| Today, more than ever before, we as residents of | | | | five, sometimes 6 distinct systems if there is a |
| this planet have the responsibility to safeguard the | | | | fireplace(s). |
| earth so that there will be one left for our children. If | | | | There are some really exciting things happening in the |
| this move does not start in the home then it may | | | | world of "green Homes." People are discovering new |
| never gather the momentum that it needs. There are | | | | ways to drastically reduce their monthly energy bills |
| a number of eco-friendly technologies and | | | | on an ongoing basis. This is all part of a move by |
| developments designed specifically for homes and it's | | | | home owners and real estate professionals to show |
| time that we investigated some of them and what | | | | that there is an alternative to our reliance on forms |
| they bring to the table. | | | | of energy that are both detrimental to our |
| Perhaps the best known innovations, or at least the | | | | environment and non-renewable. Eventually we will all |
| most commonly see, are things like low-flow toilets, | | | | have to consider these new ways of supplying |
| solar heating and energy efficient appliances. These | | | | power to our homes as we are leaving a trail of |
| developments have come a long way in past years | | | | devastation in our wake in a ecological sense. What |
| and were some of the original "green home" | | | | kind of planet are we leaving behind for the next |
| products. They helped to form the basis of what | | | | generations? One that is devoid of clean water and |
| would become a revolution in home building and in the | | | | organic foods? One that is getting hotter every |
| way we think about the construction of a home. One | | | | summer and colder every winter? One that is so |
| of the newest ways of thinking about "green homes" | | | | polluted that we cannot ever hope to clean the air |
| is the idea of thinking about a home as a system | | | | that we breathe? It's not an attractive prospect and |
| unto itself. That is that in altering or changing one | | | | it will be our children that have to deal with the |
| aspect of a home it is impossible not to affect other | | | | results. |
| parts of the system. This systems is comprised of | | | | |