May 14 2008 6:37PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |
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At the National Green Building Conference in New Orleans this week, many of the great minds of green building and remodeling (including this writer!) convened to discuss and share their thoughts about the state of the industry. One of the more interesting ideas came out of a presentation by David Johnston, author of Green Remodeling and Green from the Ground up, two great books on the subject. He pointed out that spending money on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is not a cost, it is an investment. It is an investment with a quantifiable return. Granite counters are a cost, as there is no quantifiable return on them. Some real estate agents may beg to differ, but while there may be a positive return on fancy countertops upon the sale of a house, it is a risk and cannot be quantified, while you are assured of a return, through lower energy bills, on your investment in efficiency. Our challenge is to convince homeowners to invest in these features to reap the benefits for themselves, society, and our environment.