Green Home Building in the US and Europe
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by: hugatree
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As new information comes in, the global community becomes more and more concerned about the environment and energy conservation. And while America is focusing more on the environment than it used to (with its newly popular green home building initiatives in particular), the U.S. is still behind the times when it comes to conservation. Many countries, especially European countries, have been the frontrunners in conserving energy and using green home building for decades.
Energy Conservation in Europe
Europe is at the forefront of the green movement, including green home design... and with good reason. In Europe, oil, natural gas, and electricity are more expensive than in the U.S., and have been for decades. Because of this, both individual Europeans and European governments are much more energy conscious than Americans. This instinct for energy conservation is seen in Europe in several key ways.
One of the main ways that Europeans save energy is through a tightly knit and efficient public transport system. In addition to mass transit in essentially every major European city, the continent also boasts a well utilized long distance passenger rail service. And even though there are plenty of individually owned vehicles in European countries, most cities in Europe boast a higher percentage of mass transit users (and bicycle riders) than the United States.
European energy consciousness is also visible in the way Europeans build their homes. In Europe (especially in larger cities), they use green home building in a very practical, widespread, and simplistic way. Most people residing in a large European city live in a much smaller space than the average U.S. home. In addition, most European houses, apartments, and businesses use simple green home building ideas to keep their spaces cool in summer instead of the air conditioning so common in the U.S. They use simple ideas, such as rolling black out screens, roll out terrace shades, double paned windows, etc., to cool or heat their homes.
The Green Home Building Trend in the U.S.
To sum it up: in Europe, the people have been conscious of the need to switch off the lights when they are not using them for decades... because they needed to save money. Americans, who are used to thinking of energy as a cheap and limitless commodity, are just starting to adjust to a "more European" mindset... including remembering to turn out the lights. This is easy to see when you consider how popular green home building and design has become in America during recent years.
The green home building concepts being used in America revolve around simple ideas, such as less square footage, improved insulation, and smarter positioning to the sun, as well as the use of alternative energy sources like solar paneling. More long term, in depth ideas are also used in green home building in America, such as using renewable materials and environmentally friendly building processes. The United States may be behind Europe when it comes to energy conservation, but green home building looks like a much needed step in the right direction. See also Green home décor .
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