My son and I have allergies to chemicals. Which
means that we have struggled - for 2 1/2 years - to find a home that is healthy
for us to live in. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), HUD
(Housing and Urban Development), and the UW-Extension have
all publicly posted documents saying that houses should be built with
materials that don't emit toxins (see links below). We still, today, use
many of those same materials. It's important to note here that "green
building" isn't synonymous with "healthy for us
(humans)". Green is about how the materials, energy use, etc. impact
our environment - tree growth, reduced energy use, etc. Our health - and
materials that do not emit toxins - is an entirely different thing. Don't
get me wrong, sometimes the materials are both good for humans AND the
environment, but it's more the exception than the rule.
Although important to note, I digress a bit...
after looking for a home for 2 1/2 years with no success, I decided that
we should build a home. One that is made from materials that do not emit
toxins. So I searched. And searched and searched to find a builder
that built homes this way. There were many builders that built
"green" (and you know my thoughts on that), and many that were well
intended, but only one that actually understood....
Links to EPA, HUD and UW-Extension websites on
achieving indoor air quality
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html (See
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), first paragraph; See Health Effects,
first paragraph)
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/healthy_homes/healthyhomes (See
Seven Healthy Homes Principles, items 5 and 6)
http://www.uwex.edu/healthyhome/pdf/Air.pdf (See
page 7, Sometimes Indoor Air Pollution Comes From What People Have in their
Homes, second bullet point; See page 8, Living in a Healthy Home, ninth
bullet point; See page 9, Living in a Healthy Home, fifth bullet point)
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/affordablehousing/training/web/energy/challenges/airsol.cfm (See
Odors and Allergies, first and second bullet points)
