Green Building

Many of you might laugh when I tell you that the former founder of Green Peace is pro-lumber, pro-vinyl, and pro-nuclear.  No, I am not playing an early April Fools joke on you… it’s true!!! Just “Wiki” Dr. Patrick Moore and you get… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Moore_(environmentalist)

I have had the privilege of hearing Dr. Moore speak on several occasions on the topic of Forestry and Green Building.  The biggest message that he wants people to walk away with is that trees are the ONLY renewable resource in the world.  It is important to look at the ecological benefits of Forestry before we criticize it.  He states in his article “Environmentalists and the Forests” published in The Heartland Institute

Groups such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club have mounted major campaigns against clearcutting, a forestry technique that involves the removal of nearly all the standing trees in a given area. Eco-extremists have persuaded millions of people that clearcutting is responsible for “deforestation” on a massive scale in Canada and elsewhere.
In fact, no such deforestation is taking place in Canada or the U.S., and a prohibition on clearcutting would result in no ecological benefits. It is an ecological fact that many types of forest ecosystems thrive most successfully when they are periodically cleared and allowed to regenerate from the clearing. Fire, volcanic eruptions, windstorms, insect attacks, disease, and climate change (ice ages) all have destroyed massive areas of forest sin the past, part of a natural cycle of forest destruction and renewal that existed long before man was a significant player.

I urge you all to take a look at his website… http://www.greenspirit.com/home.cfm.  I am going to be referring to some of his teachings throughout my blogs.
Would love to get your thoughts on this…

Here is a question to consider… What is Green Building?

a) Using all the ‘Green Label’ products to meet LEED or  NAHB Green Standards?

b) Making an Energy Efficient Home that reduces the carbon imprint of the structure?

c) Both  (a) and (b)

Several people have approached me, seeking my thoughts on Green Building (tradesmen, homeowners, and suppliers)… and I have always asked them for their thoughts before I give mine.  In all but one instance they have referred to Green Building as ‘green products’ that go into the home.

YES, we have a responsibility to construct a residential or commercial building with environmentally sensitive products that factor life cycle and renewable resources. Nevertheless, we cannot forget about the long-term energy consumption.

I strongly believe that builders and homeowners need to be focused on energy efficiency in new building and retrofitting existing buildings… Can every house be a net-zero energy home? No, but it can be close!!! We are kidding ourselves if we don’t think oil is going to spike to historic highs in the near future.  It is important to find new sources of energy, but it is also important to FIX the biggest consumer of energy – RESIDENTIAL HOMES.

Did you know that you can recycle Kleer Trimboard? Ridgefield Supply and Kleer Lumber have teamed up to offer Builders and Remodelers a program to keep PVC Trimboard out of the landfills.

Kleer Trimboard has a life time warrantee for a reason, because it will take hundreds of years to degrade – unlike wood. It is the best choice for trimming the exterior of your home, but it will last forever in a landfill. Ridgefield Supply’s goal is to keep the PVC out of your construction refuse container. Let us put a special PVC recycling container on you next jobsite. All PVC cutoffs will be kept out of the landfill and find their way into a third party provider’s recycling program. The leftover pieces will reused!!!

Touch base with us today to find out how you can get a PVC recycling container dropped off at your site. You are doing more than saving a tree when you use Kleer Trimboard, you are recycling!

Green Building is broken down into three categories:
* Energy and Water Efficiency
* Renewable and Recycled Material
* Health and Comfort

In the residential construction industry there are two main ‘governing’ bodies of green building that certify homes.  They are the National Association of Homebuilders (http://www.nahbgreen.org/) and the United State Green Building Council (http://www.usgbc.org/).  I do not want to bore you with the history of the two organizations, but I urge you to visit their website to learn more about them.

Both the NAHB and USGBC programs address the three categories of Green Building in great detail. Both of their programs outline specific guidelines and construction techniques, as well as preferred products.  Nevertheless, the programs are different.  The NAHB is described by some true Green Builders as a ‘lax’ certification. The USGBC’s LEED-Home certification has a higher standard of product certification, energy efficiency, and site management.

However, despite what you might hear on the street, the NAHB and the USGBC are making strong efforts to work together.  The USGBC realizes that 30% of the Green Homes built will meet their standards, and they want to see the other 70% of Green Homes meet the NAHB standard. In the upcoming months, the Ridgefield Supply Company will be hosting events to further educate you on certification programs.