New Feature: Green Building 101!

From a science perspective, the built environment plays a crucial role in the health of the natural world. As the human population grows the role of green building becomes increasingly important for the protection of wildlife and ecosystems. One key to conservation is ensuring that buildings and infrastructures are designed with earth in mind.

While this is a science blog, I’m from the school of multi-disciplinary thought - specifically Environmental Science and Sustainable Design. The two are intertwined and interdependent because unless we solve the problem of how to house the millions of people on the planet without destroying the ecosystems we depend on we have got a problem, and so do all the plants and animals.

We are constantly reminded of this challenge in big events like hurricane Katrina, the 2007 wildfires in California or the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest. But we also see it in small events like the appearance of a coyote or bear foraging for food in our backyards.

I’m a scientist, nature lover and green building advocate - they all go together. That’s the reason for Green Building 101 here on Daily Tomorrow. From now on every Monday will be dedicated to the science of green building and how, together, we can build better, live better and protect the environment.

Next week, on Monday, will mark the official start of Green Building 101. In the meantime you might enjoy these links…

Some of my latest green building articles on Inhabitat:

• ASAP House: House About Saving a Planet
• Integrating Habitats: A Design Competition
• Prefab Fridays: pieceHomes
• HOK’s LEED Gold-certified Straw Bale Building

And some of the leading resources for green building:

• U.S. Green Building Council: creators of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program
• Building Green: one of the oldest and most highly regarded green building resources in the United States, publishers of Environmental Building News and the GreenSpec directory