Come on, its interesting-isnt it?
A Story of Two Houses
HOUSE # 1:
A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural
gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated
by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the
average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for
electricity and natural gas runs over $2, 400.00 per month. In natural gas
alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American
Home. This house is not in the northern or Midwestern ?snow belt .? It?s in the South.
HOUSE # 2:
Designed by an architecture professor, this house incorporates
every ?green? features that current home construction can provide. The
house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid-high
prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds
geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the
ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and
cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels?such as oil or natural
gas?and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional
heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a
25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and
toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The
collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and
shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.
ANSWERS:
HOUSE # 1 is outside of
Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of
that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker), Al Gore.
HOUSE # 2 is on a ranch near
Crawford, Texas. It is the private
residence of the President of the
United States, George W. Bush
A Story of Two Houses
HOUSE # 1:
A 20-room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural
gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated
by gas. In ONE MONTH ALONE this mansion consumes more energy than the
average American household in an ENTIRE YEAR. The average bill for
electricity and natural gas runs over $2, 400.00 per month. In natural gas
alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American
Home. This house is not in the northern or Midwestern ?snow belt .? It?s in the South.
HOUSE # 2:
Designed by an architecture professor, this house incorporates
every ?green? features that current home construction can provide. The
house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bedrooms) and is nestled on arid-high
prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds
geothermal heat pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the
ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and
cools it in summer. The system uses no fossil fuels?such as oil or natural
gas?and it consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional
heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a
25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and
toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The
collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Flowers and
shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.
ANSWERS:
HOUSE # 1 is outside of
Nashville, Tennessee. It is the abode of
that renowned environmentalist (and filmmaker), Al Gore.
HOUSE # 2 is on a ranch near
Crawford, Texas. It is the private
residence of the President of the
United States, George W. Bush
