Building

Sustainable Building

Why It Matters

Buildings in the United States account for a large amount of land use, energy and water consumption, and air and atmosphere alteration.
More specifically, in 2002, the amount of land developed was 107.3 million acres out of 1.983 billion acres of total land, excluding Hawaii and Alaska. This is a 24% increase in ten years. Since 2002, developed land has increased significantly.
Out of all the total energy consumed by Americans in 2002, 39.4% was consumed by buildings. From that percentage, 54.6% was consumed by residential buildings and 45.4% by commercial buildings.
As for electricity, in 2002 building used 67.9% of the total amount consumed in the United States, with 51.2% used by residential buildings and 48.8% by commercial buildings.
38.1% of the total amount of carbon dioxide in the United States can be attributed to buildings, 20.6% from homes and 17.5% from commercial uses. Part of this has to do with the location of homes and other buildings that people travel by automobile to everyday.
Buildings account for 12.2% of the total amount of water consumed per day in the United States.
Given these statistics, reducing the amount of natural resources buildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is crucial for future sustainability.

Check out Green Seal's list of 21 low-VOC paints.

Try to use materials from rapidly renewable sources (like bamboo), lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, recycled and local materials.
Materials such as paint should come from low-VOC (volatile-organic-compound)-emitting materials.
Try to orient the building to take advantage of ample breezes and sunlight.
Reduce waste during construction (see No waste remodeling project).
Get ideas for picking out where to live: Nick's Green House

United States Green Building Council Information on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program for homes, with a downloadable list of local providers (202-828-7422).
Ecological Home Ideas A magazine showcasing green home projects, contractors and materials (815-734-5958).
Ecobroker International trains agents to help homeowners buy and sell green homes(800-706-4321).
Alliance to Save Energy A comprehensive resource for energy-efficient homes (202-857-0666).
Partnership for Advanced Housing Technology Tips on building energy-efficient homes, finding builders and obtaining tax credits.
Building Green The Building Green site offers you a wide range of information - from articles and product listings to project case studies - to help you build a greener world.
Green Home An online resource for buying green products for the home, also articles and a toxipedia of definitions of environmental terms
Green communities an interesting site about new trends in affordable AND green housing. --erica 09:22, 27 Jun 2007 (CDT)