“Specially green-certified government structures are consuming more water and energy resources than less expensive conventional buildings, a new life-cycle analysis by the National Research Council has found. Shocked, we are.”
“Specially green-certified government structures are consuming more water and energy resources than less expensive conventional buildings, a new life-cycle analysis by the National Research Council has found. Shocked, we are.”
When you spend a lot more on conserving utilities than you were going to spend on utilities in the first place, you have wasted money — and that nearly always means you’ve also created more environmental burden with the “eco-friendly” stuff than with conventional construction.
I’m acquainted with the description of a genuinely eco-friendly home. It’s large, about 4600 square feet. Its wastewater is used to water the lawns, which in turn help keep the house cooler. The windows and walls were designed to help maintain the temperature passively rather than with any fancy stuff. The home cost a little more to build than a “conventional” home of the same size but the cost savings offset the premium in the building.
The home I’m thinking of was GW Bush’s Crawford ranch house. You know, the evil pillager of the environment, who owned a home about 20% of the size of Al Gore’s and using resources far more efficiently than Gore does. I don’t know if the Bushes still own the ranch; I know their primary home is in Houston and I’m sure it’s much more modest than anything Gore owns.