The Green Movement

2007 will be the year when people of every nation finally had a moment of enlightenment. The world figured out that the resources of this earth are finite and before we use them up as a society we have to change our ways. Each country is coming to grips with how they will cope with this realization. In the United States, part of what we plan on doing is to move to products and processes in our daily lives that are sustainable. Home construction and remodeling will play a significant role in this.

Even though we know this has to happen the economics of it will not bring about this giant idealistic change as quickly as most hope. In fact it will be done very slowly and take more time than anyone hoped or could foresee. Most of the new construction today already uses very sustainable practices and products. For instance our concrete construction company has been using fly ash, which is a recycled by product from coal fired power plants for decades as a replacement for cement in our concrete mix designs. The fly ash adds to the workability and strength of our concrete and is less costly. The economics for us work out.

On the other hand, we have used insulated concrete forms to construct above grade building envelopes in lieu of wood framing.
The green advantages include the following:
- Energy Savings
- Very Sound Proof
- Low Air Infiltration
- Materials Used Are Comprised Heavily Of Recycled Content
These all help to reduce our carbon footprint on the earth.

However, the product cost, use of lumber to hold the forms in place when pouring , and the additional labor involved to do the project right economically offsets those advantages. Until products such as these evolve to make economic sense and the comfort level of suppliers and professionals are raised, we will not take the strides necessary to meet our objectives as a world community.

It is going to be a long and difficult journey to change the direction we have been headed but there is no alternative. If we want to leave this planet exactly as it was when we where brought into this life we have to be leaders and not look the other way. The more people adapt and embrace new products such as the fly ash or ICF technologies, the more realistic a goal of the earth providing a sustainable environment for generations to come. I know our company is on board.