I wanted to comment on Gina’s post about LivingHomes a California architecture firm and builder of prefabricated sustainable homes. Obviously it sounds like a great idea. The thing that really makes me question it all is who has the money to have a house like this? And what are their lifestyles like? Great. A completely sustainable home, but who can afford to live it in? I still think its a great idea and shows how far we have come in alternatives, recycling and construction, but how much of your life becomes sustainable? Do you buy a house like that and then never again worry about your sustainability impact and continue to drive your SUV every where? Not saying everyone does that, but thats what I started to question. I guess every decision we make is like that. I chose to turn off the lights, but I still won’t have a short shower. How many tradeoffs do we make? What is the actual difference that we are making? When will we start monitoring our own performance? And what will be the incentive that motivates us to substantially change our behaviour. Beyond buying a completely sustainable home that makes us the talk of town. 
I actually met the owner of Energy Aware (she’s a Sauder Student) last week. Its a really cool product and will probably be the beginning of individuals monitoring their energy consumption/performance. Its a little screen that tells you how much energy you are using in your home at any given time and how much it is costing you. Maybe this is the incentive that will finally get us to make change?
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