Posted By rustyjames on 12 Jul 2010 11:59 AM

Right here in the beautiful state of NJ. 

beauty .............beholder!

Posted By cmkavala on 12 Jul 2010 02:31 PM

Posted By rustyjames on 12 Jul 2010 11:59 AM

Right here in the beautiful state of NJ. 

beauty .............beholder!

I know what you mean; if Florida didn't have the Key's, it wouldn't have much.

Found this directory of construction supplies that has a "green" category on each product write-up.  It shows things like LEED certification, etc.
http://products.construction.com/

Big companies disregard producing green infrastructures mainly because it is their clients decision on what kind of materials they would use. But only if these people will be more aware on what's happening, they would rather go with eco-friendly materials.

Great Post! One suggestion might be to engage the contractor where they are most likely to pay attention. At the wallet! Not with laws and fines, and more bureaucracy to cost the taxpayer, levy heftier permit fees which drives the consumer price up, but instead with a reward of being paid for recycleables to be used for fuels and the like. Or tax incentives to be applied against the builders company earnings. IMHO, the regulatory expenses always get passed on to the unwilling taxpayer and ultimately the consumer. Government (state, local, or federal) is the definition of costly inefficiency. (Post office?!?!) I say, give the Builder a financial incentive to police his own site, and you can be sure they will separate their waste materials to be recycled. :) As a matter of fact, it could spawn an entirely new industry in recycled materials handling if specialist came right to the job and loaded the materials, hauled them away, and the builder recieved a tax credit or even a credit against their next permit fees. Convincing politicians to reduce the size of their cash flow and do more with less . . thats another issue!

For most people, a green home is about energy efficiency.There are consumers who are aware of water conservation as being part of a green home. For a few the focus is on health. Sustainability comes into play for others.

What's interesting is how this thought process has changed so much. It wasn't but 15 years ago that no one ever questioned the sustainability of their building materials. Here's an interesting article that relates to this discussion eople utilizing copper and sustainability. http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/awards/homepage.html