When Building Green Ain’t so Green

Look at the web site for the next green builder you see on TV or in the daily paper. Does the site show plans for a home with trees and no parking garage? Or, is it another house plan that tells you how many cars the garage will hold and says nothing about trees?

Many green architects and builders are doing their best to create environmentally friendly homes. But most have a narrow focus on eco-techniques. They rarely understand that current construction is actually making environmental problems worse.



Politicians who promote green building are not helping. Their bandwagon jumping indicates they are not seriously concerned with global warming. US building practices in the early 21st century will probably increase CO2 emissions rather than reduce them.

Wasted energy in homes deserves far more than the shallow attention it is receiving. An estimated 43% of US energy goes to buildings. [1] The average US homes devotes 51% of its energy to heating and 4% to cooling. [2] Over 90% of energy is produced in nasty ways (coal, oil, gas and nukes) that attack human health, lay waste to ecosystems, and release greenhouse gases.

ZNet