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The fall of the real estate market was the first visible and measurable consequence of the great credit debacle. Soon after, we began to see wider and deeper consequences throughout the economy that impacted every man, woman and child. We are coming through a truly transitional time. It is a time of economic crisis for some, a time of opportunity for others. When the history is written, our time will be recognized and marked as the great dividing line that separates the old ways from the new ways -- not just in banking, investing, building and buying housing, of insuring, of personal saving, of traveling, of shopping, of entertaining, of eating, of disposing of our waste material, of retiring and of dying.
Before the great credit debacle, the plunging home values and the mushrooming foreclosures, the old ways worked well. There was more home ownership for more people than ever. After the crash of the credit market, which was first seen in real estate but soon enough seen throughout the entire economy, along with spiraling energy costs, new technologies, rapid changes in building ordinances and codes and zoning, growing awareness of community development standards, the formation of nation-wide professional accreditation for green and sustainable structures for our living and working needs, faces a transformational juncture where “crisis equals opportunity.” The credit debacle, technology changes, spiraling energy costs, and a tidal wave of “green” laws and policy trends may throw the unprepared off-balance, but lift the well-prepared to new heights. Case in point: The US Green Building Council is clocking new requests for LEED certification at $464 million dollars in total project value, every single business day. In this time of change, what once seemed fringe is now front and center.
Technical and financial innovations are changing the way » consumers use energy, from Smart Grid home or web-based energy monitors, time-of-use rates, on-site generation (solar, micro-wind, geothermal), energy storage, and the “smart garage” for charging plug-in electric vehicles.
The US Green Building Council is putting the finishing touches on its LEED for Neighborhood Development standard.
A rapid increase in green building ordinances and code changes favoring green building.
Visionary designers and developers are bundling many of » these features in search of the lowest possible carbon and/ or energy footprint.
If these approaches represent the wave of the future, how will they be financed? What advantages or disadvantages do they have vis-à-vis more conventional models of community-building? What economic and financial models are being developed to quantify the benefits of these various features and qualities
EPA ENERGY STAR Energy Efficient Mortgages Conventional, FHA and VA mortgages that are keyed to home energy efficiencies. This is a government site.
Florida H.E.R.O. This site is from an independent energy analyst and building science consultant who works in partnership with developers, builders and homeowners to improve the efficiency, health and durability of homes.
National Conservation Guild’s Energy Efficient Financing Information Center
National Home Energy Raters Association The purpose of the National Energy Rater Association (NERA) is to promote energy conservation, consumer satisfaction, rater technical proficiency, peer support and ethical standards.
http://www.greenandsave.com Remodeling tips, payback calculators, heating, cooling, landscaping, advice.
Government DOE
Building America Building
America works with members of the home building industry to produce
quality homes that use up to 50% less energy without costing more to
build. DOE Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy Network (EREN) Florida
Solar Energy Center Administration
of Florida Energy Ratings system, software development and training Non-Profit
Organizations ASE Alliance
to Save Energy. Promotes the clean and efficient use of energy
worldwide to benefit the environment, economy, and national
security. ERHA Energy Rated Homes
of America. ERHA promotes national energy ratings and energy
efficient mortgages. Florida
Green Building Coalition FGBC
is a nonprofit Florida Corporation dedicated to improving the built
environment. Its mission is "to provide a statewide Green Building
program with environmental and economic benefits." Habitat for
Humanity Green Team Habitat's
Environmental Initiative promotes energy-efficient, environmentally
friendly construction, encouraging good stewardship of natural
resources and raising awareness of the environmental impact of house
building. RESNET Residential
Energy Services Network-national network of mortgage companies, real
estate brokerages, builders, appraisers, utilities and other housing
and energy professionals.
NASEO National
Association of State Energy Officials-the state energy officials’
Washington Voice on national energy issues.
The goal of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
(EE) is to develop cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable
energy technologies that protect the environment and support the
nation's economic competitiveness.
http://www.greenandsave.com/master_roi_table.html
Americans tend to think of ourselves as an eco-friendly, environmentally-conscious society, doing our part for the planet. But which countries are among the most eco-friendly in the world? How are they ranked? What criteria are involved in grading them? And how does the U.S. stack up against them?
Different surveys or studies have different rankings and results. In general, however, many European and South American countries are some of the world’s greenest.
The EPI (Environmental Protection Index) was performed by Yale University, and graded 149 countries on a scale from 0 to 100, with 0 being the worst and 100 being the best. To arrive at the score, many factors were considered, including a country’s carbon emissions, sulfur output, conservation efforts and water purity (1, 2).
The top 10 countries and their scores, (out of a possible 100):
European countries make up 14 of the top 20 on the list, explains Newsweek (1). Specifically, many European countries have clean drinking water, which decreases disease rates.
Out of the 149 countries in this study, the U.S. ranked 39th with a score of 81.0 (1).
Greendex scores were calculated by GlobeScan, (an international polling group), and The National Geographic Society, notes MSN Health. The online survey measured responses from 1,000 consumers per nation in each of 14 nations. Multiple factors were examined, including transportation, water usage and energy efficiency. As with the EPI, scores range between 0 and 100, with 0 being the worst and 100 being the best (3).
The 14 countries and their scores, (out of a possible 100):
We pride ourselves on our recycling efforts. Many Americans faithfully push out recycling bins to the curb for collection, or bundle up recyclable paper, plastic, glass and metal to bring to recycling plants. However, other countries recycle even more than we do.
According to the Web site, Aneki.com, here are the seven countries that the recycle the most, along with the percentage of their waste that is recycled (4):
Reader’s Digest reports the following five countries have the highest alternative energy production rates (5):
How Does the U.S. Measure Up?
As you can clearly see from EPI rankings and Greendex scores, the U.S. isn’t the greenest country in the world. This wasn’t always the case, however. At one time, our country was at the forefront of environmental protection. But, other countries have taken the lead, passing new legislation aimed at protecting the environment and creating healthier, more eco-friendly standards. In contrast, the U.S. hasn’t passed any “significant American air quality legislation” since “1990, an amendment to the Clean Air Act,” writes Andy Stone for Newsweek (6).
Moreover, while countries all over the globe supported the Kyoto Protocol for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, “the U.S. was one of only a few countries that failed to adopt Kyoto,” Stone notes (6).
And, our greenhouse gas emissions are astronomical: the U.S. “per capita carbon dioxide emissions were nearly five times the worldwide per capita figure” in 2004, claim Matthew E. Kahn and Fran Lostys in Reader’s Digest (5).
Stay tuned to learn more about other countries and new, greener steps they’re taking.
Sources
1. The World’s Greenest Countries. (January 23, 2008). Newsweek. Retrieved
October 23, 2009 from
http://www.newsweek.com/id/98010
2. Top 10 Eco Friendly Countries. (2009). Eco Friendly Daily. Retrieved October
23, 2009 from
http://www.ecofriendlydaily.com/news/friendly-countries/
3. What’s Your Greendex Score? (May 2008). MSN Health. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from http://www.health24.com/article.asp?contentID=46309
4. Countries with the Highest Recycling Rates. (2009). Aneki.com. Retrieved October 25, 2009 from http://www.aneki.com/recycling_countries.html
5. Kahn, Matthew E. & Lostys, Fran. Greenest Locations on the Globe: Five Key Environmental Lessons. (n.d.). Reader’s Digest. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/greenest-locations-on-the-globe/article45585.html
6. Stone, Andy. The World’s Cleanest Countries. (April 15, 2009). Newsweek. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from http://www.newsweek.com/id/194082