On October 23rd, construction began on what will become one of but a few green homes in the Salt Lake Valley. As we stood and watched the excavator slowly turning over dirt on our lot in South Jordan, Utah, it would have appeared to most observers to be but the start of another ordinary house. Not so. This exciting moment marked the start of a long-held dream to build a home that would be designed to maximize passive solar heating and lighting, be energy efficient, be constructed from sustainable materials and be a model home for the 21st century. In other words: a truly green home, environmentally friendly and, at the same time, a pleasant and comfortable place to live. We have started this blog for anyone interested in the arduous but rewarding process of building green.
First, a little background. We are two middle-aged (well, assuming a generous life span) ecology-minded individuals who began dreaming a few years back of building a home that would be a joy to live in, but also a home that later generations would see as a significant contribution to making the planet a healthier place. With ML retired and MB still working in and commuting to SLC, the idea began of a green home closer to work. After many afternoons hanging out at Barnes & Noble reading books (and buying quite a few) on green approaches to home building, we decided to launch into this great adventure. We learned right up front that a project of this type would be costlier than conventional house construction and probably would not give us a full return on our investment during our lifetimes (even assuming a generous life span). Nevertheless, with Al Gore warning of global warning and the number of days of red alert air quality increasing, we decided it was time to take the great leap into the unknown.
So began the process. Next time: finding an architect and a builder.
