#netzerohome

The Green Building Materials Market is increasingly focused on the residential sector, as homeowners seek to shield themselves from rising energy prices and extreme weather events. A "Net-Zero" home, which produces as much energy as it consumes, is now a reachable goal for many American families thanks to advancements in building envelopes and insulation.

By 2025, the U.S. Market for Sustainable Building Materials was valued at USD 82.0 billion, with an expected annual growth rate of 8.2% from 2027 to 2033. The expansion of this market ensures that high-efficiency windows, cool roofs, and geothermal heat pump systems are becoming more affordable and accessible. These materials work together to create a thermal barrier that maintains comfortable temperatures year-round with minimal mechanical intervention.

Let’s set the tone for this little brain-picking with a few questions:

Did you know that anyone making ~$30,000 United States Dollars annually puts them in the 1% richest in the world? 

If you want to live close to town where you do not have to drive 10-20 minutes one way to do literally everything and anything, how much is rent, mortgage, property tax, etc? 

Would the world’s population keep increasing if each couple would only have 1-2 kids? 

How much habitable land do we have left? Let’s take a look at this fun little interactive map showing population density around the world to see where humans are congregating, and in how big of a group: www.luminocity3d.org/WorldPopDen

Tiny houses have no doubt captured the mainstream attention in the recent years. The same could be said about a number of other related “movements": net zero homes, passive house, energy star rated houses, strawbale houses, Earthships, etc. Which is great! Now, we are very much aware of our many options! Yet, which options are actually affordable? And which one actually works?

As interconnected and out spread as we seem to be, majority of our population lives in and around big cities around the world - and this is quite efficient, and therefore, arguably sustainable. Buying land in more remote area to live in an off-the-grid tiny house is the opposite of sustainability according to this stream of logic.

Human's carbon footprint isn't entirely tied to how green our house is. Our carbon footprint = our habitat and that includes everything that we do as humans.

How can we make our habitat more sustainable? 

How can we be more like birds, for example, where:

we can get ourselves to everywhere we usually want or need to go 99% of the time using our own bodies

our houses are 100% compostable

our gyms are the nature

our food is nearby

our tools are nearby...

Does this habitat cost $500,000 a pop making it only available to the world's top 0.1% richest?  Does ~$60,000/person sound like a more reasonable and attainable price tag? 

Also, do we have to keep the “30-year mortgage” norm? 

Day dreaming a little here: 

Condominium “Earthships" - LEED certified, etc.: the materials we used to build our “nests" are recycled materials, compostable, and can be recycled again once we're done with them

Intentional yet flexible interior design allowing for smaller square footage yet increased usability and adaptability

High walk score or bike score

Co-op edible garden, chicken coup, and maybe a few Nigerian Dwarf goats onsite (how about on the rooftop? Think Austin central library!)

$120,000 for 650-700sqft for a small family of 3, or 4

Our nest does not need to last 100+ years