Green Home Building Springs Out Post-Katrina
In New Orleans, green home building is getting more popular. After hurricane Katrina, new home constructions projects are employing sustainable and environment-friendly materials and methods. With contractors getting more and more aware of more eco-friendly practices, a lot of people believe that New Orleans is well on its way to have more sustainable houses in the future.
There are a number of green house construction projects in the area. Also, there have been new policies that push for sustainable methods and materials to be employed in house construction. Global Green, an environmental nonprofit organization set up an office in New Orleans after the storm. There are a lot of other nonprofit groups that have gone to
New Orleans to help the place recover from Katrina. These organizations offer consultancy services and technical expert advice on contractors and builders.
Global Green have already set up different sites that are open for people to visit. According to Darryl Malek-Wiley, regional representative of the Sierra Club, people have more options when they want to have a greener house. A lot of nonprofit organizations have also expressed their support on sustainable construction methods for houses.
Thirteen homes from Make it Right feature green building materials and were constructed using environment-friendly ways. Moreover, these houses have green features that enable its occupants to save energy and other resources.
According to Tom Darden, director of the building initiative, key aspects include energy efficiency, indoor quality of air, and selection of material and water management. These homes achieved the highest scores from the US Green Building Council as well as from the National Association of Home Builders.
Aside from popular features such as solar panels, Make it Right houses also have carpets that have recycled contents, rain garden, permeable concrete and cisterns that retain rainwater, and wood that was harvested from forests that are sustainable. These wood kinds are resistant to molds and termites, eliminating the need to get chemical treatments. Next year, the organization hopes to complete around 150 houses.
Darden says that the energy bills of the homeowners are significantly lower, and this makes the houses sell faster. Also, these kinds of houses may be much better for the health of the occupants.
