Suitable Green Materials
Using environmentally friendly or “green” materials curbs natural resource depletion and pollution. Demand for green is growing — with more product choices each year. Green materials have some or all of these attributes, the more the better:
- Renewable (made of materials that are readily renewable, like fast-growing trees and agricultural products)
- Durable (long service life with little maintenance)
- Energy-saving (or energy-producing via clean, renewable sources)
- Low embodied energy (the energy required to extract, process, package, transport, install and dispose of or recycle the material)
- Promotes good air quality, both indoor and environmental
- Low impact on water resources, both quality and supply
- Low impact on the ecosystem and the earth’s protective ozone layer
- Recycled content or was salvaged for re-use
- Reusable or recyclable (can be feasibly separated and used again as is or in making something else)
Examine the performance properties along with the environmental advantages of any material. Various green labeling, product directories and certification programs are appearing, such as GreenSpec, Green Seal, Cradle-to-Cradle, GreenHomeGuide, Forest Stewardship Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative and others.
Use of Local Resources
It reduces transportation energy costs (a big part of embodied energy) and stimulates our state’s economy to use local natural resources and locally manufactured products whenever feasible. Forestry and wood products from Louisiana and this region are abundant, homegrown and locally processed renewable natural resources. Also look for locally produced landscape materials and other building components.
Site Choice
You can go beyond green building by choosing a homesite that applies principles of sustainable development or smart growth (reducing urban sprawl and long commutes to work). Look for the environmental impacts and Best Management Practices (BMPs) of the housing developments you consider. Avoid building sites in wetland areas, and look for a site that allows you to orient your home and its windows for energy savings.
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