To Be or Not to Be Green?
By Linda Sechrist

   While green may not be the hottest hue in color trends for your home this season, it will always be the first word to roll off the tongue of interior designers who specialize in green interiors for residential design.
   But if green simply isn’t your color and the cash you carry in your wallet more than satiates your minimal appreciation for the shade that dominates our sub-tropical landscape, why would you ever choose to incorporate green building practices into your home? Though interiors with natural fabrics, flooring, wallc overing, window treatments and no-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints provide healthier interiors, the benefits don’t stop there.
   According to Brian Pruett, president of Pruett Builders in Sarasota, green building practices enhance the profitability of resale, produce more energy-efficient homes and significantly improve the home’s indoor air quality. Not to be overlooked is the affordability of operation costs that are reduced with green building features such as 15 SEER HVAC systems, tinted windows, and a spray-in-place under the roof insulation. “I believe that within five years these things may all be integrated into our building codes,” says Pruett who feels that once the public is educated on the benefits of green building, there will be a greater demand for it.
   “We are building more air-tight homes and people are literally trapped inside with pollutants. Builders must use green building standards for better interior air quality or they aren’t acting responsibly,” comments Drew Smith of Two Trails in Sarasota. The general contractor and consulting green building specialist is also the founding president of the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) and very emphatic about dispelling the myths around green building.
   “It is not a passing fancy and it doesn’t cost a lot more. In fact while minimum green standards may cost between two- and three-percent more, they have a nearly immediate payback in energy savings. When homeowners see the savings in their electric bills they will become believers and tell others about the benefits.”
   Jerry Blumberg, a principal of Gibraltar Homes in Sarasota, emphasizes, “An energy-efficient home is a good investment because utility costs will never decrease. As builders, it is our responsibility to educate the public about green building benefits and features,” concludes Blumberg who also advises that Gibraltar Homes meets the requirements of Florida Power & Light’s Build Smart Program.
   For 10 years Gibraltar Homes has been building green with standards that include low VOC paints. Says Blumberg, enthusiastically, “It is the right thing to do. We consider ourselves environmentalists who prefer to be on the cutting edge doing as much as possible to conserve energy and resources.”
   If Shakespeare were alive today, perhaps his prose might pose, “to be green or not to be green.” Choosing greening principles would mean being true to all that sustains our beautiful planet with all its miraculous but, unfortunately, limited resources.