The Greening of America

NAHB Public Affairs
July 1, 2002
Professional Builder

	NAHB President Gary Garczynski

In home building, making predictions is risky. Who would have predicted in the early 1980s that mortgage interest rates would ever drop into single digits? And given housing’s record as the first industry to drift into recession when the economy falters, who could have foreseen its outstanding performance in 2001?

Even though predicting housing’s future in clearly an inexact science, I think there’s one thing certain about housing’s future. Not long from now, there will no longer be a need for some builders to specialize in green building because every new home will be green. Green building will be as much an industry standard as indoor plumbing and electrical wiring.

Far-fetched? Not at all. Numerous environmentally friendly practices combined with energy and building material advances are already making homes and communities greener than ever before. In fact, green building represents the next wave in housing as environmentally friendly development and construction practices move into the mainstream.

A new NAHB publication, Building Greener, Building Better: The Quiet Revolution, documents this innovative trend. It also features a cutaway illustration showing how housing industry changes in materials, products and practices during the past two decades have made new homes today 100% more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

Building Greener, Building Better: The Quiet Revolution can be viewed and/or downloaded at www.nahb.com (click on Housing Issues).