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I fielded a question this week in the Green Home Guide about buying
"Made in America" products and discussed what aspects of that
were or weren't green, including points like Gennaro's about types and
distances of transportation.
<a href="http://greenhomeguide.com/askapro/question/are-there-any-high-efficacy-luminaires-that-are-100-american-made" eudora="autourl">
http://greenhomeguide.com/askapro/question/are-there-any-high-efficacy-luminaires-that-are-100-american-made</a>
<br><br>
David Bergman RA LEED AP<br>
<font size=2 color="#808080"><b>DAVID BERGMAN</b> ARCHITECT / <b>FIRE
& WATER</b> LIGHTING + FURNITURE<br>
</font><font color="#808080">architecture . interiors .
</font><font color="#008080">ecodesign</font><font color="#808080"> .
lighting . furniture<br>
</font><font size=2 color="#808080">bergman@cyberg.com
<a href="http://www.cyberg.com/" eudora="autourl"><u>www.cyberg.com</a>
</u></font><font color="#808080"> <br>
</font><font size=2 color="#808080">241 Eldridge Street #3R, New York, NY
10002<br>
</font><font color="#808080">t </font><font size=2 color="#808080">212
475 3106 f 212 677 7291</font><font color="#808080">
<br><br>
author - Sustainable Design: A Critical Guide<br>
adjunct faculty - Parsons The New School for Design</font> <br><br>
At 07:57 PM 2/24/2012, Gennaro Brooks-Church - Eco Brooklyn wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">a tanker from china may use less
embodied energy per lb of material<br>
than a truck from texas to NY. I say "may" since I can't
remember the<br>
numbers, but there is a point where the tanker is
"greener".<br>
likewise it may seem greener to use cement from the plant next door<br>
instead of importing clay from the next country, but after doing the<br>
math maybe the clay transport creates less CO2 than the cement.<br>
My point is that a mature green builder has complex questions that
may<br>
have different answers depending from what level you are looking.<br>
I am in the Dominican Republic, where most local building is done
with<br>
cinder block instead of wood walls and thatch roof. People are poor<br>
and cinder block is more expensive and less comfortable to live in.<br>
Yet they pick it over wood and thatch because over the life of the<br>
building it costs less due to the fact that cinder block lasts a lot<br>
longer, is not as easily destroyed by hurricanes (earthquakes are
not<br>
a problem here...so far), and doesn't go up in flames.<br>
So what is greener?<br>
I've heard people justify metal for roofs for the same argument.<br>
Mining metal destroys mountains and river, consumers large amounts
of<br>
energy but I am presuming they did the math (or not?!) and concluded<br>
that one metal roof that lasts 100 years is greener than four two
pli<br>
tar roofs.....?<br>
I personally am very into natural materials with sacrificial<br>
materials. This does involve more work. But it seems to me that
human<br>
energy is a lot more abundant than mountains and rivers. For example<br>
in the Dominican a thatch roof that needs to be replaced every six<br>
years would consume a lot of human energy vs. a metal roof that
lasts<br>
60. But the thatch does not require tearing up a mountain half way<br>
across the world like metal does.<br>
A thatch house requires a change not only in building technique but<br>
lifestyle. If you are working 40 hour weeks in the office it may be<br>
hard to take two weeks off to replace your roof and it may not be<br>
financially feasible to pay somebody to do it for you (in that case<br>
better to go with metal).<br>
Just thoughts...<br>
Gennaro Brooks-Church<br>
Director, Eco Brooklyn Inc.<br>
Cell: 1 347 244 3016 USA<br>
<a href="http://www.ecobrooklyn.com/" eudora="autourl">
www.EcoBrooklyn.com</a><br>
22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY 11231<br><br>
<br><br>
On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 6:51 PM, Reuben Deumling <9watts@gmail.com>
wrote:<br>
> well, but in practice this might be a good proxy, no? It gets
people<br>
> thinking about the issue of impact/footprint/etc. and wouldn't you
agree<br>
> that if people strove to build with 'local' materials and employed
local<br>
> craftsmen to build the subassemblies like doors and windows we'd be
a lot<br>
> further ahead?<br>
><br>
> I agree if the cement plant is next door one should go whole hog for
Le<br>
> Corbusier, but what other specific examples can you think of that
contravene<br>
> this idea that the impact is magnified by sourcing materials from
further<br>
> away?<br>
><br>
> The point could also go beyond reduced embodied energy to
re-localizing<br>
> skills and re-building infrastructure locally that would allow a
builder to<br>
> avoid importing kiln dried 1x4s from several states away, for
instance.<br>
><br>
><br>
> On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 3:45 PM, Corwyn <corwyn@midcoast.com>
wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> I think it misses the point. The point is reduce embodied
energy. 100<br>
>> miles is not a good proxy for that. Material's embodied
energy matters even<br>
>> if it is made next door. Some transportation is much less
energy intensive<br>
>> than others. And so on. Focus on the actual problem,
otherwise you give<br>
>> those who want to hoodwink you something to hide behind.<br>
>><br>
><br>
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</blockquote>
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