Energy News

Understand about Green building practices. See products in use and systems used to make this house Green and Energy Efficient.

Also see Universal design systems and aging in place ideas for baby boomers and beyond.

In most of America, "greens" live on the margins. But, today, the mainstream is embracing many of the home-building techniques, designs and materials greens advocate.

As we celebrate Earth Day, April 22, the National Association of Home Builders reports that green building is near a "tipping point." The green construction industry segment will climb from 2 percent of all residential starts in 2005 to between 5 percent and 10 percent in 2010.

"The necessity for more energy-efficiency is driving the trend," says Matt Belcher, who runs Belcher Homes in St. Louis and who chaired the Green Home Building Conference there. "Consumers are looking for energy savings."

Excerpts From: Solar Energy for Everyone by Scott Shephard
http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/article/CA6340267.html

» read more Submitted by HeartlandHomesI... on March 10, 2006 - 1:41pm. Energy News NEWSWEEK March 13, 2005 issue - Aspen Ski Company, which owns four ski mountains and two hotels in Colorado, just green lighted a plan to convert entirely to green energy. Starting this June, 100 percent of Aspen's operations—from chairlifts to snowmaking guns—will be powered by wind. Experts estimate that it will cost the company an extra $100,000, but it was a price CEO Patrick O'Donnell was willing to pay to keep 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, out of the atmosphere each year. "Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time," O'Donnell says. "And addressing energy use is one of the most important actions we can take." » read more