Green Building Hurdles

The Sustainability and Green movements are gaining popularity to the extent that the terms have almost become cliche. However, despite the amount of press that this new environmentalism has been getting recently, the ideas and practices have yet to break into the mainstream. Nowhere is this more evident than in the real estate industry. There are new building standards, rating systems and an abundance of "green" products to choose from, but green building is suffering from 3 misconceptions that are currently keeping it from being fully accepted by the general public.

There is a general idea that in order for a building to be sustainable or energy-efficient, then it has to have a certain look. Contrary to popular belief, for a building to be green, it does not have to look futuristic. While there are many features that could be added to a building to increase efficiency, such as solar panels, green roofs, rain water harvesting systems etc., it is possible to have a building that blends into the surrounding community without these distinguishing "green" features.
There is a portion of the market that demands the futuristic look, however, the majority of consumers would like the ability to conserve energy in their homes or businesses without drawing attention.

There is a price associated with adding efficient features and the cost of building green has been a deterring factor for anyone interested in reducing the environmental impact of the built environment. Over the past few years, as new products, technologies and building methods have become more prevalent, the cost of green has dropped significantly. The availability of products in the market and the increase in expertise among contractors and developers have caused a drop in the cost of building green to a level that is comparable to building using traditional methods. As a result of the decrease in up-front costs associated with implementing green features, the payback periods for these investments have gotten shorter.

The third misconception is that sustainability is a political issue. It is not. The fact that energy efficiency and sustainability have become polarizing is mind boggling. Even if the arguments confirming global warming are unfounded, what purpose does it serve to use resources in the most wasteful manner possible. By building green, we not only conserve limited resources, but we also reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy.

Through this blog, I may not be able to depolarize differences of opinion, but I will attempt to demonstrate that building green is cost effective and can be implemented in a way that does not affect the existing aesthetics. I also intend to show the positive impact, that even small changes in the way we operate our homes and businesses, can have.