While some markets shrink, the old-fashioned, tried and true, traditional businesses are having a hard time coping. The common belief that green technology is inaccessible due to cost (i.e. there is always a cheaper, more economical solution) will gradually become less and less correct. I guess that's the beauty of living on a single planet - with enough awareness and support from the world community, we have no choice but to be informed of every consequence of our own actions. Once the wasteful economy of the 20th century is examined in detail, its moral repugnance and the non-sense ethnocentric rationalization for the very existence of such a system will be eradicated and replaced by tributaries of our own economy which are currently rising to take its place. I cite the rising distribution of a few ideas: sustainable energy and food supply, voluntary cooperation of (especially) non-governmental organizations, and green manufacturing coupled with green living. I don't say all these things because of any radical ideology. I say them because what we experience every day (in terms of a fossil fuel based hegemonic economy) is a mere blip on the natural history radar of our home planet. Biology teaches us that consumption fuels growth. Natural History is rife with evidence that growth causes eventual decline or death. I vote for eventual decline.
re-posted from MSNBC:
More homeowners embracing conservation
In 2008, green building is expected to represent 6 percent of the industry
Green Home
updated 8:55 a.m. AKT, Sun., Aug. 3, 2008
CHICAGO - The bathroom tiles are recycled wine bottles. The hardwood floors are sustainable bamboo. And the sprawling garden gets sprinkled with rainwater collected in 300-gallon barrels.
From its recycled plastic deck to its solar-paneled roof, everything in and about the 2,500-square-foot home on exhibit just outside of the Museum of Science and Industry has been designed to show the public how easy it can be to incorporate environmental sustainability into their own abodes.
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In fact, green housing is growing even while the overall housing market is suffering, said Nate Kredich, the council's vice president for residential market development.
This year, green building is expected to represent 6 percent of the residential construction industry, according to a survey conducted by McGraw-Hill Construction Research & Analytics for the U.S. Green Building Council. That's up from just 2 percent in 2005.
"It is happening. But the industry needs to do a better job of getting information into people's hands when they're looking for it," Kredich said.
Embracing conservation
The goal of the Chicago exhibit, which runs through January, is to show visitors that saving energy and conserving resources are within reach of everyone — whether it's an entire house or a single feature, museum officials said.
The modular home, which Kaufmann said uses less than half the energy and a third of the water of traditional homes, includes a kitchen with a countertop composter and a sink made from concrete and fly ash — a byproduct of burning coal. Water from the bathroom sink is diverted to the toilet, where it is used for flushing. A bicycle in the children's bedroom must be pedaled for 30 minutes to charge a battery to power video games.
Visitors receive a resource guide that tells about the function of each feature, how they're assembled and where they can be purchased. The bicycle system, for example, was homemade from parts bought on an electronics Web site.
