Thanks to a

new movement taking place in the housing industry known as "green

building," new homes, apartments, townhouses and condominiums are

being built in more environmentally friendly ways then ever before.

The principles

behind green building revolve around building wiser, using materials and

resources more efficiently, and getting the most value out of the new

homes being built today without more regulation.

Builders are

making great strides in using materials differently. Take the materials

commonly found in homes built in the 1970s vs. today, for example. The

use of plywood, has been reduced considerably. In 1978, plywood made up

89 percent of roofing products for sheathing, according to data compiled

Center. By 1999, use of plywood in roof sheathing had dropped to 27 percent.

Plywood has been replaced by Oriented Strand Board, which uses crushed

wood debris compacted and glued together in ways that create a stronger,

more durable building material.

Other parts

of a home have changed as well. The use of insulated doors has nearly

doubledfrom 44 percent in 1978 to 85 percent in 1999. Over the same time,

use of low-E coated windows grew by almost 30 percent and the use of insulated

glass increased from nearly 68 percent to 87 percent."Plastic lumber"

in decks has grown steadily since 1978, helping reduce the use of redwood

in decks from 20.1 percent in 1978 to 6.3 percent in 1999.

Looking beyond

materials, there are other things builders can do to build greener but

the industry needs help from others. In Washington, DC, builders are urging

Congress to provide a tax credit so that we can construct and maintain

new energy-efficient single-family and multifamily housing. Builders also

want Congress to pass a tax credit for homeowners for projects that increase

energy efficiency in existing homes.

Neighborhoods

are becoming greener too, thanks to land use plans that preserve more

trees and open space. One of the most important aspects of green building

is "clustering" homes close to each other and within walking

distance of open space areas and trees, wetlands, meadows and other natural

amenities.

Green building

requires building with a different mindset. This means builders and local

governments must work together to encourage the building of homes and

communities that provide needed shelter and protect the environment.

If local governments

do encourage more green building, buyers could benefit because a home

or a community built green often provides benefits such as lower operating

and maintenance costs and increased home value in terms of resale.

What are the

keys to more widespread acceptance of green building practices? The housing

industry believes we need more education on the part of builders and consumers,

more cooperation between builders and government agencies, and more innovation

on the part of product manufacturers.

(Chad Floyd,

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

of Midwest Georgia, which serves a membership of approximately 550 builders

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

Pike, Upson and Lamar counties.)

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