Green Home Building in the US and Europe
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by: hugatree
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Word Count: 496
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
European countries lead the pack when it comes to green home design and green living... which makes a certain amount of sense. In Europe, oil, natural gas, and electricity are more expensive than in the U.S., and have been for decades. And of course this makes Europe more aware of energy and power usage than the U.S.. This is seen in European culture in a lot of 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. While cars are common in Europe, many more Europeans use public transport (or even ride bicycles) than would be found in the U.S..
Europeans also build their homes with energy conservation in mind. In large European cities in particular, green home building concepts are widely used. 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.
Green Home Building in America
Essentially, Europeans have been remembering to turn the lights out when they leave a room for years. 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 changing mindset is evidenced by the increasing popularity of green home building.
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. America is a little behind, but with luck will start catching up to the standard set by Europe. Reference Green home construction . Green home improvements . Green home construction . Green home construction .
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