When Jason and Kelly Joseph, hardly the crunchy stereotype, built their new 2,800-square-foot Craftsman in Grand Rapids, they decided that the incremental cost of “going green” — $10,000 — was well worth the years of energy savings and air quality. In the Josephs’ case, green meant insulating the walls with draft-stopping foam (guess they didn’t know recycled denim was an option), laying floors of wood from a sustainable forest and painting the walls with non-toxic paint. (We also heard a report on WNYC this morning that Walmart was soliciting proposals for going solar in all of its stores in five states–suggesting that there are savings in the sun.) The American Institute of Architects did a poll last year that found that 90 percent of people would be willing to pony up an addition $5,000 for an environmentally sound house. How about when it comes to renovations? Have any readers spent a little extra dough on green improvements that will pay dividends in the long-term?
Is ‘Going Green’ Worth the Cost? [CNN/Money]