Radio Interview Made Me Think...

I did a radio interview for the folks at Citadel Broadcasting's 92.7FM this morning in Johnson City, and had a great time with the host of the morning show, Dave Hogan. We figured out that we both grew up in small towns in WNC (me in Sylva, him in Andrews) and knew some of the same folks- very nice guy. It's good to meet people from back home living in this Northeast TN area. Anyway, the interview topic was about green building, and it got me thinking about lost (or forgotten) technologies and the re-introductions of them and the effects on our modern culture. I always talk about this when I'm discussing green building with someone, and I haven't yet discussed it on this blog. Before there were central heating/air units, "endless" supplies of water through indoor plumbing, and electricity, people had great innovations for just making things work. Many ancient civilizations figured out that using stone floors and walls in construction, and combining that with knowing the angle of the sun at certain times of the year (for that particular location) could make a huge difference in heating and cooling the dwellings, with what we now know as heat masses and passive solar heating. They took window placement into account for good air flow at warmer times of the year. And, that was the original purpose of windows- to use them for more than just a place to hang window treatments. They were a source to both welcome and block out the elements, provide natural lighting before there was electricity and light bulbs, and to dump your chamber pot (yuck). Communities worked together to make things work for everybody with shared wells and gardens- I'll grow corn, and we'll trade you some for part of your beans. My reason for always bringing this up with folks in conversation about green building is to point out that all of these "antique technologies" have been re-discovered and introduced as "green building." It's the same with vegetables that we ate growing up from our garden that are now served in boutique grocery stores and called "organic food." I shop there because the food is good, fresh, and not injected with anything. It holds true for construction, too. All of these old technologies are revised, and they're the central principles for every major green building program. The beauty is that we are now realizing that we can take the technological advancements that we've made with heat pumps, running water, electricity, etc- combine them with these principles that were developed centuries ago, and reduce our use of utilities and natural resources very significantly. It's amazing how the mix of old with the new, both in technology and style, is coming on so strong right now. The pairing of the two is such a natural fit, and I hope that some of the folks who are "scared of green" (both consumers and builders) can start to get some perspective about how simple some of these principles are and begin to educate themsevles about how beneficial "going green" can be. Maybe we should stop calling it "green building" and "going green" and start calling it "logical, common-sense building"; "money-saving construction"; or "antiquing."