[Greenbuilding] what makes it green? ZEH

[Jane Talkington]

Let's suspose that all 550,000 homes built this year are Zero Energy Homes, have we really made a more sustainable society?
They are still the same single family homes that require massive amounts of land and the same infrastructure that bankrupts cities. 
SFR is also a monoculture that isolates community and prevents the development mass transportation. 

I suggest a ZEH is Methadone (a substitute for heroin in treatment for heroin addiction) for unsustainable planning.
We talk a lot about whole house design when the real question should be whole community design...if we are serious about reducing total energy consumption.

Jane Talkington

PhD student in "Sustainability"
Oklahoma State University, 
Environmental Science Program
Stillwater, OK 

GreenQueen at hotmail.com (405) 714-1919 



> Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:37:12 -0500
> From: corwyn at midcoast.com
> To: info at ecobrooklyn.com
> CC: greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org
> Subject: Re: [Greenbuilding] what makes it green?
> 
> 
> Gennaro Brooks-Church wrote:
> > I guess it comes down to your definition of green building. I don't
> > think energy efficiency is what makes a house green, which was what I
> > understood was said. I see a danger in that statement. Health,
> > sustainability, and energy or any other combination of parts might be
> > a narrow definition of green building. The triple bottom line is a
> > good start. But to reduce green building to a technical step for me
> > misses the whole point.
> > Since you are a mathematician I can see how energy efficiency would be
> > the main focus. And thats good because people have to focus on it. But
> > I wouldn't be able to build a green house if I had that focus. I'd
> > build a very energy efficient home, but it wouldn't be any where near
> > as green as I'd want it. In fact it could be completely unsustainable
> > and unhealthy yet still be energy efficient
> Again I am lost trying to figure out how you got the impression that 
> energy efficiency is my focus to the exclusion of all else.  I invite 
> you to take a  look at my website.  It does not contain everything, but 
> there are sufficient things there that you should be able to see that 
> energy efficiency although a focus, was not a tunnel vision objective.  
> I love my house.  When I help other people with their houses, I try to 
> see the same in their houses.  
> http://www.greenfret.com/house/patterns.html is a page which particularly
> highlights what I was trying to do on other fronts than energy efficiency.
> 
> Thank You Kindly,
> 
> Corwyn
> 
> --  
> Topher Belknap
> Green Fret Consulting
> Kermit didn't know the half of it...
> http://www.greenfret.com/
> topher at greenfret.com
> (207) 882-7652
> 

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