Because I am a green contractor in Brooklyn where there is an abundance of brownstones I can green I have the luxury of not having to build new houses. We all have to make a living and some people fall into the new homes business so I understand that.
Renovating Old Building
But we need to move away from building new buildings and start improving the ones we have. And it does not matter if the new home is a green home. The act of putting a structure on open land is too damaging to the ecosystem and no amount of green building can offset that.
For me building a new green home is like building a low mileage hummer….and selling materials for a new home is like selling air fresheners for that same hummer….like I said I have the luxury to think that since I don’t have to make a living building new homes.
And things don’t change over night and people have to live with what life offers them today.
But I’m hoping that public opinion increasingly feels new buildings are decadent and unnecessary. Because with the amount of buildings we have now and the shortage of resources and green space I think for most parts of the world we can start slowing down the pace of new homes without much sacrifice.