Partly out of guilt/altruism, and partly from my sense of geeky novelty, I've been interested in Earth-friendly housing and energy for awhile.  A big part of the opportunity and motivation for my construction project comes from the pursuit of a low-impact home.  Budget permiting, I'd like to include as much of these features as possible in my project:

• solar electricity (photovoltaic panels)
• solar water heat
• woodburning ambient heating (trees are renewable and carbon-neutral)
• graywater/rainwater reclamation
• green ecoroof
• re-used/recycled/recyclable materials, including concrete
• high-factor insulation
• low-VOC or recycled paint
• rainwater permeable driveway and patio paving
• high-density replicable housing (resource efficient)

The side-effect of doing all this is that it creates opportunities for me to receive funding and recognition for the project, that wouldn't exist if I did it entirely as a creative and economic endeavor.  Besides applying for grants and loans from green housing programs, I hereby resolve to be recognized with these two distinctions:

1. LEED, the U.S. standard in green building certification
2. 2009 Portland Build It Green tour of homes

The 2008 tour of homes is in September and includes the Radcliffe container home.  There's also a self-guided PDF tour on the Portland Sustainable Development site that I'll check out to see some more real-world examples of green building techniques.  Next Thursday I'm going to the Portland LEED group meeting.  And that's not even beginning to look for funding yet!  I'll have to do that before I apply for permits, so I don't miss out on any opportunities (read: free money).