A lot of realtors, home buyers, and home builders are jumping on the recent "environmentally friendly" band wagon by throwing around the term "green". Realtors are using the word "green" as a selling point as they try to interest a buyer in a home. Builders are including a hand full of "green" features in new construction and in renovation projects and then trying to use that angle as a way to drum up interest in the project. And buyers are using the term "green" to describe what they are looking for because it's a trendy new status symbol, like stainless steel appliances or bamboo floors. Going green is great, but it's important to keep in mind what's really important - the environment - and there are numerous situations in which going green does not, in fact, help the environment.

1. It does not help the environment to build new "green" construction while ignoring perfectly good existing construction. Even when builders have the best intentions, the construction of any new home results in lots of waste. Excess materials and packaging need to be thrown away and the production and transportation of building materials results in the emission of harmful gasses. By contrast, a home that already exists produces no waste.

2. It does not help the environment to build giant homes. If you look at most of the new "green" construction being built these days, the homes are massive, with massive rooms. Massive homes are hard to heat and cool. If builders are really interested in saving energy, there is one very simple thing they can do, which is to build reasonably sized homes with modestly sized rooms.

3. It does not help the environment to build up. It is much better to build down. As anyone who has ever been in a cave knows, the earth provides excellent natural insulation. Underground spaces tend to be cool in the summer, and warm in the winter. It might be fashionable to build homes that are two or even three stories high, but it is much greener to build a home with a finished, liveable basement.

4. It does not help the environment to purchase fancy gadgets to make your home green when perfectly good simpler methods exist. Do you really need to spend money on the latest and greatest innovations to cool or heat your home? How about planting some trees? Strategically placed trees can shade your home in the summer, reducing the need for air conditioning, and can shelter your home from wind in the winter, reducing the need for heat. A fan placed in the attic can be turned on to draw cool air throughout the house in the early morning hours. In the afternoon, the windows can be shut to keep the cool air in.

5. It does not help the environment to ignore the location of a home. Urban sprawl is NOT green. If you really want to reduce energy consumption and waste, build or buy a home that is near public transportation. Select a location where you can bike or walk to the majority of your engagements (work, socializing, shopping, etc).

It is certainly a good thing that realtors, buyers, and builders have a new found interest in going green. But if the interest is the result of a genuine concern for the environment, rather than the result of a desire to sell homes and be trendy, these rules, and others, must be taken to heart.