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Green building is a term that refers to methods that reduce resources used and improve quality of life in manufacturing, transporting, constructing and operating a building. Green building professionals improve our homes and businesses through specification and execution of responsible building products and building methods that use far less energy and improve the quality of buildings. This is achieved through choices made in the following areas:
• Energy and atmosphere – homes at the top levels of efficiency sip small amounts of energy and often have renewable energy production on-site. Examples of efficient applications include super-insulation, geothermal energy, passive energy techniques, and solar energy installations. Many of these techniques deliver a return on investment from day one.
• Sustainable building sites and orientations – designs and building practices that work with a building site so that the building becomes a part of the natural flow of water and wildlife on the landscape.
• Material resources – encompasses using materials extracted from as close to the source of building as possible, recycling and recycled materials, and ultimately, building smaller structures with flexible spaces.
• Water systems – designs and building practices that decrease water use through more efficient plumbing techniques and recycling water.
• Indoor air quality – designs and building practices that make for cleaner interior environments, more natural and healthy products.
Many of the choices builders are presented with are not cut-and-dry decisions. Some materials may use more energy in production, but have a longer life cycle. Other materials may be green in one location, but a poor application somewhere else. A goal of local green building networks is to find methods and materials that work in Southeastern Michigan, helping homeowners to have choices in making a more efficient, healthier home.
Almost every structure built in the twentieth century was designed without attention to conserving energy. Today, those who build green believe it is a moral imperative to think differently than we did in the last century. We must cherish our remaining resources with regard for future generations. If we are to live on this Earth, we must use clean energy and products, and re-generate the living systems that support us all.
Technologies that can make each home its own power plant to run a home and vehicle exist now, and they cost less than the collective cost of building new dirty power plants. Taking the long-range view makes sustainability a good business model as well.
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Many green building methods are not used often because of a lack of knowledge in the industry and a natural fear of something new, even if these methods and products have proven track records. Our present economic environment is forcing consumers and professionals to re-think old habits, however. As the consumers demand more green building the magic will begin. Entrepreneurs will find ways to improve products and bring down prices, less efficient methods will fall by the wayside and people will begin to expect a certain performance in a product, not just the most square feet they can get for the least money. Companies in the building industry must then conform to the market pressure or go out of business.
Nature rewards organisms that budget energy use tightly. It is the way that nature becomes an anti-entropic engine, as everything made by its organisms is food for another organism and therefore uses just a few percent of the energy our sun adds to the Earth every single day. We can follow that model with our human activities as well. There is more than enough to go around, but never enough to waste.
Doug is a self-taught carpenter, and has worked in all phases of construction over the years to acquire the skills necessary to understand the science and art of building. He started Meadowlark Builders in 2004 with Kirk Brandon. Part of their goal is to create a company that contributes economically and socially to the local community, while operating as an efficient and profitable enterprise.
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