The world of luxury eco-friendly housing was shattered this week by the news of the arson fires at the Street of Dreams homes in Snohomish County, Washington. The five homes were part of what's called a "rural cluster development" and were built "five star BuiltGreen" standards. The homes were all unoccupied and listed for sale at prices from approximately $1.6 to $.19 million. The Seattle Times reports that federal investigators are trying to determine whether a group of radical environmentalists known as the Earth Liberation Front, are responsible for the fires. A spraypainted message from the ELF was left at the scene. It said: Built Green? Nope black! McMansions in RCDs r not green. ELF." Law-enforcement officials wonder if the fires were timed to coincide with jury deliberations in the trial of an alleged ELF member accused of a previous fire.

Monday's fires did $7 million total in damages. The homes had a variety of "green" features such as energy-efficient appliances, native-plant landscaping, high-efficiency insulation and the use of recycled materials. The homes had video-surveillance systems and alarms but they were turned off because they weren't consider to be needed and the homes were for sale and real estate agents were concerned about setting off the alarms.