Proud to Build Green Homes in a Cool City
I recently learned that the Ann Arbor area has more green buildings per capita than any other city in the U.S. Cool city, that is, indeed! And I am proud to be one of the area’s green-living residents and green builders making it so.
This weekend, three colleagues and I are holding public tours of eight green homes. Fireside Home Construction built two of those homes and I can’t wait to show them off. It’s a chance for us to raise awareness of an issue near to my heart and to showcase what we do best. What a great way to spend the weekend!
The tours will take place June 12th and 13th in support of the national "Green Buildings for Cool Cities," a partnership between the Sierra Club and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). They, along with many groups and individuals, want to see cities adopt green building as a key component of their long-term environmental planning. Tours are taking place all over the country and, locally, the Ecology Center is sponsoring them to help raise awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of sustainable buildings.
All of the homes we are showing are certified or registered with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program at the Platinum level, the highest possible level of achievement. This means they are documented examples of excellence in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship and that they have been designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance in the areas that matter most:
Energy savings
Water efficiency
Emissions reduction
Improved indoor environmental quality
Environmental responsibility
I hope you’ll come tour. You’ll like what you see and you may learn something you didn’t already know. You’ll have a chance to ask green building professionals about how to “green” your own home now and start making a difference today. You’ll be talking to builders and designers who know that buildings contribute nearly 40% of global warming emissions and consume over 70 percent of electricity use in the United States and who are committed to clean energy environmental solutions and to rebuilding our local economy.
It will be a great, green day.
Register at www.greenhomestourmi.org now and please help spread the word. Maybe the beauty, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and environmental stewardship of these homes will be “catchy.” And that’s what we want.
More green homes, after all, mean that we are going easier on our planet.