Can a 15,000 square foot home that houses two people be considered green? Today’s front page of the Marin Independent Journal features a picture of Michael Klein’s rammed-earth home designed by Sim Van der Ryn, which will soon be open to the public for the first time.

The story got me thinking once again about my dream home and what can really be considered green. As an article from Salmon Nation pointed out last year, the important thing to consider is overall resource usage, not whether a particular green technology was utilized or not.

I support Klein’s right to live in whatever size house he cares to and, if he’s going to build a mansion anyway, I’m glad that’s he’s chosen environmentally friendly materials and technology. However, if we are to label a structure as green, then I believe we should look primarily at the per capita ecological footprint of the structure, not just its performance relative to other buildings of the same size.

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