Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet
- Book Review,
by Jennifer Roberts
Book Description
Green. It conjures images of a meadow in spring for some, and the color of money for others. What does "green" have to do with our homes? In essence, green building-or sustainable building-means being smart about how we use energy, water, and building materials so that we can live well without needlessly damaging the environment. Creating a good green home isn't just about conservation, about using less or saving more-although that's certainly part of it. It's about creating better homes that are easier on the environment, less expensive over the long term, and more delightful to come home to. That's the message Jennifer Roberts wants to share in Good Green Homes, the ultimate new guide for people who want to live in comfortable, healthy, environmentally conscious homes. With some simple steps outlined in this book, you can save money, and do your part to help save the environment. For instance, using an energy-efficient light bulb saves you money. It also results in less demand for electricity, which in turn results in less pollution from power plants, which may help a child with asthma breathe a little easier. If you associate green-built housing with the unconventional or the quirky-tree houses, geodesic domes, dwellings constructed of tires or soda bottles-think again. Perfect for homeowners, remodelers, renters (who might be surprised by how much is within their power to change), architects, builders, and interior designers, this book lays out seven fundamental principles of green building, illustrated with more than 150 color and 20 black and white photographs of more than twenty-five homes. Jennifer Roberts launched two retail stores in San Francisco specializing in environmentally sensible consumer products, including household goods; and is a freelance writer and editor on topics that include energy-efficient building design and systems.
From the Inside Flap
With striking photographs and compelling profiles of real homes that are making a difference, Good Green Homes celebrates the ways in which we can create places that are gorgeous, livable, and more environmentally responsible. From a delightful cottage, an eco-friendly addition to an historic home, a trio of healthy and green city homes, an artist's studio on a wooded island, a vacation retreat in the wine country, a neighborhood of homes that are small in size but large in spirit, a resourcefully remodeled Victorian flat, and more, the homes provide an inspiring array of today's sustainable building movement. Whether you plan to redecorate, remodel, move into a new home, or build a house from the ground up, Good Green Homes offers ideas, inspiration, and real-world advice to get you started. And it's easier than you may think. Creating a green home doesn't require adhering to a particular architectural style or following a set of rigid rules. Good green homes simply mean better homes-homes remodeled or built to save energy and resources, homes that enhance our well-being rather than sap our strength, homes that honor the natural abundance and beauty that surrounds us. Good Green Homes lays out the principles of green building, from choosing a right-sized home to taking charge of the energy we use to selecting products that will keep our homes healthy, and more. It offers a wealth of practical suggestions for how we can start making changes that will put us on the road to a healthier and more environmentally sustainable future.
From the Back Cover
Good Green Homes is the answer to creating better homes that are healthier to live in, easier on the environment, less expensive over the long-term, and more delightful to come home to.
About the Author
Jennifer Roberts launched two retail stores in San Francisco specializing in environmentally sensible consumer products, including household goods; and is a freelance writer and editor on topics that include energy-efficient building design and systems.
Excerpted from Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet by Jennifer Roberts, Linda Svendsen. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
KNOW WHERE YOU ARE When it comes to sustainability, where do you begin? Is it possible-or desirable-to have a good green home without addressing the sustainability of your neighborhood or wider community? It's a chicken-and-egg dilemma. Do you paint your living room with a nontoxic paint that doesn't pollute the air inside your home, even though there's an outdated power plant in your neighborhood that's polluting the air outside your home? Or do you first lobby to get the power plant cleaned up before worrying about the paint on your walls? Do either, both, or find a third, fourth, or fifth solution. The key to change is action. Take a small step. Do something that feels manageable today or this weekend. Then do another thing. One place to start is to pay more attention to your surroundings. The closer you look, the better you'll come to understand how the natural environment-as well as the built environment around us-interacts with your home and affects your life. Paying closer attention needn't feel daunting. If your house overheats in the summer, for example, notice the changing path of sunlight through the day and through the seasons. Perhaps you can plant deciduous trees near the west and south walls to provide cooling shade. Come fall, the trees will drop their leaves and the sun's rays will help heat your home during the colder months. If you're apartment hunting, notice how much daylight each room gets. If you work from home, perhaps you can find an apartment with good northern exposure so that your workspace is illuminated with even, indirect daylight throughout the day.
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