Green Construction: Not just for hippies

"Green" construction is the way of the future, for everyone. "A lot of people, I think, think green construction's gonna be an old VW bus with a peace symbol on the side of it — and for tree-huggers," says Don Ferrier, a builder in Fort Worth, Texas. That is just not the case anymore. The idea of building homes and companies with environmentally friendly attitudes will, now and more so in the future, be saving a lot more than the environment. Recycled products can sometimes last longer than their less efficient counterparts ensuring that users wont necessarily need to replace then as often. Substituting medal for traditional roofs will keep out the heat so there will be less cooling bills. There are many different building materials that are becoming more and more popular and are more efficient than traditional ones. Unfortunately, these materials may cost more up front since they are just being produced and haven't caught on at a large scale yet. Even though the initial cost may be greater than the current approaches, some argue that the money saved in the future through heating and electric bills will be well worth the investment. Also, with widespread use of the environmentally friendly alternatives they will be able to be produced on a larger scale which could bring the initial costs down. By demonstrating the economic advantages to some of the "green" construction ideas it will kill two birds with one stone; the environment will be protected and the user will save money (which is usually a top priority).