Taperman articles

In today’s society, we hear “green” this and “green” that. For example, we can be “green” by driving hybrid cars, reusing shopping bags, and recycling cans and bottles. But what about our homes? Can there be such a thing as green architecture?

Yes, you could be a hero and use recycled materials to build your home. There are people who have done that. But honestly, do you really want a house built out of scrap metal and cork? I doubt it. I know that I prefer more traditional methods of home building. However, even though I would build a “normal” home, I can support green architecture.

Imagine I am building a new home. I want to save money on lumber, so I get a company to truck it in from a few hundred miles away as opposed to spending a little more to buy local. Okay, so I am being a bad guy and using lumber, but even worse, I am using so much fuel to have that lumber trucked in. The key here is to buy local. Not only are you stimulating the local economy, but you are going green. You hear everyone talking about the price of gas nowadays…everyone wants to pay less, but no one wants to conserve. Rather than going to national chain stores, go to mom-and-pop businesses that are supplied with local products.

Another thing that I have heard about recently is about how people are opposed to mining to build homes. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but consider this: In order to construct most homes, you need gravel. I am aware that a gravel mine in your back yard would be unpleasant. My point is this: you need the gravel either way. Either you purchase the gravel locally, promote local economy, and save fuel, or you can spend a lot of money on trucking, not promote the local economy, and have the same product.

My reason for saying all of this is that many times, you find green architecture where you wouldn’t expect it. Yes, most people would think of a building made out of recycled materials with a Prius sitting out front when they think about greeness, but there are more subtle things that the average person can do to promote green architecture. The easiest thing for a consumer to do… buy local.

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