Building green," says Scott Kyle, a licensed architect and a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited professional, "is a holistic approach that entails a belief in the interconnectedness of all things on the Earth."

Bill Lucas Jr. is green building his own home in Henrico County.

Due in large part to  the efforts of the U.S Green Building Council, building green seems, for an industry that historically is painfully slow to change, to be gaining momentum with surprising speed. Anticipating the impact, the National Association of Home Builders predicts that by the end of 2007 more than half of its membership will call themselves green builders.

Still, the validity of this claim is questionable. Locally as well as nationwide there remains a lack of uniform regulation or standardization of the term "green building." Organizations across the country set minimum standards, but in general they focus on minimizing the impact of construction on a site, encouraging energy and water efficiency, advocating the use of recycled materials, and promoting healthful indoor-air quality.

Responding to the situation, the James River Green Building Council (JRGBC) promotes cost-effective design, construction, and operation of buildings that are healthy places to live and work, environmentally responsible, and profitable.

Bamboo flooring is both a renewable and economical green material.

"For consumers," says Kyle, a JRGBC founding board member, "this means sites that were previously disturbed to unhealthy states are restored; new areas experience as little disturbance as possible; and construction materials as well as designs are selected that contribute the least eco-footprint impact."

"I'm definitely encouraged by the growing acceptance of the Green Building Rating System through LEED ," says Bill Lucas Jr., an owner/builder who has also worked as a commercial construction project manager and a builder/remodeler. "From a personal perspective, building green can often be a frustrating experience. For example, the government's Energy Star program certifies energy-efficient building products, but conventional or poor installation practices may defeat the efficiency, and currently, there is no installation certification process," he says. "The experience in most cases is bleeding edge for the builder, suppliers, and local county inspectors. One strategy that I used, insulated concrete form walls (ICF's), is rapidly gaining favor for its eco-benefit and more commonly for its superior strength in regions of severe weather systems." Lucas is green building his own home in Henrico County.

ICFs Insulating concrete forms (ICFs) technology gives all the benefit of using concrete materials: solid, lasting construction that resists the ravages of fire, wind, and time. From a building green perspective, they provide two built-in layers of foam insulation. ICFs are basically forms for poured concrete walls that stay in place as a permanent part of the wall assembly. The left-in-place forms provide not only a continuous insulation and sound barrier but also a backing for drywall on the inside, and stucco, lap siding, or brick on the outside. For additional information, visit forms.org.

"LEED certification," agrees Jeanne Indelicato Berry, a project manager for the Richmond landscape design firm Higgins & Gerstenmaier, "is most certainly a step in the right direction. It provides certification training for everyone: architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders, and government officials. As an industry, we have an obligation to promote strategies such as green roofs, bio-retention ponds, and rain gardens that mitigate storm water run-off and reduce pollutants entering the natural environment."

"Still, it is not," says Doug Haver, a Realtor for Virginia Realty & Relocation, "a trend that legislation will help to spur, but one that will begin when it is more economically advantageous for all parties to follow. I work with clients moving to the area from all over the country, and many of them bring different expectations. The biggest request I get is for houses with sustainable-forest products, such as bamboo." Because Haver believes his industry could do more to educate buyers, he maintains a Green Building Tips option on his Web site, doughaver.com.

For today's consumer, building green, as promoted by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network, means designing with methods and materials that save energy costs, reduce waste and promote recycling, reduce environmental impacts and exposure to unhealthy substances, strengthen local economies, and contribute to an enhanced quality of life.