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Inside: What is Green Building? An Overview |
This Edition: June 2009 |
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Smart design and sound construction practices combine to create a house that is beautiful, comfortable, and inexpensive to maintain. Designed by Flesher + Foster Architecture, photo by Rick Pharaoh.
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What is Green Building? An Overview |
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 “Sustainable development involves meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
(Earth Summit, Rio De Janero, 1992)
“By making smarter choices about how you build and the products you use, you can significantly contribute to the health, wealth and well-being of yourself, your family, your community, and the world.”
(GreenBuildingBlocks.com)
As green building becomes more main-stream, we are inundated with more and more information about what “green” is. Wherever you are hearing about green practices, be it through the media or discussions with friends and acquaintances, it is likely that you are hearing confusing or contradictory information.
With this in mind, I think it is useful to review the basic terms. The notion of green building (or the green economy, or the green anything) is based on the concept of sustainability. A sustainable system is one that can go on forever, where the inputs are renewable and their acquisition doesn’t degrade the related environment.
So, the movement toward green products and methods reflects a widespread recognition that we can’t go on doing things the way we (as a society) have done them in the past. With between six and seven billion people on Earth (and growing), and our radically increased ability to consume resources via industrial processes, it was only a matter of time before we were going to have to rethink and retool.
Green building is our industry“s response to finding ourselves at this peculiar point in human history. To help you sort out whether a particular proposed practice or product is legitimate vs. “green washing,” here is a short list of the main things to consider when pondering how green something is:
- Energy and Atmosphere – How much energy went into the production and shipping of that product? Did the company who manufactured it use renewable energy sources? Do they work diligently to reduce energy usage? Was it shipped from far away (using more energy) or was it made close to where you will use it? If it is an electronic or other energy-using device, how much energy will it use during its lifetime? Is it efficient relative to its substitutes? These questions impact the “carbon footprint” of that item and your decision to purchase it. The over-arching idea is to choose ways of fulfilling your needs that use as little fossil fuel and other non-renewable resource as possible.
- Materials and Resources – as with energy, the main idea is to limit the use of materials that are non-renewable, or that carry a large carbon footprint, or are extracted in a way that does a lot of damage to natural systems. In our industry, as an example, we are trying to incorporate as much engineered lumber as possible, because it can be made out of smaller, less mature trees – which are much more available and replaceable than mature trees. Use of products that incorporate recycled content can be a high-benefit way of choosing products that do less damage to the environment. Another important consideration is how the product will be disposed of. Can it be recycled or easily re-enter the world system after its use? Or, is it full of toxins that will make it difficult to re-introduce to the rest of the world? Which leads me to my next point…
- Toxins and Indoor Air Quality – In the past, it has been common practice to introduce many products into construction that contain toxins that will “off-gas” into your home, potentially affecting your health. And after the useful life of the product, that toxicity will have to be dealt with as that product returns to some other part of the environment.
- Water Conservation – I add this because a) water is so precious in our region, and its availability is going to affect our lives here more and more in the very near future, and b) there is an important link between water conservation and energy conservation.
I know this is a lot to consider but I hope the foregoing will help you sort out what “green” really means. And, as ever, if you have any questions or wish to discuss some point further please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!
– Rob
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Over the last couple of years I have gone from recognizing that many of the “standard practices” in our industry needed revising, to trying to be part of the solution in changing those practices. Going from working inside my own company to reaching out to various stakeholders in the construction process – building officials, local government workers and leaders, industry groups, business advocacy groups, other business owners, materials manufacturers – has, at times, left me feeling overwhelmed and in need of inspiration.
For those of you who have ever felt overwhelmed or in need of re-affirming “why you do it” I would like to recommend a book called Soul of a Citizen; Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time. It was written by Paul Rogat Loeb, who is an associate scholar at Seattle’s Center for Ethical Leadership, has published several other books, and is a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other periodicals on the subject of social involvement. This excerpt will give you an idea of the thesis of the book:
“In the personal realm, most Americans are thoughtful, caring, generous…But increasingly, a wall now separates each of us from the world outside, and from others who’ve likewise taken refuge in their own private sanctuaries. We’ve all but forgotten that public participation is the very soul of democratic citizenship, and how much it can enrich our lives.
However, the reason for our wholesale retreat from social involvement is not, I believe, that most of us feel all is well with the world…what leaves too many of us sitting on the sidelines is not only a lack of understanding of the complexities of our world. It’s not only an absence of readily apparent ways to begin or resume public involvement…we need to believe that our individual involvement is worthwhile, that what we might do in the public sphere will not be in vain.”
Reading this book helped me articulate why I was making this effort and helped me understand how powerful my actions could be. I hope you will read it. Also, I have several copies to lend. If you would like to borrow a copy, let me know.
– Rob
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| Interested in inexpensive ways to green your home? |
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Find out how |
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| Monthly meeting of the USGBC Monterey Bay Branch |
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| June 3, 5:30-8 p.m., Moss Landing Marine Labs |
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For more information |
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| “How Green Leadership Can Help Grow Your Business”, monthly meeting of NARI Monterey County |
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| June 10, 5:30-7 p.m, at Hayward Lumber, Pacific Grove. RSVP at 384-1500 |
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| Plug-In Hybrid EV Charging Network meeting |
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| June 11, 10-12, at IBEW Local 234, 10300 Merritt St., Castroville |
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| Kohler’s “Save Water America” event |
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| June 13, 10-4, at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen, & Lighting Gallery in Seaside |
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For more information |
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| “Greening Stormwater Runoff Around Your Home” |
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| June 20, 9-12, at Capitola City Hall, 464-2950 |
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For more information |
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| A MESSAGE FROM ROB |
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 I know that with our busy lives, it is difficult to process all of the information we are bombarded with on a daily basis. It seems to me even worse than usual right now as “the green revolution” comes to mass consciousness. I have spent a lot of my time the last few years trying to become fluent in what were previously relatively foreign concepts. Despite my best efforts, I often still have trouble slowing down long enough to really wrap my brain around some new concept that I am just hearing about. So, I thought this month I would review some of the basic concepts and offer a book review that really helped me refocus. I hope you find it useful!
Best Regards,
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Carmel Building & Design offers a complete home building experience from start to finish, including design, drafting, permitting, project management, and construction, and has been building quality homes on the Monterey Peninsula since 1992. Robert Nicely, President of Carmel Building & Design, studied art at U.C. Davis and has over 20 years of experience in the construction industry. His rare combination of technical expertise and artistic sensibility allow him to provide a unique and highly successful experience for his clients. At the heart of his training and experience is a zeal for quality craftsmanship and great design. His staff includes highly skilled construction managers, job supervisors, and carpenters whose goal is complete customer satisfaction.
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