“Green building,” simply, means using materials and construction methods to reduce the negative impact a home has on the surrounding environment while it is being built and on its occupants after it is completed.

This can range from using lumber from sustainable sources and employing advanced framing techniques to installing energy efficient appliances and heating systems and painting interiors with paints with a low volatile organic chemical rating.

The idea of building green has been around for about 20 years; although until recently many “green” products were green in name only. Now, mostly as a result of consumer demand, green products are truly green and are more widely available than ever before.

“We’re seeing a lot of improvements in green products,” said Rick Courson, owner of Cedar Bay Homes in Silverdale, an active proponent of green building and a national speaker on the subject. “And consumers were the driving force.”

Many manufacturers of construction materials and home products, such as flooring, heating, and air filtration, were reluctant to invest in producing green products until it became apparent that there was a strong desire for them in the marketplace.

But why is green building so rapidly gaining popularity now?

“Public awareness is way up,” said Courson. “People now realize the relationship between their environment and their health. They know we can’t continue to poison our environment.”

Increased demand has also meant a reduction in pricing for green products. Most green products and green construction techniques are now in line, expense-wise, with standard materials and techniques, making green building more accessible now than ever. Consumers no longer have to choose between a green home and a home they can afford.

Not only is green building now more affordable in the short-term, but “building green reduces costs to the consumer in the long run,” said Courson. Green built houses are more energy efficient, resulting in lower heating and cooling bills, reduced electricity use, and even lower water consumption — a big plus in today’s world of rising utility costs and routine energy crises.

It is not hard to find green building products and services. If you are looking for green building materials, head down to your local hardware store. Stump grinding services are readily available as an alternative to burning. Kitsap County has sites specifically for the recycling of construction materials. There are even companies that take old concrete foundations, grind them up, and sell them back to builders to use as the base for garage floors.

“It’s becoming just a way of doing business,” said Courson.

Courson’s dedication to building green goes beyond his own company’s green building commitment. In the mid-1990s Courson was one of the founders of the Build a Better Kitsap “Built Green” program of the Home Builders Association of Kitsap County. Kitsap’s Built Green program became a model program for other communities and building associations across the nation. In fact, the National Association of Home Builders Research Center used Kitsap’s Built Green as a model for its national “green” building program model for local associations.

Since Built Green’s inception, 500 houses have been built in Kitsap County using green building methods. Some were built completely green, while others simply incorporated green elements. Any builder can enroll as a green builder and take classes to learn about construction methods and materials to use to build green. Consumers interested in working with green builders can call the Home Builders Association of Kitsap County at (360) 479-5778 to request a program brochure and a list of participating builders.

As concerns grow over the environment, our health, and the effect increasing populations have on where we live, green building would seem to offer some of the answers to our problems. But where does green building stand in the long-term?

“I have kind of a radical attitude,” said Courson. “If we do this right, ‘green building’ will go away — it will become the building standard.”.