FROM THE PUBLISHER
 

BUILDING FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Building a sustainable future is in no small part about buildings. For most of us the building that means the most, and impacts us the most, is our homes. Whether it's a classic single family house, an apartment or condominium, even a converted warehouse or tenement loft, our homes are often the focus of our lives. With this in mind we have chosen to focus  on "Green Building in this, Issue #6 of OUR ENVIRONMENT -- ONLINE."

What is Green Building? Ask an architect and you'll get one answer, probably quite different from the answer a developer will provide. Ask an energy planner and you'll probably hear something different than from a landscaper. Compare the answers from an environmentalist and an economist and the confusion will deepen. To paraphrase Kermit the Frog - "It's not easy knowing how to be green."

However, keep on digging and several common themes will emerge. In essence building green is about living in an examined home and about understanding the environmental implications inherent in our homestyle. Building green is not necessarily about living lean, about giving up conveniences and comforts, or about reverting to what many of us think about as the bad old days. Quite the contrary. As we'll see as we delve into this complex subject, building green is about healthier lifestyles and homestyles. It's about saving money and the environment. It's about taking pride in our homes by taking a close look at how we choose to live and then making positive choices.

Building green is also a continuous process touching virtually every element and decision involved in creating and renovating our homes:

Each of these elements can have lasting and positive impacts on the livability, economy, and environmental impacts of our homes. Building green can help us save energy and water; promote economic development and improve our health and productivity. Building green means we can help reduce pollution and enhance our sense of community and security.

Fortunately the national momentum for building green is accelerating daily. From the White House to our house, more and more of are choosing to build for a sustainable future and present. One of the benefits of this movement is that we now all have more examples of how others have addressed problems and created opportunities. This issue of OUR ENVIRONMENT - ONLINE showcases many of these constructive projects. From Maui's innovative Eco-village to catalogs of "alternative" building materials, the information featured here represent some of the best the web has to offer on this important topic.

Aloha for now,
JEFF STARK
PUBLISHER - OUR ENVIRONMENT - ONLINE