While green building and environmentally consciousness slowly catches on across the U.S., Masdar City (in the United Arab Emirates) is leading the way in sustainability by becoming the world’s first carbon neutral city.

Located outside the city of Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is six square kilometers and it’s  part-habitation, part-science experiment. Construction of the project started in 2006. When finished, the city will rely 100 percent on solar energy while providing space for 45,000 to 50,000 citizens and 1,500 businesses. So far, buildings have been strategically erected around perimeter of the city to block hot desert winds while solar panels have been built to create a canopy that shades parts of the city.

To get around, citizens will rely on electric vehicle and mass transit railways. The city will utilize a solar-powered desalination plan for water management. Biological waste will be used as fertilizer or incinerated while plastic and metal materials will go through recycling streams.

Domestically, while we’re thinking about simpler ways to live green by using energy efficient appliances and building materials, a city on the other side of the globe plans to limit its carbon footprint to zero.

Now, that’s inspirational.

Today’s post is the second in our series of Link Love posts, showing off some of our favorite recent reads from aroudn the Web.

My Carbon-Neutral Day
Michelle Kaufmann
Michelle is a home designer committed to “clean, simple living.” She recently wrote about her Earth Day project to reduce, as much as possible, her personal carbon footprint for one day. She didn’t eliminate it, but she made a big dent and plans to stay as close as possible to her smaller footprint throughout the year. Michelle will also plant trees to offset the carbon emissions she can’t do away with. An interesting read that includes links to footprint estimating tools.

Q&A: What Tax Credits Can I Get for Fixing Up My Home?
Kathy’s Remodeling Blog
This post has all sorts of details about how you can get some great tax-credit action for making some changes around the house — some big and some small. Kathy even includes links to the forms you need to use to apply for the credits! Among them: up to $1,500 for installing qualifying energy-efficient windows and doors (something for which many Marvin products qualify, by the way).

Building a Great Gazebo
This Old House
Five pages of planning and set up tips — and a slideshow of 11 photos — just might change the way you think about these outdoor structures.

Slideshow: A Look at Dining Rooms
Dwell
It’s from Dwell, so you can be pretty sure it includes photos that’ll make you drool a bit and hopefully inspire you to do something special with your own dining room. More than just eye candy, this slideshow includes links to full articles about each of the featured spaces.

Photo courtesy of Didier Vidal on Flickr