Preservation is Green Building

Some thoughts from the Traditional Building Conference:
-Existing buildings are inherently green (embodied energy) tearing down to make a new green building uses more energy than it saves
-Changes made to "modernize" a building have contributed to the perception of the poor energy performance
-An important part of green building should be the materials should both be durable and repairable - many of the new green building products are durable but are they repairable?
-The greenest building is one that already exists - the restoration process involves less carbon emissions than new construction
-Thinking globally while acting locally also helps create local jobs and builds a sustainable local economy