Green Building is the merging of cutting-edge technology, a love of nature, and tried and true building techniques. The paradigm is still shifting and the definition continues to be refined, but the outline is still the same: a green home or building creates no negative environmental impacts and leaves behind no negative environmental impacts.

In order achieve such a feat, the ultimate goal is to design a building, which imitates nature... Its materials and by products must biodegrade safely back into our soil, air and water. Its energy inputs must originate from non-polluting sources and create non-polluting by-products. Both of these measures must be achieved via material resources that are abundant and renewable in supply, meaning for example, the energy source or the wall board must originate via a "renewable" material resource (one that is essentially inexhaustible and therefore creates no long or short term deficits in our greater ecological balance).
 
What's more, the building must meet human demands. It should be beautiful, functional, inspiring. It should have clean indoor air & water qualities. It should be well lit, with climate controls that suit the individual's needs. It should provide comfort, structure, warmth; facilitate conversation and encourage people to engage in the diverse world outside its walls. It should require as little maintenance as possible, foster ecosystem abundance, promote human health, and return great financial, aesthetic, and creature comfort rewards.
 
And that's a creative definition. A more nuts and bolts list of 'green built' characteristics details the pieces that work together to create such a harmony:
 
> passive solar orientation
> maximum energy efficiency
> maximum water efficiency
> eco-effective waste & water cycling
> use of sustainably-sourced, non-toxic materials
> use of water-wise landscaping
> maintenance of pre-existing landscape
> encourages local wildlife to flourish
> dependence on clean fuels
> clean indoor air & water
 
And of course, these major factors include thousands of site-particular variations. To learn more about Green Building, simply visit the Austin Green Building Program's website, contact them via telephone (ask for “Toye” 482-5300), engage in one of their upcoming programs, and/or come to "The Sustainable Shopper's Ball!"