I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating: You can’t really call a home environmentally friendly if it’s the size of a small country.

For years, the size of the average U.S. house has grown. But a story by Stephen Gandel on CNNMoney.com, which you can read here, says that a combination of rising fuel costs, an aging population and a growing environmental movement may result in the opposite: Our average homes may soon be getting smaller.