Green-Building Features are going Mainstream

The Los Angeles Times (9/9, Umberger, 629K) reported, "Green-home building's looks have gotten a makeover as it creeps closer to mainstream housing." Rick Schwolsky, editor in chief of EcoHome magazine, said that "environmentally friendly building techniques are showing up more frequently in multifamily and subsidized dwellings." He added that energy savings "will always - in my lifetime, anyway - be the first focus because the industry is still stuck talking about payback, return on investment," but there is a "growing...health aspect of green building." Schwolsky also said that "the cost is coming way down."