Rethinking the American Dream Home

Since 1950, the size of the average American home has doubled even though average family size has decreased by 50 percent. Today, the average, 2,250 square-foot American house requires a clearcut the size of a football field just for the materials. Demolished buildings and the detritus of construction take up 20 to 40 percent of our landfill space.

Clearly, our homes are one of our biggest uses of resources. Not only that, but generating the electricity to power our built environment is the single largest source of greenhouse gases, even surpassing transportation. But a growing phalanx of green pioneers are blazing the way forward with smart innovations to help the homeowners of the future live more sustainably, while enriching our lives with design and comfort.

It's not all back-to-the-land simplicity or architectural hair shirts. The nonprofit Natural Building Network, for example, encourages people to rediscover plentiful materials people have used for centuries, such as straw bales, earth, cob and adobe. These materials can be much more modern and beautiful than people may think.

There are many ways to provide shelter, and the Natural Building Network's innovations are one approach in the overall shift toward greener thinking.

Read more about this from the Ventura County Reporter.

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