Going green

So-called Earthships like this one proliferate in and around Taos, N.M., and demonstrate features such as south facing windows and earthen construction that can dramatically reduce energy consumption.

By Denise Tessier 05/08/2008

ALBUQUERQUE -- With all the stories about "going green," it would appear that everyone is doing it. More accurately, every one is being encouraged to do it, especially here in New Mexico.

A week of events kicking off Saturday will not only teach homeowners and builders how to go about constructing energy-efficient buildings, but tours will be held in the Albuquerque metro area, Santa Fe and Taos so people can see firsthand what it means for a building to be environmentally friendly.

The Greenbuilt Tour and Sustainability Week events will provide opportunities for the public to "find green home inspiration," said Tom Apgar, events committee co-chair for the New Mexico Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

The week starts Saturday with the Green Central Expo, a free public display of environmentally friendly products and building materials, held in conjunction with paid lectures and workshops at the UNM Continuing Education center in Albuquerque. Lectures and workshops will cover water conservation, solar energy, recycling, straw bale homes, energy audits and how to go green, among other topics. The $10 lecture fee includes the guidebook for entry to the Green Built Tour of homes May 17 and 18.

This is the ninth year the New Mexico Chapter has done tours, and in recent years, the group has branched out with other events for the public, leading to this year's "Sustainability Week," executive director Chris Kerlin told NMI. "It's fairly unique what we're doing," compared to other state chapters, he said.

In traveling around the country, Kerlin said, it becomes apparent that "New Mexico is at the forefront of this," not just in terms of the state chapter's public outreach, but in terms of state and local laws that encourage green building. On July 1, Albuquerque Energy Building Codes will mandate certain requirements for furnaces, air conditioning and appliances "so that all new buildings meet at least a minimum standard of green," he noted. Albuquerque has also established a Web site that defines sustainability and what the city is doing to accomplish it.

In January 2006, Gov. Bill Richardson signed an executive order mandating that the state lead the way with energy efficiency and overall sustainability of new and renovated state-owned buildings.

In 2007, the Legislature passed a tax incentive to encourage both commercial and home builders to go green.

While most of the New Mexico USGBC chapter's activities are weighted toward professionals, Sustainability Week is a way to reach out ot the public, and the cornerstone is the tours.

Tour guidebooks can be purchased for $10 at several locations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos. They will get you into any of 26 sustainable New Mexico homes, including one in Santa Fe and one in Albuquerque that were the first to receive New Mexico's Sustainable Building Tax Credit. The tax credit goes to buildings that meet the LEED rating system for commercial buildings and the Build Green New Mexico or LEED for Homes for residences.

"Throughout the construction, the building will need documentation, including some inspections, that it meets the green building and energy efficiency standards," Susie Marbury, president-elect of the New Mexico Chapter of the USGBC said in a Q&A. "Once the building is constructed and certified, the builder applies for the tax credit to the energy Conservation and Management Division."

It sounds daunting, but the rewards include, for example, a $10,000 tax credit on a 2,000-square-foot home built to the LEED Silver standard -- and huge savings in the long run: The home would be 40 percent more efficient than a home built to standard code.

The New Mexico chapter is also offering technical courses: LEED for Homes on May 14, and LEED for Existing Buildings May 16.