If you, like me, own a co-op apartment *, you may wonder, as I do, how to make the building more ecologically sound. It's a topic I hope to explore often here on WorldChanging NYC.

Apartment co-ops are a common form of home ownership in the metro area, not often seen in other parts of the U.S. By its very nature apartment living is less taxing on natural resources than other kinds of communities: apartment buildings fit a lot of people into a smaller amount of land, and use less energy overall, than communities composed of single-family homes. But many NYC-area apartment buildings are upwards of a century old (mine dates from 1920), and the wiring, heating, and water systems may not be a whole lot younger.

Those of use who'd like to walk our green talk right where we live (and in ways that have a bigger positive impact on the world at large than changing a few personal habits within our own apartments) face some formidable challenges that owners of free-standing homes do not. A co-op's building is held in common ownership, so making almost any change to how things work entails rallying the many parties involved -- the management company that oversees operations, fellow shareholders, the co-op board, and of course the very influential building super -- behind goals that may seem pretty crunchy granola to the average New Yorker. Sometimes these measures are more expensive in the short term than the same-old same old, and are seldom supported by current housing regulations.

Making greener choices about the kinds of products we use inside our own apartments is a good step, especially for our own health and self-regard. But bigger impacts will come a lot faster with more fundamental changes -- like using something other than fossil fuel to power the building's boiler.

So: solar power and the co-op. In today's edition of The New York Times real estate section, the weekly Q&A feature asks, "Are there any laws governing the installation of solar panels in New York City? If our board refuses to install a buildingwide system, can I install a personal unit on our rooftop?" [Link]

According to the co-op legal expert consulted by The Times, "there are no laws in New York City that require a property owner or board to allow the installation of solar panels." And, the co-op board has the right to forbid any installations of anything at all in or on common areas of the co-op, which include the roof.

So some questions come to mind: Are there solar systems out there that can be draped outside one's own window, or off a private balcony or deck? How do you channel the juice they generate into your own apartment's electrical systems? And are there any co-ops in the city that are installing solar or other forms of clean energy?

If you have ideas or knowledge, share it in the comments.

I know that my overhead has crept up steadily for the past few years, as the price of heating and powering the building has risen, and would love to hear more about how other co-ops might be pulling this off -- the costs, the community organizing, all of it.

* For extra-regional readers, a NYC-area co-op is a "housing corporation," in which each apartment is allocated a particular number of shares based on its size and amenities. When you buy an apartment in a co-op, you are actually buying those shares. In turn, you have voting rights equivalent to that number of shares when changes are proposed to the co-op's operating rules. Co-op shareholders pay a monthly "maintenance charge" which covers costs such as the building super's salary, centrally-supplied heat, repairs to common assets, and annual property taxes.