Sustainable education

America is quickly running into a crisis with environmental issues. One major issue is the amount of fossil fuels left in the world. Scientist believe that the world has depleted itself of half its supply of fossil fuels, most of that consumption being in the last 25 years. They believe that if there is not a major change, we will use up our supply in about 36 years. American houses make up large amount of environmental consumption and waste. American houses are responsible for the following:

39% of the total energy use
12% of the total water consumption
68% of the total electricity consumption
38% of the total carbon dioxide emission
30% of raw material use

Building developers such as Toll Brothers have only increased this consumption by buildings unsustainable housing which use the minimum amount of materials needed and the most inefficient mechanical equipment. The designs also pay no attention to sun orientation or working with microclimates within the context of the building. Why do they build houses like these? Its simple so that they can gain the highest profit at the bare minimum cost for construction. People buy these houses because they do not understand poor construction process for these buildings and are unaware of the options available to create sustainable buildings. These low end homes which increasing annually are consuming most of our suburban communities and land. The development of these areas are inevitable with the growing population. Studies show that in order to meet population growth in each states, 220,000 housing units would have to be added annually until 2020. Therefore communities need to be educated about building sustainable homes. There needs to be a way to help communities ask the right questions as the seek to identify sustainable policies. By building on a community space on a site that will relate to the way in which housing developments are placed, One can visually educate the public. A community site will allow a constant flow of a variety of people to the building. This building will then be able to create a sustainable experience as well as providing information, classes, seminars, etc of many advantages and opportunities of sustainable building and living. It can show the public that by simply following LEED principals, the minimum conservation and savings would be as follows:

20% annual savings in energy costs
20% reduction in water costs
38% reduction in waste water production
22% reduction in construction waste

There also many other benefits to building a sustainable house that include the following: It reduces and recycles construction materials (which is less expensive that the disposal of construction waste), It makes homes more energy efficient and allows for independent power opportunities, It creates low monthly bills on water consumption, etc. By lowering water consumption, the electricity consumption also lowers because the water pump is not being used as much. By building sustainable houses, one can live a healthier life. Many houses such as toll brothers houses use low end materials which contain harmfull chemicals. For example, many plywoods (such as OSB) contain formaldehyde which are released into the indoor air. These chemicals can cause diseases such as multiple chemical sensitivity in the inhabitants of these buildings. By informing communities of disadvantages of standard home buildings and the advantages of sustainable homes, it might begin to change the way in which people view their homes and the development of future houses.