By: Dan Abel

The first wave of a revolution in residential home construction is under way in Georgetown. Georgetown County Habitat for Humanity, in partnership with Coastal Carolina University's Campus and Community Sustainability Initiative, is undertaking a groundbreaking, innovative new program, the Green Building Project.

Until recently, the words "green building" have had no meaning to South Carolina lowcountry residents, or worse, conjured up images of mold-infested dwellings. But this connotation is fast changing, and one of the agents of change is Georgetown County Habitat for Humanity.

The house at an early stage of construction.

Green building, also known as high performance or sustainable building, refers to making structures that: conserve energy, water and material resources; use construction materials that have a low environmental impact; promote high indoor air quality; and are long-lasting and perform better than conventional houses.

The goal of this ambitious initiative, which was begun when I spent the fall 2005 semester on public engagement leave working with the Georgetown Habitat affiliate, was to build a prototype low-cost, state-of-the-art, green house, then incorporate successful features into subsequent local Habitat for Humanity homes.

Green building embodies this simple core philosophy that many builders are just now rediscovering: structures should be designed and built as if both people and the environment matter. Consider indoor air quality. The air inside conventional dwellings is literally a witches' brew of chemicals (some dangerous, such as formaldehyde, a potent carcinogen) that emanate from carpet, paint, cabinets, furniture, and which also escape from cleaning products used throughout the house. Using air-friendly alternatives materially improves the health of the occupants.

In the current man-made global climate crisis, building an environmentally-friendly house is more than a virtue. A healthy environment is as vital to humans as the air we breathe. While each human adds something unique to the planet, the cumulative impact of our presence has been harmful to the environment in the form of diminished air and water quality, habitat destruction and degradation, and decreased biodiversity. Buildings are energy hogs and use construction materials whose manufacture is often quite destructive.

After unsuccessful attempts to promote green building to local residents and builders, I approached Georgetown Habitat Director Annette Perreault with a proposal to build a green Habitat house, and she enthusiastically accepted. The need for decent affordable housing in Georgetown County is high. Both unemployment and poverty levels in Georgetown County are above state averages. Habitat Georgetown estimates that as much as one-third of all housing in Georgetown County is substandard—that is, with inadequate or no plumbing, heat and electricity, as well as leaking roofs and unsafe foundations. Habitat houses are typically built using a very simple box design and conventional materials, i.e. wood frame construction, gypsum board interior walls, vinyl siding and asphalt shingle roofs. Interiors also use traditional materials—latex paint, nylon carpet, vinyl floors, etc. Houses are less than 1,000 square feet in area. (In 2006, the average new American house was almost 2,500 square feet.)

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