Re: [GreenYes] House being built on MSNBC

[Cindy Shea <cpshea@earthlink.net>]

Dear Editors,

I think your idea of building a house on the Today show is a good one. I
urge you to build the Blakely because it is the only one that would work
in a neighborhood setting (rather than a gated subdivision). Real estate
analysts have determined that at least 30 percent of the buying public
would like to buy a house in a walkable, mixed use, transit oriented
development. In Florida there are more of the "new urbanist" or
traditional neighborhood developments than anyplace else in the country.
Celebration in Orlando is an example you could film close to where you
plan to build.

I also encourage you to look at maximum energy efficiency, indoor air
quality, and use of recycled and sustainably harvested/manufactured
materials. Many of the buying public already seek these items, but many
more are unfamiliar with their benefits and cost effectiveness.  The
Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development in Sarasota,
Florida, is a site you may want to film in order to give home buyers an
idea of some of the more innovative products already on the market.

For further information on these topics, please see:

Florida House Learning Center
http://www.i4sd.org/fhlc/fhintro.htm

Environmental Building News
http://buildinggreen.com/

New Urban News
http://www.newurbannews.com/AboutNewUrbanism.html

Congress for the New Urbanism
http://www.cnu.org/

--
Cindy Pollock Shea
Contributing Editor
Florida Sustainable Communities Center
http://sustainable.state.fl.us



Frank Nickerson wrote:

> This morning, the NBC Today Show announced a plan to build a house over a 12 week period with ourhouse.com .  Viewers can help choose a building design.  One of the concerns being addressed is:
> "Know the elements that are being installed to maximize the energy efficiency of the home: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Make sure that your builder is equipped to offer high-efficiency furnace and air conditioning, ample insulation, thermo pane windows and tightly-fitted exterior doors."
>
> More information can be found at:   http://www.msnbc.com/news/TODAYBUILDSAHOUSE_Front.asp
>
> or at http://www.msnbc.com/news/527950.asp
>
> I have no contacts at the Today Show to tell them my thoughts, but if I did, I wish that in addition to the issues presented above in their description of the home building project, I would want to see talk on the pethora of products out there to: sell electricity back to the grid; reduce the cost of heating water; and off-the-shelf solar products.
>