by Teresa Edmond - Staff Writer - September 24, 2008

RINGWOOD - A green building architect imparted many strategies for cutting down pollution in one’s own homes – and thus preserving both health and budgets – at a Sept. 18 forum, which drew between 25 and 30 attendees.

Architect Anastasia Harrison, from the Millington-based WESKetch Architecture and Interiors, led the forum “Green Building: Save Your Money, Your Health and the Planet” at the Ringwood Public Library community room. Skylands CLEAN, an organization focused on preserving the Highlands Region’s resources, sponsored it.

Environmental consciousness starts with the individual by becoming aware of their daily household habits, Skylands CLEAN President and co-founder Jon Berry pointed out.

“It’s become pretty clear in recent times that it’s not enough for governments to make those decisions,” he said. “We also have to make good decisions ourselves and personal choices we make with energy, the water we use, what kind of chemicals we bring into our homes and subject our families to and things of that nature.”

Besides learning about green building technology for constructing and renovating homes, forum attendees learned how to reduce common household pollutants to make their homes safer and themselves healthier.

Architect Harrison said that the focus on sustainable, eco-friendly living could start as simply as learning how to dispose of biodegradable food wastes like banana peels. Instead of tossing that peel into a plastic garbage, which would then go into a landfill and stay there for many years afterward, people could use that same peel as compost, “where in 12 weeks, it’ll become dirt,” Harrison said.

“It starts with the individual,” she said. “You have to start with being responsible in making a (green) building.”

In recent years, more and more people have become environmentally aware for a variety of reasons, Harrison said. Those reasons include fears of the ever-looming global warming issue, concern for their children’s futures, economic hardships haunting Americans, and the ailments plaguing people like asthma, cancer and allergies.

“These are very real things that we’re all seeing much incidents of,” she said.

Constant exposure to cleaning chemicals has become a poisonous heirloom passed down from older generations of women to their descendants, Harrison said. Pioneers of those cleaning chemicals, the mothers and grandmothers have not only gotten used to working with these products but have allowed their children to be exposed to them too.

“We keep throwing chemicals at ourselves,” she said.

Harrison said that different people determine different levels of going green, and that despite her line of work, she’d be one person who wouldn’t dictate to others how live a more eco-friendly life.

“You have to find the sustainable elements that work for you today, and then pick another one tomorrow. I think that’s the easiest of all situations,” she said.

West Milford resident Brenda Melstein attended the green building forum because she wanted to pick up tips on finding estimates for a geothermal system she wants to get installed in her house. One of her two houses already went green with solar panels she had put in five years ago.

When asked what she’d say to those who are leery about taking a huge step in greening their house – like solar panels, she said that in the long run, a green home can save homeowners green.

“You have to live your principals, not just talk about them,” she said.

Berry assured listeners that Harrison knew what she was talking about because she follows her own advice.

“I can tell you not only does she promote these concepts at her job but also in her personal life and in her house, especially how she heats her water,” he said. 

Green Building Council

Harrison is an architect certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a green building rating system the U.S. Green Building Council developed. The U.S. Green Building Council is an entity that supports the design, construction, operation and maintenance of environmentally conscious buildings that are budget wise and healthy to work and live in.

Before development, LEED certified professionals study the project to determine whether building would have high-quality sustainable status. Those factors include water efficiency, heating and air conditioning systems, air quality and transportation.

"In lots of cities (like Manhattan) you can live without a car, and that’s a factor in how green where you’re living is. To build a big, beautiful house out here (in Ringwood) isn’t as green as a house closer to the city.”

For more information on the U.S. Green Building Council and LEED, visit the Web site at usgbc.org.

Copyright 2008  Suburban Trends