conclude: “The Yahoo! Real Estate Home Horizons study indicates that 2012 is the year that demand for green homes, energy-efficient appliances and low-carbon impact home building materials reaches a tipping point in America.” Mmm...maybe. What people admit in a survey and what they ultimately end up doing are very often two separate things, but it's reassuring that at least these things are on folks' radars.