Why we should invest in Green Building

This is a no-brainer.

Green building/energy efficiency may very well, in the end, mean substantially reduced costs for all of us. Ain't that a good thing? ;-)

We'll see.

One would think

Our competitors are. As usual, we'll lose this industry too if we don't wake up.

If you want to move on with where the world economy is going to be heading, the future is there.

Green building is an improvement in infrastructure & it creates jobs. Chicago City Hall has a green roof & there are bee hives on it!

I have seen on TV how ambitious people have made their homes green (solar power, tankless hot water heaters, recycled water, energy efficient windows). Their utility bills were nearly zero.

Imagine how many Americans could be put back to work retrofitting commercial buildings to make them greener. The technology is there, the tax credits make it even prettier so I say "Go for it."

Creating Jobs
Lowering Household Bills
Cleaning up the environment
Independence from foreign Oil

Seems kinda simple doesn't it. Just don't tell that to an Extremist.

Even the DOT in NY is using solar power for their traffic regulating signs on the NYS Thruway. Can you imagine how much municipalities could save by using solar power for the street lights & traffic signals? AFAIC it would be a win-win for everybody. Property taxes could decrease because the cities/towns wouldn't have to pay the power company for the street lights etc.

Look what I stumbled on, good reading.

http://www.thecypresstimes.co...

SAHWEET!

My sentiments exactly.

It is and I would tend to agree overall. As a homeowner w/a house over 100 years old there's a huge cost to bringing older properties "up to par" I would love the idea of putting solars on my southern wall but while paying the mortgage & utility bulls, raising kids and buying groceries; quite simply another mortgage would be required to cover the costs and really a whole 'nother lifetime to finish paying it off even with all savings diverted to the payments. I did however make "green" choices along the way-IE. Recycled denim insulation that not only has a higher R-rating than other materials but is also fireproof and allergy friendly.
BTW, GM deviant.

GM to you Terro.

Another great application that you can flip savings on would be Isonyne Insulation in your attic space. Normally paid for in 3-5 years in savings and will strengthen your roof at the same time.

There is no real "attic" The attic is currently master bedroom/small bath w/shower. Next are the solar lighting tubes up there as the dunce that built the room before we bought installed recessed cannister lighting! It's like an interrogation in there!

Wind Energy produce more ozone gases than burning low surfer coal.

Money going to companies to produce so called green industry. Fisker is not about to sell their Karma for less money no matter how long time goes by.

CNG is cleaner source of energy and we have over 80% of all the worlds Natural Gas right here int he US.

State Like California talk about being the Green State but do less to use cleaner industries. Low Sulfur Diesel is in all about California. And I am tried of hear how California has a higher standard of air quality control when it come to pollution.

Higher quality earth safe products are out there, but the Democrats don't want is used. Keep the cost high and tell the people they need to pay more for better.

If they would only do a better job of it

http://articles.baltimoresun....

Try in Wyoming. The largest find of Natural Gas in the World. Not one accident in over 20 years

No contamination?
No illnesses?

none

http://www.rcac.org/doc.aspx?...

http://www.scientificamerican...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com...

None?

Water Contamination In Wyoming COULD BE From Natural Gas Drilling.

Now think about this. The water table in Wyoming is at 4000ish feet and in areas as deep as 8000ish feet.

Natural gas is drilled and fraced at 20,000 feet plus.
In order for the natural gas to come to surface, a liner is ran to the frac zone.
At not point does the natural gas touch the water tables.

I saw the Scientific America show when it aired. Answer this.
A woman and her family claimed that the dusty of the drilling fluid being mixed is causing her to be come ill. Yet there is a person standing at the hopper mixing the powder in the the fluid. So which do you thin has more exposure, the person at the hopper of the woman a mile away.

Most of the drilling fluid is made up of what is called BaraCarb. (Baking Soda).

Just sitting you a room with your fluorescent lighting you have a greater chance of skin cancer than incandescent lighting. So make fluorescent lights illegal?

People in the grass land suffer higher amounts of hay fever, and more die from respiratory problems brought on by it. So what are we to do, burn the grass lands?

If we used the same policies and thinking against all other industries as we do toward drilling. You could not drive a legal car, fly, take a train, work in an office or manufacture anything.

We hear we need to be self reliant, but don't do anything that could safely make us self reliant.

I was "splitting hairs" with you which is something I rarely do. But you claimed (ZERO) which is almost impossible to believe.
Natural Gas is a wonderful source of energy and in most cases completely safe.
I have someone special to me that lives in the midst of natural gas drilling and sees the damages caused by sloppy work.

The list of afflictions is awful and saddening.

I will take NG over foreign oil any day. But my stance on Green Construction will not change. We need to forge ahead as a nation and be more self reliant as you say.

Green building isn't totally irrelevant, but should be based on a cost/benefit analysis properly weighted on the risk that you may not receive the expected returns on investment. It should not be an emotional decision to "save the planet" or to create "Energy Independence." The best way to create the best environment conditions for humans and to work towards being more self sufficient on our energy needs to is follow sound financial principles.

Without question!!!
I just hope it doesn't take some 500 billion $$$ government survey to accomplish that!

Government surveys are rarely worth the paper that they are printed on, much less $500 billion. Really a healthy dose of skepticism and some good common sense would work best. Of course good common sense is probably too much of a stretch for government.

But look to Italy and see the resounding failure green energy was for them. Want to get into the same game?

Drill Baby Drill here in the CONUS is the answer to energy independence. The wheels of American business and life aren't dependent on solar and wind power. Never. Will. Be.

So one fails, we all fail? I'd like to give a little more credit to American Ingenuity rather than just claim "they didn't get it right, why should we"?

But to immediately replace petrol with solar and wind power is totally inane in my opinion. Those energy sources are players in time. The oil in the ground on the continent of North America is here, it's now and needs to be permitted to be withdrawn and used.

Oh lord no, it would take years / decades to do that. But at the very least lets get it "kick-started" so the rest of the world will see we have no intention of lying down and just "taking-it" from them.

We need to roll to our own tune

I agree 100%. But to continue to prohibit drilling on the NA continent because it is deemed to be non-green only signs our death warrant that much sooner.

Another step for the interim that would shut up OPEC.

Yep.

I'm all for it. Chances are I would not benefit from it in my lifetime- too much outlay. We could reduce our dependence on countries like Russia, and Arab states, for oil.

And by all rights, pay about 1/2 in our energy costs for our homes. It would also create a lot of jobs.

With you there.

Wow... It is important to do this.. I like the link. It is something that we must do. We desperately need to get goint toward energy independen. Big oil and power companies own us right now

They always will. With our current technology and futures as well. I'd just LOVE to drive out our dependence of OIL, period.

There is enough solar energy that could be captured in 1 day to run the entire planet for a year and we are doing NOTHING about it.

OIL and Natural Gas are obsolete and so is Nuclear Energy. I know how much you like Natural Gas

Yeahh they take a sizable chunk out of my spending money. I would be able to by some sexy shoes with the money I spend on natural gas.