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"Build Green" Construct Energy Efficient Homes and Buildings
Jul 9, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Commentary Article by Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes, Chair "Build Green" Save money - Save the environment construct energy efficient homes & commercial buildings This is a challenge to consumers to buy energy efficient homes and appliances. It also is a call to developers and politicians to engage in and encourage green building practices. On an annual average, 25 percent U.S. and Canadian carbon emissions – which contribute to global warming - come from our personal activities. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that's about 60 tons per home yearly. The rest comes from industry, commerce, agriculture, oil fields, trucking, defense, and more. So far, no one has developed a way to measure the carbon emissions of all the things we buy (cars, houses, food, and other stuff), which all require energy to manufacture, ship, and package. However, we do know that when we use less energy and water, there is lesser impact on the environment and our wallets. Using less energy and water means our utility bills are substantially lowered. For instance, if a current electric bill hovers around $150 a month, a green home would reduce that same bill to $50 a month or lower, depending on house size and amount of energy-efficiencies built into the house. There are seven key concepts to building green: Energy efficiency (Energy-Star appliances and conservation lighting, shutting off the home computer printer after using), water efficiency (native landscaping, low-flow fixtures), passive designs (overhangs and porches, solar lighting, cross ventilation), construction processes (recycle construction waste, minimize runoff), and site and landscape (reduce pesticide use and water consumption, control erosion and sedimentation and de-lawn). Watering lawns with potable water is not practical if we want to be able to have a sustainable water resource. Cape Coral and other Lee County cities already are experiencing water issues, and getting rid of lawns is a big way to cut down on water use. Currently, there are only 10 LEEDS-certified buildings in Florida. (LEEDS stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design.) But others are on the way. For example, the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport building will hold a LEEDS classification once it is constructed next year. The 1,100 homes in WCI's new Venetian Golf and River Club in Venice will be green buildings and a home called Case Verde in this same development received a high score from the Florida Green Builder's Coalition (FGBC). Nationwide builder Newland Communities is opening two preservation-based developments in Tampa this year and according to the FGBC, Centex and WCI communities also have built green homes. The Verandah, by Bonita Bay, also is a certified green development. Sarasota and Pinellas counties are FGCB members too. But it takes more than just a few good deeds to turn a green trend into the norm. By 2016, all homes in the UK must be certified carbon neutral. That means the amount of carbon you release must be neutralized by the amount of carbon you reduce by using alternatives such as solar or wind energy. Zac Goldsmith, editor of Ecologist magazine, told the UK's Green Building Council that "our effort to deal with climate change will be a waste of time," unless we rethink how we build and use our homes and businesses. Let's bring this home. It's a fact: We won't be able to sustain incredible growth in Lee County by building the old way. The reason is simple; we won't be able to provide the energy and water needed to the 1.5 million people who are expected to move here by build-out, unless we get smarter in the consumption of our resources. Reduce and reuse is a well-worn adage, but it still rings true. One key incentive to builders and businesses is that if we don't conserve, we will be running out of development opportunities. On the flip side, if smart houses are designed and built by builders, they can be in the development business longer. Part of the answer is developing sustainable energy resources. The coal-fueled power plant in the Everglades was not a good idea and not approved because of environmental issues. But why spend millions to construct a coal-fueled energy plant when coal itself is a finite resource, so say scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder, who report that domestic coal resources will most likely run out in the next 40 to 50 years. Let's turn to solar or tidal power. Florida Power and Light has tapped into wind power and has erected wind turbines in Washington state because the winds in the mountains along the Columbia River generate power. Let's figure out a way to harness our sun power. But even if the personal motivation isn't preservation of natural resources, let's think green in another way, the green in your wallet. Sustainable buildings mean consumers will have to pay less and use less energy. On top of that simple fact, there is a lot of money to be made in developing green technology. Manufacturers can and will profit by making and selling sustainable products. Still, green building has been slow to catch on. The reason is that right now it's not cheap to build green. It takes upfront money to go green and to do it right. Government can help this process by encouraging the science and implementation of green building. It will also be and pushed forward by soaring energy costs. Mass production of energy saving hardware like solar power panels will help bring costs down. Buyers would pay for these improvements up front, but would save in the long run because it takes less money to heat and cool and water a LEEDS home. Nationally, the energy bill was watered down in Washington recently due to some lawmakers catering to big oil. Big oil is lobbying for the wrong things. Instead of fighting change they should be taking advantage of incentives and challenge themselves to look for alternative energies. Big developers and big oil could be spending their lobbying money on research and development (and sale) of sustainable products. In other words, make it affordable and sell a lot of it.
It's smart to be efficient - for both economic reasons and to help protect our natural resources for the future of this Southwest Florida paradise.
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