Green building in the country?? No such thing.

Buying pristine, remote land in the country for the sake of building a custom home is a dream for most humans. Nowadays, many people are excited about saving, protecting the environment, and, in turn, are investigating their options regarding green building, which uses environmentally-friendly construction and land development.
I heard some interesting thoughts in my green builder classes from my instructor Pete Gang, an architect and contractor in Petaluma California. He pointed out that the amount of energy consumed by cars in the US far outweighs the amount of energy consumed by our buildings. Driving around in your car all day uses far more resources than day-to-day living in a low-tech home that is an energy hog. Basically, no matter how “green” you build your home, if it’s located in an area that requires driving to get anywhere, your “eco-friendly” property is actually doing more harm than good. The ultimate goal of green building is sustainability, and since a remote location will obviously require much more driving, you are defeating your own purpose by developing in rural areas.
Land development should strive to link people together with a community system where they can meet their needs without the use of a vehicle. 95% of a car’s energy is used to move the car itself, with only 5% moving the human inside- let’s develop in ways that encourage more efficient methods of transportation. In addition, let’s leave those rural areas green and uninhabited. If everyone buys up remote land and develops homes, the land won’t be “rural” or “secluded” anymore, which is the main reason people enjoy it in the first place.

No Comments »