Hampton Green Alliance

[The Voice of Reason]

So the place my brother works has formed a green alliance in construction on Eastern Long Island.

I was interested in peoples opinion on these kinds of inniatives?

My contention is that to be green, the construction industry pretty much needs to stop existing. I am promdevelopment, and was raised by hippies, so I am very environmentally concious.

I wonder if programs like hampton green alliance, or even LEED for that matter turn a blind eye to reality to become green in concept.

For example. Timber is treated with all kinds of nasty stuff. it is shipped across the country or even world, then in order to pass building codes, it is wrapped in tyvec stuffed with whipped glass insulation, covered by gypsum board, and painted.

I like the fact that the wealthy want to use more sustainable practices in their new summer mansions, but are we just looking at the energy a solar panel saves, or are we looking at the energy and materials used to create the solar panel.

The HGA has a website, that I will not link because I am not totally sure the link I have is public, but I am sure you can google it since info is contained in his companies SEC fillings.

thoughts?

[Neo]

I don't believe that many are willing to be 100% green in their efforts, but with things like LEED certification it is certainly possible to diminish the effects that we have on the environment.

I'm not sure what goes into making a solar panel from scratch but I would think that if it is more environmentally costly to create the panels than is returned from the use of such panels then it would have been exposed by now and if not it certainly should be.

My wife and I purchased recycled bags at our local grocery store instead of using new paper or plastic bags each time we visit, but we still must burn fuel to get to the store and purchase items that have a large carbon footprint to get to the store. We're obviously not making much of a dent in making our grocery trips environmentally friendly, but if enough people do small things they make a gigantic impact. The same notion carries over to other forms of being environmentally conscious as well so I think anything we can do to help the cause is worthwhile.

[The Voice of Reason]

Yeah, the grocery bag thing is a lot like the water bottle thing.

but what still makes my devils advocate laugh is that there is now a demand to produce millions of more durable grocery bags for re-use. how often on average are they used? how much damage does producing them create.

an even more interesting concept is regarding the word sustainability. how much can our earth handle? as in how much X(random toxic material) can the earth absorb safely before it becomes toxic. or how much breaks down during a certain cycle.

I think designing with materials in mind that have smaller long term effects is the biggest concern to me.

people talk about carbon footprints.

I say screw the carbon footprint. Carbon is inert and harmless. if we can reclaim natural space, and enough plants are out there they will thrive on that CO or CO2 and turn it into oxygen and watervapor. But cionide used in Lumber, or the polymers used in making hybrid cars, or the heavy metals used in their hybrid battery systems etc...

I am certainly all for the current green movement, but I am a little worried about the potential puture problems that might arise from it.

Hell its been 20 years and most places do not recycle household trash. I feel like recycling could save more resources if mandated than any other technology. and recylcing globally... for get about it!

renewable energy is the other obvious biggie. something to replace gas and something to replace coal powerplants.

the good thing about the hampton green alliance thing is I know the CEO and he has the same questions. He is also taking his house off the grid with solar.

[Neo]

Yeah, the grocery bag thing is a lot like the water bottle thing.

but what still makes my devils advocate laugh is that there is now a demand to produce millions of more durable grocery bags for re-use. how often on average are they used? how much damage does producing them create.

I can't speak for everyone (probably a very small percentage), but before our recent switch to reusable grocery bags we recycled the plastic (or paper) bags that the bag boy put our groceries in. To my knowledge most reusable bags (I know the ones we purchased are included) are made from these recycled shopping bags. Sure it takes a bit of energy to make the new bags, but it is a one-time deal and saves a great deal more in bags that would otherwise be thrown out by most.

I'm not saying doing such a small thing is going to make a hill of beans to the environment if only I do it, but collectively the impact could be huge. My county just built a new park with a most excellent boardwalk made from recycled bags. Applications like this are killer as it doesn't have to be painted, is extremely durable and uses resources that would otherwise end up in our landfills.

[suburban george3]

I'm going to have to agree with Neo, a lot of people taking small steps can add up to big results and a changing of habits.

I have had reusable bags for sometime, first a cloth net-type bag and have supplemented with three reusable bags (one of which is insulated with a zip top!) I do keep some plastic grocery type bags to use for garbage bags in my smaller rooms and carry some to the store in case my reusable bags aren't enough for my purchases. I also carry a reusable bottle for water/drinks at work and keep a 2 liter bottle of diet soda for lunchtime. I try to recycle everything like a fiend at home and when I'm away from the house.

As far as for construction, my house was not built with the environment in mind, but I'm doing what I can to help minimize it's future impacts. I have planted additional native trees in the landscape, switched out incandescent to CFL light bulbs, upped my thermostat setting on the AC, etc.

It's all about doing what we can and 'striving' to do more. It took us decades to get to where we are now with the environment and it will take decades to get us out of our bad habits.

[nashvillwill]

I am afraid things like the construction industry are a necessary evil. It troubles me that my future trade of choice is so environmentally destructive. Have you ever seen a rock quarry?! But, short of going back to adobe hut's, it's a required part of society. That is why i have chosen to specialize in 'environmental protection of the concrete industry'. We might not be able to survive our modern society without quarry's, but i can help make sure that they are operated in the most environmentally sound way possible.

The really disgusting practice of our modern time is 'mountain top mining'. This practice should be outlawed, and criminally punished. I think that if common knowledge about this practice was more prevalent, it would be. However, i'm afraid that by the time people figure out what is really happening, it will be to late.

[The Voice of Reason]

I am afraid things like the construction industry are a necessary evil. It troubles me that my future trade of choice is so environmentally destructive. Have you ever seen a rock quarry?! But, short of going back to adobe hut's, it's a required part of society. That is why i have chosen to specialize in 'environmental protection of the concrete industry'. We might not be able to survive our modern society without quarry's, but i can help make sure that they are operated in the most environmentally sound way possible.

The really disgusting practice of our modern time is 'mountain top mining'. This practice should be outlawed, and criminally punished. I think that if common knowledge about this practice was more prevalent, it would be. However, i'm afraid that by the time people figure out what is really happening, it will be to late.