Why should we do anything about sustainability?
The answer in all cases is to insure a decent, secure, healthy life for all species on this planet.
As consumers, we are frequently confronted with lifestyle decisions that can impact our environment.
There are choices in this life that can make a big difference in what the quality of life will be for those who follow us.
Going with the flow of our culture is hard to avoid, and unfortunately the flow is not in the right direction for evolving a sustainable future.
One of the most momentous choices that any of us will make is the kind of house we live in.
A sustainable building can be defined as any building that is sited, designed, constructed, operated, and maintained for the health and well-being of the occupants, while minimizing impact on the environment.
Sustainable building practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally sound and resource-efficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design. Sustainable buildings promote resource conservation by including design features, such as: energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, and encouragement of water conservation.
By promoting resource conservation, sustainable building design creates healthy and comfortable environments, reduces operation and maintenance costs, considers environmental impacts of building construction and retrofit, and concentrates on waste minimization.
Sustainable building design also addresses such issues as historical preservation and access to public transportation and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life cycle of the building and its components is considered, as well as economic concerns, environmental impact and over-all performance.