This is from www.reallynatural.com:
The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream by John Wasik explores how suburban home ownership is costly and damaging to our health and environment. Often families chose homes away from urban workplaces under the guise of getting more for their dollar (i.e. a yard, bigger home, etc.); however, when you factor in gas, water, and taxes, suburban life is quite costly. Based on research, Wasik explores the “destructive connections between home ownership, economics, and the environment”.
In an age of burgeoning info-technology, why are we still building homes with the latest nineteenth-century techniques?…How did we come up with the idea that we should buy as much house as we can afford, with no regard for the cost of heating and cooling it and the time and expense of getting to it? We’ve gotten stuck in a vicious cycle, a cul-de-sac of unsustainable costs and serious long-term consequences for our health and our environment.
Not only does Wasik discuss the problem, but he offers solutions. “New Urbanism embodies the ideas that are needed for a transition to energy-independent communities.”
Tags: green living, Reallynatural