Home Style Green

What's the impact of where all the stuff comes from that you use when creating your dream home, and how do you measure it? That's what LCA (life cycle analysis) is all about, and that's what eTool is all about. This week, I talk to eTool creator, Alex Bruce.  Growing up on a farm helped shape Alex's appreciation for the outdoors. He went on to study Mechanical Engineering and while working in remote north Western Australia, got an opportunity to get into the solar panel business.  One day someone asked Alex if it was true that solar panels consume more energy to make that what they produce in their lifetime. At the time he didn't know the answer, and set out to find out.  eTool is now available to help answer that same question for all types of products and materials that go into building your home.  References: http://etool.net.au/ http://www.homestar.org.nz/ http://www.bioregional.com/oneplanetliving/what-is-one-planet-living/ http://www.oneplanetliving.org/index.html http://www.usgbc.org/leed/homes http:/