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Review by Marilyn Farmer, AIA, LEED AP
Green Building 101 is a 112-page book focusing on the Rate It Green
online peer-review website. The website was established to
‘facilitate an open marketplace where everyone can shop for
and buy green products and services confidently.’ Toward this
end, it is a freely accessible community dialog about green
products, services and companies where members post and respond to
comments, ratings and questions.
The printed introduction to Rate It Green, Green Building 101, is
mostly geared to the layperson new to the game. It begins with a
helpful checklist on where to begin and a brief overview of the
importance of building green. However, helpful to beginners and
old-timers alike, the bulk of this book is a fairly extensive
compilation listing and brief summary of 472 other websites and
resources that cover a vast number of educational resources,
including Reuse & Recycling Resources, and Green Retailers.
While this listing certainly does not claim to be complete, it
serves to illustrate the abundance of information (and in some
cases information overload), that currently exists pertaining to
green products and services. This compilation includes, as a
sampling, 39 top green building events, 19 national green building
initiatives, associations, and organizations, and 35 green
certifications or labeling organizations. A final part of this
guidebook provides tips and suggestions for being green at home and
at work.
While there are a number of other websites that are public forums
(10 are listed in the resource section of this book), as well as
others providing green building product information based on
varying degrees of articulated evaluation criteria, Rate It
Green’s distinct difference is that their ratings will be
based on public comment and subject to change depending on the
conversation. This type of public consensus rating is a new
approach, its value dependent upon the level of education of the
contributing community.
Regardless of the evolution of the Rate It Green rating system,
Green Building 101 is a good jump-start for green building and the
Rate It Green website stands to provide a fresh public forum for
continuing that conversation, sharing valuable on-the-ground
insights as the industry and market continue to expand.
Marilyn Farmer, AIA, LEED AP, runs Habitat Studio Architecture
& Planning and also operates a web site resource guide, Green
Building Pages.
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