Sustainable Solutions

Today with the volume of recycled material collected, most of it is accumulating in ever growing mountains at recycling repositories. Fortunately, some material gets ultimately reused in new products or newspapers. Increasingly, recycled material is being incorporated into building material. If you live in a newer home you may be living with some of those products already.

What Are Green Buildings? Building green embodies a wide range of issues and products. Green buildings are more resource efficient, often using 1/2 as much wood for the same structural functions. They have cleaner indoor air quality, without volatile organic compounds (VOC's) being outgassed into the indoor environment. They use recycled content building materials. They are energy efficient, often using passive solar designs and renewable energy. Many use 50% less energy than their conventional counterparts. The waste from the construction process is recycled as much as possible, some of which is made into other building products. They use less water, inside and out. Most of all, green buildings offer an exciting, sustainable alternative to the home buying public.

Why Is This Happening Now? A few overlooked statistics can help to understand the issue:

• Buildings use 35% of the nation's energy each year.
• 40% of the raw materials produced annually go into buildings.
• 25-30% of landfills are consumed with construction and demolition waste.

Obviously, an opportunity exists to reduce all those numbers which is in the collective best interests of the nation. A confluence of events has brought about this national phenomenon. In the US, environmental awareness has grown tremendously over the last decade. The advent of global warming and acid rain has brought the reality of our collective influence on the atmosphere into our everyday thinking. Buildings contribute 35% of the gasses that cause the greenhouse effect.

Recently a Roper poll revealed that 79% of Americans consider themselves environmentalists. This is evidenced by the rapid growth of recycling in communities across the country. Five years ago, 30% of communities had recycling programs. Now, over 70% have municipal recycling programs. In the last decade, 7 times more stuff has been recycled. Americans want to participate in creating a healthier environment.

Also becoming apparent is that there is no "there" to dump our waste. The landfills across the country are closing, the ocean is becoming toxic, air quality is a constant issue, and a prevailing attitude of "not in my backyard" is growing. Nobody wants a new solid waste repository in their community.

Why a Green Home? Buying a green home or remodeling with green materials insures a healthier home in which to raise children. A green home helps the environment both in the resource efficient materials it uses and by being more energy efficient overall. Green building reduces the need to cut down ancient forests for building materials. Wise homebuyers are asking their builders and remodelers how green their home is. Why? A green home not only saves money every month by being more energy efficient but it is a good investment. It's not just another home on the resale market, it has an environmental story to tell that will just keep on getting more important, and keep appreciating year after year.

David Johnston is the president of What's Working, a consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado specializing in Environmental Construction Technology for builders and homeowners. He is the author of the book, "Building Green in a Black and White World".