How's Your Global Warming Now?

I recently had the fortune (misfortune?) to be seated on a flight next to a very chatty and opinionated traveler for a 2 1/2 hour flight. Before we even left the ground he had already grilled me for where I was going and what I was doing.

When I told him I was traveling to teach a class on Green Building I got both barrels on what he thought about Green and everything involved. A little back story for those of you not blessed with living in Montana like me, this year winter started sometime shortly after Halloween and aside from a few nice days in April it lasted clean into May, ending sometime after 2PM on May 23rd to be precise.

Armed with this, he laughed and said, "Where's your Global Warming now? There's no way you can claim it's happening, I even saw where the glaciers are getting bigger in Argentina," he continued, "How can you even think that Green Building is a good idea now?"

I was at that fork in the road where I could have smiled, shrugged and not bothered to fight it but all I had to read was the skymall catalog and I knew I couldn't fain enough interest in it to just ignore him and start reading. Besides, I thought, if I let him have it back it might just upset him enough to dislike me and then he won't talk to me for the rest of the flight, either way should work.

I think my first line was something like, "Wow you really have no idea what green building is do you?" It froze him and I started in to tell him that no matter what's happening with global warming green building is still a good idea. Forget about carbon emissions, glacial ice melt, rising sea levels and all the associated fears of rising earth temperatures. Green building is about much more than that.

Conserving the finite resources we have, including water, natural gas, all of the fossil fuels. Building a home that is designed to last longer, require less maintenance, and maintain a healthier quality of air. This is what green building is all about. Global warming be damned green building is nothing more than building better and building smarter and anybody who thinks that doesn't make sense just doesn't get it.

As it turned out we spent the next 2 1/2 hours talking about what green building is, but more importantly much more about what green building is NOT. I keep hearing the same themed, recurring myths of green building..."It's expensive."..."It's too hard to figure out."......."It's straw bales, solar panels and wind power."......."It's ugly."....."It's just a fad."......"It's just about global warming."...Etc., Etc. Etc. They're all wrong and they're all bred from the same misinformation or total lack of information that many great myths come from and we still have a long way to go to dispel them. (The earth IS round by the way, despite what Friedman says)

We parted ways and both learned a lot in the time we spent together. He learned a lot about the guiding principles of green building and definitely had a small change of view, and I learned that we still have a long way to go in the education process before the consumer, builder, and everyone else understands and are on the same wavelength on what green is and is not. On the return flight by the way, I had an empty seat next to me and was quite happy for the peace and quiet.

Windows in Short

I recently started doing a Green Building question and answer "advertorial" series for a local newspaper and sponsors. It's already clear with the first round of solicited consumer questions that many people want the answers to green building questions to be as black and white as the newsprint. Sorry, it just doesn't happen that way.

I thought it would be good to repost the questions and the answer here. Believe me I also realize that it saves me a tremendous amount of time and with just a little cut and paste I have posts in two places. Efficiency at its' best!


Question: I am going to do a large addition to my home. What the best window is to use? From F.N., Missoula, MT.

John: The simple answer to the question is to use the best and most efficient window that your budget will allow. All windows are rated for energy performance by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC.) They are rated in five different categories, but the U-value (the amount of heat loss through the window) and Air Leakage rating numbers mean the most to me. A window with a low U-Value (The current minimum for Energy Star and also available tax credits is .35 and the lower the better here.) and also a low Air leakage rate will keep the warm air in and the cold air out in the winter, and the reverse in the summer.

Windows with low U-value and low air leakage rates are available from a number of quality manufacturers in several types; wood clad, vinyl and other composites and all can perform very well. Once you’ve identified a window type and several manufacturers within your budget, ensure that the window you select has Low-E reflective coating to keep winter heat in, durable construction and hardware, and that the manufacturer has a solid warranty backing their window.

After selecting the best window that you can within your budget, it is equally important to make sure that the window is installed properly. For greatest efficiency and moisture protection, the window needs to have proper flashing and a good air sealant on the exterior and adequate insulation around the interior of the window. Following these simple guidelines will give you the best performance and most return on your investment no matter which type or brand of high performance window you choose.

Water, Water, Every Where

“Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink.” Taken from The Rime of The Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, surely everyone’s heard one form or another of this old verse. Looking at this recent picture of the Bitterroot River outside of Hamilton Montana, and with many of the rivers in Montana running near or over flood stage, it’s hard to imagine that we could ever be in a position with out enough water for all of our needs.

In fact, looking at the earth itself and the incredible amount of water we see, someone might wonder why we even care about conserving water and place so much weight to it when talking about green building today.

The fact is that even though over 70% of the earths’ surface is covered by water, 97.5% of it is salt water, leaving only 2.5% as fresh water. Further, of the remaining fresh water, over 70% of it is locked in icecaps, more is located deep within the earth in unreachable aquifers and even more is in the form of soil moisture, leaving only what amounts to having less than 1% of all the earths’ fresh water available for direct human uses.

The amount of usable fresh water, the stuff found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and the aquifers that are shallow enough to be effectively tapped into, makes up less than .007% of all the water on earth. It’s hard to really understand how little that is, but if you think of all the water available on the planet in a full 55 gallon drum, the amount that we can access for use is less than three teaspoons full. This is the only water that we have available on a sustainable basis that is regularly renewed and regenerated by rain and snowfall, and this amount will not increase.

Considering this, it’s easy to see why one of the key guiding principles in green building focuses on conserving the water we have and protecting it from runoff, sedimentation and all other contaminants. If we don’t, the fight over those last three teaspoons could be devastating, and the words from the old mariner in the tale will ring true for us all.

National Geographic Green Tip of the Week

NAHB Green Build Conference

I just got back from the National Green Building Conference in Dallas. I think this as about my fifth or sixth trip to Dallas, and no offense Lone Star State, but I know why I come home to Montana. It was definitely a great time, I got to see some old friends, make some new ones and talk with many of the folks from across the country who are just as passionate about green building. We also had a great time picking up some hardware at the National Green Building Awards, congratulations to everybody who has worked so hard to put Montana on the green map!!

With all of the educational programs, keynote speakers, and social networking (they do have some good tequila in Dallas) there's a lot of information and pontification about green, what it means, what are the most important principles, what's the best green program, and on and on and on. There's a new/old theme that's gaining more steam in these conversations and I'm thrilled to say that I've been saying this for some time. Are you ready? If you know me you've heard it before, but Green Building is not rocket science, it's simple stuff and even you can do it. (yes, you.)

This nascent back to basics shift has the potential to become a groundswell. I see many long time, knowledgeable green proponents who are spending less time discussing the size of carbon footprints or the embodied energy in one siding versus another and actually focusing on the basic principals of building a smaller, better designed, more durable home that uses less water, less energy and works as a complete system.

Remember that at the heart of Green Building are a few very important but simple principles; save energy, save resources, save water, keep the air healthy, and minimize impact from site work to finish. Don't worry if you haven't read the latest book on cradle to cradle concepts or the energy revolution, remember the basic principles, apply them to your buildings and keep moving forward.

National Green Building Conference

I'm off for Dallas tomorrow for the National Green Building Conference, a program of NAHB with the latest and greatest in products, presentations, educational seminars and some of the biggest green building advocates in the country. If you've never had the chance to go I would suggest putting it on your calendar for next year. From the first event over ten years ago in Denver the conference has grown tenfold and I'll be sure to share all that I can for those of you stuck here in what looks to be a wet Montana weekend coming up! (90 degress in Dallas this weekend)

The Future Is Green

A recent article sent to me by a colleague on density and design got me to think a little bit more about where we are headed in the building and development industry in Montana. It's a given to know that things will never be the same, and today I was catching a little bit of a glimpse into our future. I liked it!

Let me start by saying that, fortunately in Montana we haven't seen the drastic fall of home prices like in some markets, but we haven't had much appreciable gain in value either. In conversations with many Montana builders, cautious optimism is the mood and the recent sales activity has most feeling like it is the start of the long slow climb back to normalcy. While it's still predicted that starts in 2009 will still be down significantly from last year, even nationally builder confidence had it's largest one month increase last month since 2002.

Does this mean we will soon be back to the same old game and we can dust off our current house plans and site plans and get back after it? Probably not. Coming out the other side of this downturn experts predict a real shift in the way we build homes and develop communities in the Rocky Mountain West. For homes the trend will be for smaller, more efficient homes closer to communities and services. Not only has the tightening of the credit market reduced the amount buyers can spend on a new home, the home buyer is realizing the expense and operational cost of that home and becoming more savvy in looking for energy efficiency and low operational costs.

In community development, with the continued rising cost of infrastructure and the trends established by our new breed of home buyers, things are changing as well. It's anticipated that we will have to see a much higher level of density in our new developments and it won't be economically feasible to build lots of large homes on large lots.

I was in Billings today for a conference and when I was done I took some time to see a couple of local builder friends that were showcasing homes in their Spring Parade of Homes. Both had projects that they were developing and building in that utilized high density small lot homes. These homes were not only well designed, but extremely energy efficient and built green. The part I really liked was the excitement from the potential buyers and the sales. Yes, sales!! Both of these builders were excited about their product(a high density, high performance home) and excited about their potential. Good work guys!

While we all won't be living in condos over a coffee house, and we will still have homes on 5,10, 20 acres or more, it's at least good to see some of the inherent green principles becoming driving forces in todays' market. Smaller, more efficient floorplans and homes with higher energy efficiency built utilizing less consumptive development practices. I like it.