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Building Green

Suburbia is getting greener. Only this is the kind of “green” that reduces a home’s impact on the environment, rather than wasting resources to keep lawns green.

“Green” subdivisions and residential apartment buildings – even whole communities – are cropping up across the United States as developers feel pressured to deliver housing that may cost slightly more up front but saves in energy costs in the long-run. Homes and residential buildings now often include such features as non-toxic paint and finishes, low-flow showerheads and toilets, plantation-grown cherry flooring, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and recycled building materials. Solar-powered systems are also increasing in use, along with more environmentally sensitive and useful landscaping, such as systems for capturing rainwater and absorbing storm runoff.

Just a few years ago, the occasional “green” building gained attention as a curiosity. Today, it makes up 6 percent of the nation’s non-residential construction and is gaining ground in residential communities as well. In Seattle, the nation’s first green public-housing project provides 600 “green” apartments, town houses and homes to low-income families. In the past two years, 25 states have put up 5,000 units of “green” low-income housing. On the other end of the spectrum, multi-billion dollar redevelopment projects in New York and New Jersey are going green.

Builders estimate it costs just 1-2 percent more to install these features in homes, and those costs are quickly made up through energy savings. Going green isn’t just the right thing to do these days; it’s the smart thing to do.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org