When I was the residential real estate reporter at the Dallas Times Herald years ago, some of my journalist colleagues would become incensed that Dallasites weren't up in arms about a prominent CEO caught embezzling money or a local mayor taking expensive gifts from contractors or a production home builder discriminating against minority buyers. But our readers' lack of interest in these matters never surprised me. Even though I didn't own a house or have children, I recognized that most people only cared about what directly affected their wallets and their families.

So when it comes to green building, I think home builders and remodelers should focus their attention on what matters most to their customers. Right now, that may not be lower sales prices, but lower operational costs.

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