European Energy Conservation and American Green Building Design
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by: hugatree
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Word Count: 488
As new information comes in, the global community becomes more and more concerned about the environment and energy conservation. And even though the United States is doing more every day to conserve energy, Americans are still a step behind in the energy conservation movement. Many countries, especially European countries, have been the frontrunners in conserving energy and using green home building for decades.
Energy Conservation in Europe
European countries lead the pack when it comes to green home design and green living... which makes a certain amount of sense. Because on the continent, gasoline, natural gases, and energy costs significantly more than it does in America, and it has been that way for many years. And of course this makes Europe more aware of energy and power usage than the U.S.. This is seen in European culture in a lot of ways.
A big thing that separates Europe from the U.S. in energy conservation is a massive network of railroads and other forms of public transport. In addition to mass transit in essentially every major European city, the continent also boasts a well utilized long distance passenger rail service. While cars are common in Europe, many more Europeans use public transport (or even ride bicycles) than would be found in the U.S..
European energy consciousness is also visible in the way Europeans build their homes. In Europe (especially in larger cities), they use green home building in a very practical, widespread, and simplistic way. Most city dwellers live in apartments with far less square footage than American homes. Most homes (and many businesses) in Europe do not have central air conditioning, and use basic green home building concepts for cooling. They use simple ideas, such as rolling black out screens, roll out terrace shades, double paned windows, etc., to cool or heat their homes.
Green Home Building in America
Essentially, Europeans have been remembering to turn the lights out when they leave a room for years. In the U.S., people are just getting used to not seeing energy as something that will always be inexpensive and easily available, and are slowly developing a better instinct for conservation. This is easy to see when you consider how popular green home building and design has become in America during recent years.
Green home building and design uses concepts, such as smaller home size, basic insulation, and position to the sun to conserve energy, as well as alternative energy technology (such as solar power) to provide power to homes. More long term, in depth ideas are also used in green home building in America, such as using renewable materials and environmentally friendly building processes. America is a little behind, but with luck will start catching up to the standard set by Europe. More Green home construction
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