Dear Friends,

Global warming, toxic pollution and subsequently green building have more strikingly become part of the language of everyday life. The World at Home: A Household Guide to Building Green is CEC’s new guide to help consumers plan, build, or renovate their homes with strategies and products that are healthier for both people and the environment. Whether you’re remodeling an older home, painting a room, or just dreaming about building a home someday, this resource has tips, strategies and materials that you’ll want to consider. 

Building materials are seldom easily classified as green or not. In many cases, evaluating them can be like comparing apples to oranges – comparing the long term durability of one product with the life cycle pollution costs another and the energy saving characteristics of yet another. The World at Home will help you prioritize your “green goals” and make critical decisions to strike a balance between them. In this guide we worked hard to discuss factors like embodied energy and the benefits of buying locally, and we sought to encourage builders to strike a balance between priorities as diverse as toxic reduction, lifecycle costs, social justice issues, and energy and water efficiency. By integrating information about why and how products and strategies are environmentally preferable, we give consumers the tools by which to distinguish what contributes to a greener decision, not only in building, but throughout all aspects of living. 

This guide is full of helpful stuff – all in one place! Why is PVC called the “poison plastic”? Is plastic lumber good for the environment? Which insulations work best in the northeast? How can building a home partially into the ground save energy? Is solar energy affordable? Which paints and stains are safest? How can having compost pile cut down on dioxin pollution in the environment? What is LEED certification and how does it work? Where can one find reclaimed building materials and natural building experts in New York? How can you have the “greenest” lawn? Find the answers to these questions – and much, much more by downloading The World at Home. Its time we build green so we can live greener.

We would love to hear what you think. Is this resource that you, your business, or your class will use? Let us know! Please tell us what you’ve found most useful, or what would help for our next edition. E-mail me at ceclaura@igc.org with comments, ideas, or just to let me know where and how we can get valuable green building information to everyone!

Sincerely,

Laura McCarthy
Program Associate
Citizens’ Environmental Coalition