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. 

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 build 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 life/homestyle. Building green is not necessarily about living lean, about giving up conveniences and comforts.  It's not about reverting to what many of us think of as the bad old days of eyestraining lighting, inefficient heating and AC, about . 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 settling for alternatives we can afford.  It is 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:

• Site selection and development
• Transportation access
• Natural lighting
• Energy usage
• Construction techniques
• Materials
• Cooling and heating
• Landscaping

Fortunately the national momentum for building green is accelerating daily. From the White House to our house, more and more of us 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.  Scroll on down to begin your green building adventure with  the guidance of  best the web has to offer on this important topic.

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