The terms "Green" and "Sustainability" are words freely spoken these days.  What do they really mean?  Let's get a handle on this because the "Green Economy" is going to be getting us out of the economic, environmental, and social mess we are in right now.
  Sustainability is really the term we should be using when we say Green. The EPA's technical definition of Sustainability is: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."  I define Sustainability this way:   Don't do anything now that will adversely affect your grandchildren.  My grandchildren will probably be born 12 to 15 years from now.  If so, they will be in their 80's in the year 2100.  I know that the decisions I make today about how I live my live will surely affect them in the yrs 2040 to 2100.   Will the planet really be 3 to 4 degrees hotter in 2100, as some scientists are predicting?  What are the consequences of that - Florida under water, mega storms beyond Katrina strength, forced migration, lack of water resources, wars over petroleum and minerals.  To mitigate these dire consequences we need to take responsibility for what is happening now by living Sustainably.     
"Green," then, can be defined as all the products, building techniques, agricultural and manufacturing processes, social and community activities, you name it - that supports and causes Sustainability. Think of Sustainability as the philosophy and ideals you live by and Green as the methods that achieve it.
 

There are Three "E's" -- Economy, Environment and (social) Equity - which describe the Sustainable world.

Economy: 
No amount of talk about the environment got drivers to slow down to save energy as did the rise in gas prices to $4.00 per gallon.  We all know that if our nation is to become sustainable and move to conservation and alternative energy sources there must be an economic incentive.  Americans simply do not change much or on a grand scale without a pocket book reason. For businesses to offer Green products and services they must be able to earn a profit. Consumers must realize an emotional or economic benefit or they will not purchase Green products and services.  When it makes economic sense Green jobs will be created, Green industries will blossom or change,  and  Green Remodeling contractors will include Green products and energy efficiency in the proposals.   Consumers drive the economy, period.

Environment: 
You know it all already.  We are polluting the environment and causing global warming.   The developed and emerging nations are using up the world's finite resources, while the population of the world is growing, thus creating more demand for those diminishing resources.   As Thomas Freidman explains in his must read book Hot, Flat, and Crowded, there are approximately 1 billion people who live and consume as we do, and the potential for 2 to 3 billion to live as we do in the near future.  We are at Peak Oil with rising demand for petroleum into the future, the current drop in oil prices and demand not withstanding.  If, as a species Humans do not take seriously our effect on the planet, the planet with go on without us. 

Social Equity:
It is self evident that all persons deserve a decent home, a proper education, healthy food, a good job, health care, leisure, a strong and representative community and governance. The events of 2008 to the present point out that we truly are a global community - tainted food from China, a school district's purchase of financial investment cause the near collapse of the German economy, metals from war-torn Congo are used in our cell phones and battery powered cars, the severe recession in the USA and globally, the list is interminable.  We know that we can not make our own lives safer and better while ignoring the welfare of peoples in foreign nations. 
The bottom line is that everyone on the planet is in this together.  What happens on other continents affects us - through our tax burden, the availability of resources, the use of our  national treasure (both the lives our citizen-solders and our wealth), our sense of security, the air pollution that we send them and they send us, the diminution of the oceans and its resources, immigration to our shores - in everyway.  Only by taking personal responsibility for our own impact on the planet by living Sustainably can these issues be resolved.

Here are some ways that each of us can address Sustainability and the Three E's:

1. Do you have kids? Get them involved in tracking your energy usage and making appropriate inroads.  (It was Lady Bird Johnson's Keep American Beautiful campaign in 1964 that first got me environmentally aware.)    Check out www.EnergyStar.gov     Home Energy Yard Stick to track you energy bills and compare them to other similarly sized homes.
2.  Have an Energy Audit of your home.   This should include a blower door test and infrared camera diagnosis.  The Energy Audit will pin point where the deficiencies in the house's envelop are and offer suggestions for remediation.
3.  Five easy things you already have heard a thousand times:
      
4.    
   • Add insulation to the attic to achieve at least R-38 and preferably R-50.  It is crucial that any and all gaps or holes that allow air from the lower floors into the attic be sealed - expanding foam works well.  Sealing air leaks through out the house is the #1 thing that must be done to reduce energy loss and increase indoor comfort.   Keep heating and AC ducts in the conditioned parts of the house or insulate them if they are in an unconditioned space.  Install attic stair or hatch covers that have an R-30. 
   • Keep the furnace maintenance up to date.  If you need a new furnace or can afford to get rid of the oil-fired furnace, have a heat pump installed.  Heat pump technology is much advanced and can save you a lot of money - especially because fuel oil prices will continue to rise as world wide demand increases and supplies decrease.
   • The most energy efficient light bulb is one that is off.   Short of that switch to LED and florescent as much as possible.  Set back or turn off your thermostat - in our home we only run the furnace 8 hours a day, ie only when we are actually at home, same with the AC.  We can do this because our house is air-leak sealed.
   • Repair dripping faucets, especially hot water faucets.  Insulate your hot water heater.  The jury is out on whether a continuous flow hot water heater is more cost effective than a hot water tank.  What really is cost effective is solar hot water.  Use very-low-flow shower heads.
   • Shut off the TV, VCR and everything else that draws phantom energy.  Put exterior flood lights on a motion detector.  Shift high energy uses such as the dryer to off peak hours: M-Th 9pm to 8am, F 4pm through M 8am, holidays.  Better yet: clothes line.
5.  Buy Energy Star appliances.  If your refrigerator is circa 1993's or older get rid of it.  Front loading washer. 
6.  Tubular skylights are one of the best green products because they bring natural light in to obscure parts of the home.   They save energy and increase ambiance.  NARI member suppliers have these products.
7.  Dual flush toilets are popular now.  www.toolbase.org  for information.
8.  Wireless lighting if you need to add a fixture somewhere and don't want to run the wires to it.
9.  Reuse, Reduce, Recycle.  Cardboard, newspapers, plastic bags, all metal -- make a commitment to finding places to recycle these items.  These are natural resources - they just are not in their original form.  As a society we have to stop thinking that   something we no longer want is waste (or trash).  The whole concept of waste will become an anachronism in our children's generation as products begin to be manufactured with reuse or recycle in mind (this is called Cradle to Cradle.)  This is already common in Europe.
10.  Green Building products - there are lots out there for just about any home improvement projects.   Especially prevalent are: flooring, paints and wall coatings, counter tops, carpeting, furniture, lumber and wood. 
11.  Insulate un-insulated walls.  Spray foam is fantastic for open walls which will be covered with drywall.  Dense-pack cellulose (made from recycled paper) is excellent for filling wall cavities.  Insulation problems occur especially in/at split level homes, knee-walls, cantilevers, porch connections, and/or any McMansion built by the big name builders we all know.
12.  Slow down on the highway - 65 MPH gets us there fast enough and saves a lot of gas.
13.  Become a Vegetarian or at least be an Omnivore who eats less meet and more whole foods.  Shop with farmers in Bucks County who belong to the Bucks County Food Shed Alliance - naturally grown produce, fruits, chicken, meat, and cheeses. See www. Buckscountyfoodshedalliance.com for information.
14.  Work with NARI contractors who understand Green products and provide energy efficiency services in all their projects.  There is no excuse to not do Sustainable remodeling.

You and your family - your values and your choices (which you express in every decision that you make, every day) - are crucial for solving the dire economic, environmental and social crisis in which we find ourselves now.  Our homes are one of the best places to start in solving these problems.  By making our homes energy efficient through the use of Energy Audits, Green building products, skilled remodelers and trades people, and our conscious choices about conservation we still have time to make our country energy independent and influence global warming and climate change.

As Americans we know that it is the individual who can effect the most change in our selves, our community and our nations.  Small steps do add up.  Nothing happens with- out personal responsibility.  Start living Sustainably today.