Did you know

that your new home, apartment, condominium or townhouse is packed with

energy and environmental features?

The "green

building" movement taking place in the housing industry represents

a kind of quiet revolution, but one that nonetheless is bringing decades

of environmentally friendly construction techniques and materials to new

home construction.

Green building,

the buzzword for eco-friendly residential construction, can take many

forms. It can include land use, development and community design techniques

that preserve natural features such as trees, wetlands and open space.

It can mean

water conservation as well as energy efficiency in heating and cooling

systems, appliances and lighting. Common building materials such as lumber

used in the home construction industry are greener now as well, since

many of those materials have been recycled.

Chances are,

the home you recently bought was built using a number of energy and environmental

advances or environmentally-friendly materials, including:

longer-lasting

roofs made of durable steel and fiber-cement coverings;

wood products

known as Oriented Strand Board that use smaller trees and parts of the

tree not previously used ­ these products have replaced plywood for

roof sheathing;

windows with

insulating glass that keep homes more comfortable and energy-efficient;

vinyl siding

that has reduced the need for cedar, redwood and other wood products for

exterior walls;

increased

insulation levels in walls and attics that make homes less drafty and

lower energy bills;

passive solar

design that captures the sun1s rays and gives homeowners "free"

heat;

tree preservation

around residences that provides shade, reduces energy costs by cooling

the home and creates residential communities of lasting value; and

the planting

of native plants that require little or no watering by homeowners and

reduce water bills for homeowners in dryer climates.

These are just

some of the advances discussed in a new six-page publication entitled

"Building Greener, Building Better: The Quiet Revolution," that

the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the NAHB Research

Center recently published.

Featuring a

four-color cutaway drawing of a typical new residence, the publication

provides details on just how far the housing industry has come in providing

greener housing choices to the American home-buying public. In fact, many

new homes feature:

appliances

such as washing machines that use 45 percent less energy and dishwashers

that use 40 percent less energy than models manufactured in 1972;

plastic lumber

in decks that has helped reduce the use of redwood in decks to 6.3 percent

in 1999; and,

greater overall

energy efficiency.

Homes built

today are 100 percent more energy-efficient than homes built in the 1970s.

Builders and manufacturers routinely provide consumers with insulated

doors and windows as well. In fact, the use of insulated glass windows

jumped from nearly 68 percent in 1978 to 87 percent in 1999.

Homeowners

can also enjoy walking near more wetlands these days, because builders

are restoring these areas that protect water and act as wildlife refuges

for rare and endangered species.

Building greener

neighborhoods also means working to remove regulations that make building

beautiful difficult. Builders are breaking down regulatory barriers so

they can create more tree-laden bike paths, put in water-purifying ponds

and lakes, and ensure that pedestrian-friendly communities come with ample

open space.

With the help

and cooperation of local government officials, we can make further green

building a staple of new homes, townhouses, apartments and condominiums.

Would you like

to know more about the energy and environmental features in your new residence?

Then contact the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia at 770-716-7109

to obtain a copy of the NAHB publication "Building Greener, Building

Better: The Quiet Revolution."

(John Hayes,

who is with Torrey Homes, is president of the Home Builders Association

of Midwest Georgia, which serves a membership of approximately 461 builders

and associate members in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Heard and Meriwether

counties.)

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