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In a recent interview on British TV, Chancellor Gordon Brown called on households to do more to cut greenhouse gases, in effect, by making homes better insulated and more fuel-efficient. The climate change bill ambitiously seeks to cut emissions by 60% by the year 2050. Is this viable in today’s “me” society? Or over time will we slowly turn into a “them” society? Is this compatible with capitalism? And just how easy is it to turn an existing house into a green one? Guy Alexander Bell, editor of the online magazine “Never Paint Again” suggests some things we could to make our home, and our lifestyle within it, more green…

With more “green” legislation coming into building design and construction, more and more houses and commercial buildings are being built with “green” credentials. Things such as solar panels, better insulation, timber from sustainable sources, are just a few of the latest trends in building, but what about existing and older buildings? In this article we look at various steps that the average person can take in order to make their older house a bit more environmentally friendly for future generations.

How can a hundred year old house be green, or made to be green?

Putting aside the notion of actually painting it green (Doh!) and embracing the literal sense, what can be done for old houses? If we consider VERY old house, dating back to maybe 1600, it could be argued that these houses were far more green than modern ones, or even ones built over the past 100 years, but why is that?

When a house was built 400 years ago, it was built with whatever was around (in the literal sense) at the time. So if it was being built near a quarry, it would be made of local stone. If there were reed beds or hay etc nearby, it would have a thatched roof, making use of crops that would have otherwise been burnt or thrown away. If it was near the sea, many of the timbers would be recycled from old ships or boats, and in fact many buildings in established seaside locations in and around the British isles have some surprises in their lofts when you look! Many an old ships mast was made into a staircase, and timbers were used in the roof and for lintels above doors and windows. The global transport infrastructure did not exist then. Goods were sourced locally, or at least brought by sea, river or canal, from somewhere fairly nearby.

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