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by Brian C. Howard May/June 2007 National Geographic Green Guide http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/120/foundations Home-building consultant Maryjane Behforouz has spent the last year and a half helping a family in her hometown of Indianapolis construct their dream house. The home will feature natural and local materials where possible, and nothing, from the cabinets to floorboards, will contain any formaldehyde, a probable carcinogen and a volatile organic compound (VOC) that poses a serious threat to indoor air quality. A healthy home is important, explains Behforouz, who consults through her firm, Healthy Structures. "It's shelter and it affects our health as well as the environment," she says, adding that this house will be as energy efficient as possible, with a high-end HVAC system and expertly sealed ductwork. Behforouz became acutely interested in improving indoor air quality after her mother, who had undergone chemotherapy to combat breast cancer, found herself unable to move into the beautiful new home she had purchased. The chemo made her highly sensitive to the chemicals offgassing from the conventional products in the house. Those chemicals, which are nearly ubiquitous in the typical American home, may have included neurotoxic toluene from polyurethane foam insulation; potentially carcinogenic and respiratory-irritant VOCs from paints, glues, finishes and carpets; formaldehyde in pressed-wood products and wood finishes; and phthalates, which have been linked to reproductive problems, obesity and asthma, from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and floor tiles. Like Behforouz's mother, the Indianapolis homeowner says her choices were motivated by chemical sensitivities, and Behforouz says she's seeing more interest from potential homebuyers in green and health-conscious designs, due to rising alarm about global warming and concern about "sick building syndrome," in which poor indoor air quality has led to serious illness. And it doesn't have to be expensive. All the features being incorporated into the Indiana house have added only 10 to 15 percent to construction costs. The benefits of green building are substantial. In addition to healthier air, homeowners have less exposure to mold and other allergy triggers and save on energy and water costs. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the country's residential sector is responsible for about 22 percent of national energy use. The average American household annually spends about $1,500 on energy. However, homes could be between 30 to 50 percent more efficient, according to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), if they featured Energy Star-certified appliances or adopted readily available techniques, such as proper insulation and programmable thermostats. It will be easier for conscientious homebuyers to compare the green features of two dwellings when the USGBC launches its LEED for Homes certification nationwide this summer. A pilot LEED for Homes program began in November 2004 and has led to a total of 98 certified homes in 13 states, according to Ashley Katz, USGBC spokesperson. Certification, which includes standards for resource conservation as well as indoor air quality, ensures that single- and multi-family homes will have been third-party inspected and certified to perform better than conventional homes. The USGBC is also sponsoring the LEED for Homes Initiative for Affordable Housing. "Green homes are tremendously beneficial to human health," says Katz, "and low-income people are disproportionately affected by asthma and other health-related issues." Cheap building materials, like PVC and formaldehyde-heavy particleboard, often trigger these health problems. Behforouz isn't pursuing LEED certification with her client in Indianapolis because the home was started before the program was developed. Still, "I think it will be the norm for homebuyers to demand a home that has been certified under a green-building/energy-efficiency program," says Laura Uhde, the director of residential green building services for the non-profit Southface, dedicated to sustainable energy and environmental technologies. "So many new green products are coming out," says Behforouz. "Ten years ago it was really tough to find the products, but now it's very easy." To get you started, consider the latest green building materials: FLOORING Eco Timber: FSC-certified and reclaimed wood flooring; the company's HealthyBond adhesive is virtually VOC-free (7 grams per liter), and many of the products are formaldehyde-free. Pre-finished floors are UV cured at the factory to further decrease VOCs (www.ecotimber.com, 415-258-8454). Duro Design: bamboo, cork, oak and eucalyptus flooring with low-VOC finishes (www.duro-design.com, 888-528-8518) Shaw Industries: modular carpet featuring PVC-free, recycled-fiber EcoWorx backing (www.shawfloors.com, 800-441-7429) Eco-Friendly Flooring: funky 100-percent recycled aluminum, brass or glass tiles for floors, walls and ceilings (www.ecofriendlyflooring.com, 866-250-3273) Sisalcarpet.com: natural-fiber rugs and carpets made from seagrass, hemp, jute, coir (from coconut husks), wool blends and even paper (www.sisalcarpet.com, 877-757-4725) Dodge-Regupol: ECOsurfaces recycled rubber flooring line (www.regupol.com, 866-883-7780) FRAMING Environ Biocomposites Manufacturing: durable Environ Biocomposite recycled newsprint, Dakota Burl sunflower hull and BIOFIBER Wheat composite boards (www.environbiocomposites.com, 800-324-8187) Plexwood: formaldehyde-free, low-VOC composite building boards made from a variety of woods harvested under Dutch and European Union guidelines (www.plexwood.com) COUNTERS Richlite: countertops made from paper and hemp fiber (www.richlite.com, 888-383-5533) PIPES Fusiotherm: PVC-free, polypropylene plastic pipes that require no glue (www.aquatherm-usa.com) PAINT and WALL COVERINGS Auro Paint: mineral- and plant oil-based paints that utilize rosemary, eucalyptus, castor and linseed (www.aurousa.com, 888-302-9352) American Clay: New Mexico-made attractive natural-clay plaster alternative to cement, gypsum, acrylic and lime (www.americanclay.com, 866-404-1634) Sina Pearson: recycled fabrics for use as funky wallpaper or decorative wall hangings (www.sinapearson.com, 212-366-1146) Maharam: stylish interior textiles made with natural fibers and/or recycled content (www.maharam.com, 800-645-3943) Mio: textured "3D" wallpaper made from recycled paper; can be applied with double-stick tape (www.mioculture.com) Innovations: Innvironments cotton, hemp, paper and cellulose wall coverings (www.innovationsusa.com) INSULATION BioBased Spray Foam Insulation: soy-based polyurethane sprayable insulation; does not release microfiber particles like fiberglass (www.biobased.net, 800-803-5189) UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation: made of recycled denim and other fabrics; releases no airborne particles (www.bondedlogic.com, 480-812-9114) For more suggestions, see the new Product Directory at www.thegreenguide.com/products. 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