We all know that this economic slow down has definitely affected the housing and house building markets. I want to know if people think that as the market recovers will the push for greener homes and energy conservation wane? I worry that many people are willing to do the green thing right now because they are being promised savings and reductions in energy bills and not for altruistic, save the planet motives.

What do you think will happen as the housing markets recover?

I think we have to be realistic. The housing market is going to take years to recover and people may or may not warm to the ideas of building it back in a green fashion. I hope that people recognize the benefits of sustainable residences, but it isn't an easy concept for everyone to grasp.

When the markets "recover" we will be in a different kind of market. The bubble that we were living in for years has burst and is unlikely to build again. I have a feeling that there will be some new interest in green homes and green renovations, but for the most part it will be standard construction and a focus on the bottom line. I don't think this has to be or that it will be a long term trend, but the vast majority aren't ready to truly go green yet.

Whatever happens, I hope that it comes soon. My business has fallen off so much that I am thinking of closing up shop.

when? let's worry about the if first and then the when second.

WOW! Pessimism. The market will recover and our home values will rise again. Maybe not to their inflated prices, but the real question is when will people realize that a home is a long term investment in both their own and the planet's future. A home is not a piggy bank and its not a disposable good.

There are some economists who are predicting that current trends in China and other Asian countries will actually lead us into an era of prosperity that will not only dig us out of the recession we are currently in but bring another boom to our country.

That not being what I want to debate, what do you think will be the fate of the sustainable home movement once the market recovers?

The issue with relying on prospective trends and occurrences in other countries is that it is all theory and speculation. Perhaps that will happen but what do we do if the results are different. What do we do if the Chinese populous learns from our mistakes and becomes a nation of lifetime savers rather than spenders?