The Past (and future) is in your hands

The energy consumed by your house isn't just what's reflected in your power bill at the end of the month. In fact, a huge amount of energy and resources is also consumed during the building process.

Every step in the building process will produce some amount of carbon emissions from the manufacturing of materials, to the transportation of those materials, to the assembly of the parts, produces waste and carbon emissions. Some of that waste will be recyclable.

The amount of waste produced and energy used in creating a new building greatly depends on the type of materials that you use. Different materials have different impacts on the environment and more people are becoming aware of this fact and using the information.

Climate Friendly is an organization that aims to reduce emissions by modifying building processes, using lightweight materials and using innovative building techniques. They were recently involved in creating one of the world's first carbon neutral homes. Craig Riddle from Climate Friendly mentions "Lightweight materials are an essential part of this process," says Riddle. "Not only because they are lighter to transport (which means less energy is consumed at this stage) but also because they have a low embodied energy."

Links to check out for more information:
- Climate Friendly
- Light Weight Materials

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