Why aren't we doing this today?

It's been a long time since I've posted, and a lot of it is because there are so many other good sources and to be honest, I've been having my own energy crisis which has made posting exhausting as well.

One of these sources is the excellent blog "Atlantic Cities" part of the Atlantic Magazine which talks about urban and hence, transportation and energy issues. One of the more popular articles is about a NIST project that has created a suburban home that is net-zero energy wise. The much beleaguered "sacrifice" that market people worry about are't there.

What is amazing about this is that many of the technologies used are available in consumer retail outlets. This means that contractors can readily obtain the materials. If there is any thing that we need to do to revitalize the economy it would be to invest in the retrofitting of American households to be more energy efficient, it would lead to greater energy independence and provide hammer ready jobs today. It would also be relatively risk free, there doesn't have to be a Solyndra risk.

The question that is begged, if this is possible, why is there not more discussion about this today?

What am I missing?