With the state of the economy over the past couple of years, we in the construction world have wondered how environmental trends in our industry would fare. If the 2010 National American Institute of Architects Convention is any indication, the LEED trend is increasing exponentially. This year’s convention, held on June 10^th – 12^th in Miami, was a demonstration of the force that continues to propel “green” building and products with LEED requirements in the architectural markets. Most of this movement can be attributed to the inventive nature and cutting edge outlook of the architectural community as many of the exhibited products this year, as in recent years, have more integrated LEED characteristics with little to no increase in costs. I have to admit in the beginning of the LEED movement I never thought it would come to possess so much authority because of our budget oriented industry – I’m glad my initial observations were inaccurate.

It’s also inspiring to see domestic competition in deep-rooted markets. One such product exhibited this year is Formica’s Vivix, a direct competitor to Trespa. Formica will be rolling out Vivix with concealed and exposed fastener systems, both with patents pending. Final testing was to be finished by the end of June so a full roll out of the product by late summer or early fall of 2010 is likely. Vivix has a deep and attractive color pallet and I believe it will prove to be a considerable competitor to other products in the high pressure laminate market.

One of the things about buying a house that uses a lot of energy is traveling around the city looking at houses. In some of the larger cities this could mean a lot of emissions going up in the atmosphere. However, there are some things you can do to help eliminate the need for all this driving; though you will want to see the home in person before you place an offer. The first thing is to do some research online to discover some of the great neighborhoods in your area. Here is an example of some great Nashville area neighborhoods that give you a lot of information and pictures so you can narrow your focus.

Another great tool for selling and buying a home is the use of up to date search tools like the MLS Market Snapshot found in the right hand column of Liz Davis Homes. I actually used this tool to find out what houses in my neighborhood were selling for so I could set a good fair price when I sold my home. It was great to get the information I needed delivered to my email. It can help borrowers to determine if they can afford a certain neighborhood or not as well as making sure they don’t overpay for a property in a neighborhood. So you save on gas, reduce your carbon footprint and get great information. It doesn’t get better than this!

What shade of green are you? If you look at what living green really is then you know there are all kinds of shades depending on “how green” you go. If all you do is replace your light bulbs with the energy saving kind of bulb then you are a light shade of green. If you walk or bike everywhere you go and eat only locally grown plants and animals, save your rain water and take a bath with recycled water you are a very dark shade of green. If you live in one of Michael Reynolds Earth Ships that is self sustaining and incorporates grow houses to grow your own food then you are so dark green you are almost black!

Very few of us stop to think what color green we really are and even fewer stop to think how far we would like to go. However, our world and the world of our children and grandchildren depend on us making decisions and commitments as to how green we are willing to go. To do this we will have to put our attitudes of entitlement behind us and get to work because being green requires us to get involved with our transportation, energy and food supplies, not to mention our water use. So what shade of green are you and how green do you want to go?

My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Central Texas. The purpose of the trip was for a campus visit at UT Austin to look into their graduate program at the School of Architecture. During my tour I visited a couple studios, visited the Architecture library and archives, and took in a lunch forum about Sustainability. There were nicely packed box lunches provided for attendees. The discussion basically centered on legalizing sustainable practices in our building codes at a federal level. The speaker, a lawyer with a passion for environmental law, made some very good points. She shared though that while there are some cities talking about initiatives, they are not DOING much about it. While she was speaking I began to look around the room of 40-50 attendees and the white boxed lunches on their laps. Lunches consisted of sandwiches wrapped in foil and then butcher paper, chips, cookies, etc. There were also canned and bottled beverages.

I hoped, especially because of the topic being spoken on, that there would be recycle bins for the boxes and butcher paper. Drink containers are pretty much a given anymore, so I wasn’t as concerned about that. So when I walked back into the hall, there it was, a large bin marked “Trash” piled high with white boxes. How disappointing. Why are our governments (city, state, federal) all talk and no action? Could it be because their “constituents” are too? They represent us. They will not change until we do.

For those mass transit commuters out there, headphones, if you don’t know already, are gonna be your lifesaver! Usually. Earbuds in place and we’re on our way to ignoring everything around us. Sometimes a blissful moment and many times quite treacherous or it just doesn’t seem to be the noise canceling experience we were hoping for.

One such example was an ‘interesting’ ride home down Santa Monica Blvd (yes the same one Sheryl Crow crooned). With headphones on, I made eye contact with a slightly drunk old man at the bus stop (already doomed). Let him get on first so no chance we could sit next to each other. I sat in the back, we made eye contact again. Darn. He gets up and walks the full length of the bus to sit next to me. Proceeds to tug on my sleeve till I tell him my name (fictitious info given). Headphones back in place. Moment later asks for info regarding liquor store on route – yeah totally knowledgeable on that tidbit, Not. Then spot one quickly hoping to avoid creeper getting off in a few stops with me. Thanks me for pulling the cord for him by placing his callused hand on the back of my neck and thanking me profusely, bursting my comfort bubble. Headphones fail.

Most of the time I am of the opinion that buying a storage shed means that you just buy too much stuff. But, thanks to a friend, I began to look at that judgement in a different light. My friend just downsized and moved into a new smaller home (for some very green reasons; less energy, less consumables needed, etc.) and in the process, she bought a large shed. I was a little dumbfounded, since this friend puts me to shame in living out her green ideals. Her answer was one I had never considered.

“The shed lets me store things that would usually be kept in closets and attic space in my larger house, but this way I don’t have to pay for heating or cooling the space that they occupy, and it keeps my carbon footprint smaller.”

Duh. It totally makes sense. Why do you need to heat or cool all your closets and spare bedrooms (read: junk rooms)? For the fist time in my adult life, I went and looked at sheds online tonight.