that will hold up over time. They cost less to live in and maintain because they're built to be energy efficient and durable.

If green is so great then why aren’t we all living in green homes? Perhaps it’s because some of us don’t yet know that healthier, more sustainable housing exists. Or we know that it’s possible to create a different kind of home, but fear it will cost too much. Or we know that its possible to create a different home, but fear it will cost too much. Few of us have made it a priority to demand that the home - building industry offer us better alternatives, so the industry continues to build what they think everyone wants. Some of us may assume we’ll have to sacrifice amenities or aesthetics- that

we can’t live the good life and the green life.

If you still associate green-built housing with the unconventional or the quirky- tree houses, geodesic domes, dwellings constructed of tires or Coke bottles- think again. Those kinds of houses represent one portion of the green building spectrum, but for practical, aesthetic, financial, or emotional reasons, most of us wind up living in more conventional dwellings. So we think that we cant have our dreams and be green, too.

It doesn’t have to be am either/or choice. Good green homes simply means better homes: homes built to save energy and resources, homes that enhance our well-being rather than

sap our strength, and home that honor the natural abundance and beauty that surround us. We don’t need to sacrifice affordability, style, or comfort. We can have the good life and the green life.