Books & Music...

While recently shopping for a house, I was shocked at how often developers throw around the word "green" as if it's as simple to do as saying replacing tile over laminate. What I really discovered was that developers were using the word "green" because it's a buzzword in our culture, not because it truly meant anything. It was just another marketing ploy. Double-paned windows are good, but as Yoda would say, "A green house it does not make."

A friend of mine recently finished the most gorgeous green home I've ever seen. He and his builder attempted to create the highest-rated LEED home in the state. While the final inspection has yet to reveal if they reached their goal, I received a crash course in understanding what green building is truly all about.

If you're interested in this topic, David Johnston and Scott Gibson's book Green from the Ground Up is a must read. It's written for builders, but buyers need to read it so they don't get the wool pulled over their eyes by slick developers who do just barely enough to call something green when in reality they're jacking the price up and selling you short. Here's an excerpt from the book explaining what green building really is:

At its most basic, green building is a tripod of three interrelated goals:

Energy efficiency, the cornerstone of any green building project. A well-designed and green-built home consumes as little energy as possible and uses renewable sources of energy whenever possible. Lower energy use not only saves homeowners money but also has broader societal benefits, including fewer disruptions in energy supplies, better air quality, and reduced global climate change.

Conservation of natural resources. Conventional building needlessly consumes large quantities of wood, water, metal, and fossil fuels. There are great varieties of effective building strategies that conserve natural resources and provide other benefits, such as lower costs. Strategies include the use of durable products to reduce waste and specify recycled-content products that reuse natural resources.

Indoor air quality. Poor indoor air quality is often caused by mold and mildew that are the result of leaks or poorly designed and maintained heating and cooling systems. Another common source of indoor air pollution is the off-gassing of chemicals found in many building materials. Some are known carcinogens.