There plenty of builders and remodelers out there who scoff at the Green “trend.” I’ve met carpenters and handymen—skilled workers, mind you—who are downright belligerent when it comes to the subject. I imagine that to them firms like Otogawa-Anschel look like a bunch of dreamy hippies hawking the latest snake oil. And perhaps that view of the Green movement is not entirely baseless. The word Green is everywhere you go these days. Many businesses have caught on to the fact that marketing themselves this way is a savvy method in a tough economy regardless of whether their methods or products are actually sustainable. Last month I had a gentleman from a company that installed elevators in luxury homes try to convince me that they were Green because elevators took up less space than stairways and therefore cut down on the overall footprint of the home.
In fact, I myself am rather sick of the word Green, particularly due to all the “greenwashing.” But Green means the other kind of green these days. Like it or not, money is a powerful instigator of change. Americans are buying more fuel-efficient cars en masse not exactly for the environment’s sake, but because gas prices are skyrocketing. The same is true when it comes to home building and remodeling. More efficient heating and cooling systems and insulation save a lot of money in the long run. Contractors will adjust to what the target market wants because that’s how their businesses can flourish.
The price of gas may have dropped a bit in the last couple of weeks, but the days of cheap fuel are gone forever. There are more people on Earth that ever before and that number will keep growing. Space will become a major issue—even in the US; so will potable water. This generation is finally waking up to the fact that many of the resources mankind relies upon are limited…and we are beginning to adjust.
People are catching on and Green is selling, but eventually it will all be standard. I look forward to the day when green building is the only kind of building, 50 mpg is considered poor mileage, and the kids give you a confused look when you say the word “garbage.” The truth is that these constant threats to our resources goad us into better habits. Once our society makes the change, there’s no reason to turn back. The aberrant concept of Green will fold into daily life and become invisible; nearly unthought-of.
And there will no longer be those dreamy hippies or wily sales folk using the word Green 40 times in a blog. That is a trend. Sustainability is here to stay.
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