Written by Catalina Toma on October 11th 2010
I would start this article by compelling you to make an exercise involving imagination. Let’s begin by imagining that you have been living in a small or large apartment, yet still an apartment foe quite a long time now, and that you have always wanted to have your own house, a wonderful small or big house on the ground. It depends on how everyone imagines it to be. Ok, now that you have the picture in your mind I would like to ask you if, when building your house, you will take into consideration all the things the environmentalists advise you to do when building a house. In simpler words, do you have in mind a ‘green house’?
When designing a green home you should be aware of the fact that you have to use materials that are renewable and lost lasting at the same time. Most often when deciding to build such a house one would make use of such materials as bamboo, eucalyptus and perhaps cork, since these ones can be renewed at any time. Cork seems like a good alternative for you since no trees need to be cut in order to make possible the extraction of the cork. You should be using eco-friendly products. In this way you will be contributing to the general efforts being made in order to protect the environment and you will also manage not to expose yourself to all sorts of chemical substances.
Have you ever thought of this? Who doesn’t love natural light? In case you make up your mind and decide to build a green house then you can include in your house design plan as many glass windows and doors as you want, as well as roof and wall skylights in order to permit natural lighting to enter your house. You should also try and find ways to conserve energy consumption and as such plan in detail the insulation to your future house. Good quality windows and doors should also be included on your list. And as much as possible you should try and recycle any old appliances. And all these endeavors in order to protect the environment and as such support life.
Johnny Depp
If you plan to build such a house then you will most probably be delighted to hear that many Hollywood celebrities have built themselves one. The most effervescent of all these celebrities when it comes to protecting the environment seems to be Johnny Depp. He made public all his eco-lifestyle plans and achievements. Due to the success of his films he was able to buy himself a 35-acre Caribbean Island, thus creating his own paradise based entirely on clean energy devices. Have you heard about Mike Strizki, the man who created the first solar-hydrogen house in the United States? Well, in case you haven’t then you should find out that he was the one who helped Depp when it came to turning his island into one which completely relies upon solar-hydrogen power. Therefore, he seems to be the one most preoccupied when it comes to environmental issues.
You will probably think that there is no way you could buy yourself an island and do what Johnny Depp managed to do. Indeed not all of us have the money he has, yet we can start to think green and buy whatever green friendly materials we can afford to.
Yet, Johnny Depp is not the only Hollywood actor who decided to protect the environment and live in a green house. Other celebrities like Julia Louis- Dreyfus and Brad Hall, Julia Roberts, Orlando Bloom, Ed Begley Jr., Daryl Hannah and Brad Pitt come to complete the list of the green hollywoodian celebrities.
Julia Roberts
Let’s take for example Julia Roberts who decided to renovate the house she shares together with her three children and her husband Danny Moder. As such, she tried to keep the mansion’s footprint restrained and made use of sustainable building materials and also recycled the tiling. Yet, we should also mention that lately more and more people, including Hollywood celebrities have become keen on using solar panels as a source of energy. Therefore everything that is green and natural turns out to be more popular.
Yet did you ever thought about making yourself a moss covered stone couch? Most probably this idea didn’t even cross your mind. Yet, it seems that Daryl Hannah has thought about this when deciding to live in a restored stagecoach stop in Rocky Mountain Colorado. She actually waters her moss couch from time to time to keep it alive.
Depp’s environmentalism must have contaminated his fellow actor from the Pirates of the Caribbean, Orlando Bloom as he built his home in London respecting all the demands of a green construction. He endowed this home with all the green devices starting from solar panels to energy efficient lightbulbs. It demanded a lot of money, yet he made it sacredly respecting the laws established by the world’s environmentalists.
Daryl Hannah in green home
When it comes to Ed Begley Jr, he most certainly can be labeled as one of the greenest celebrities, as he chose to live his life as close to nature as possible, practically bringing it into his home. It is as if he was eternally preoccupied by the energy panels on his house’s roofs.
Have you ever pictured the image of a ‘green’ lover when it comes to Brad Pitt? Most certainly you failed to associate his image with the preoccupation for whatever is natural. Yet, ever since he married Angelina Jolie he seems to have borrowed some of her enthusiasm when it comes to getting involved in philanthropic actions. He seems to be determined to help the others and teach them everything about eco-friendly environments. He helped many people to renovate their homes and turn them into fashionable green homes. He pumped large amounts of money into this yet he most probably considers this not to be enough as he decided to continue to promote greener living ways. And what better way to do this if not by buying an island?
You most probably consider him to be lucky as he can afford to do this. Yet, think about your own designed green home and you will be able to envisage yourself as a lucky person too.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall
What about Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall? You most probably know her from Seinfeld or The Adventures of Old Christine. Who hasn’t watched Seinfeld? Yet, you most probably didn’t envisage her as a person keen on environmental issues. Yet, the two of them share a bungalow in Santa Barbara, a specially designed one as it is meant to be energy efficient and also includes a retractable roof. Therefore, there is no need for air conditioning. I honestly love the idea of a retractable roof that allows you to watch the sky at night and breathe fresh air whenever you feel like it. Yet, in order to be able to do so you need to place your house in a less crowded area, quite isolated and plant many trees and plants around your house. Such a roof will also give you the chance to enjoy as much light as you wish, therefore no need for electric lights during the day. All these green homes solutions to be completed by solar heating. What better ways to preserve energy?
You now most probably think that you cannot afford building such green homes, yet the costs involved in building these homes highly depend on the design of the house, the materials you decide to use and above all the site layout. What you should keep in mind is the fact that such houses may help bring down the pollution level to a large extent and that you can build your own, one that can sustain your daily needs.
