I think that any developers in the future need to be hesitant on using terminology such as ZERO CARBON, ZERO WASTE, and using the word SUSTAINABLE. All of these terms can be deemed perspectual.
In my mind it is impossible to create ZERO CARBON: if studied deep enough everything use some amount of carbon, minimizing is the key. For instance lets say that in construction they use wind power as a source of electrical power.....sustainable right? Well it takes quite alot of energy to build a wind turbine as well as the composite materials it is derived from: you guessed it hydrocarbons. Then you have to understand the ecological impact of the turbines: effects on wildlife, potential farming land...the list grows.

The next question is building materials. The use of sustainable or easily replacable materials such as bamboo are obvious, but at this scale steel is abundant in these structures. Not only is steel a non-renewable resources (there is only a set amount on the planet), but it is very energy intensive in production to a usefull structural element.

Sustainable........give me a break. In my mind sustain means to maintain. To bear the burden of these "green" projects many of these companies buy offsets that are a combination of planting trees, protecting natural areas, and sometime funding research in renewable energy. Better, but not sustainable......anyone who has any comprehension or has ever calculated any ecological footprints knows that this is not an area in which you break even. You just minimize.

I am just sick of throwing unrepresentational eco-slang at projects to impress the uninformed. I am all for the transition into an ecological minded cradle to cradle design approach, but I am sick of the unrealistic terminology attached to the projects.

Please tell me why I am wrong, but try to think from my perspective, as I breath I exhale CO2. I will never be a Zero Carbon creating human being. I can add to my surroundings to make up for it, but without any addition I will never be at Zero. Back out to the Earth and we CAN shoot for a give take relationship in which we can balance this, but the way we go about it is flawed by our understanding of the complexity of the operation of the planet.

I just ask everyone to be aware of these eco-statements and use terminolgy very lightly. Help the planet, but don't fall prey to jargon.

amen anonymous. Do any 'zero carbon' buildings exist right now?

It's an aim, but look out the window, we are definitely not there yet.

seriously. if i hear the phrase "eco-friendly" one more time, i'm gonna puke.

these buildings are definitely beautiful, but if i had to choose, i'd take ratty old docks in a heartbeat.

You are on the wrong website if the term eco-friendly bothers you.

I think the buildings are cool and as long as people are taking steps in the right direction, I think we can let them off a little embellishment like "carbon free" etc.

Tell you what, Id rather have lunch on a boardwalk than be mugged behind an abandoned building!

If I remember rightly Prof. Sue Roaf (of "Adapting Buildings and Cities for 21st Century" fame) /and/ the principles within Alexander's "A Pattern Language" both conclude that high-rises, sustainably and psychologically, are a no-no.

You have to bear in mind that us Limeys are subject to something called "Planning Laws", under which you have to apply for permission to build anything (including, at present, installing solar panels on an already-existing roof!). This process becomes quicker and easier if you say that your proposed development is "sustainable" (no definition provided) and will provide "affordable" (ditto) housing.

I only mention all this because it explains the reason why these words so often, and many times unjustifiably, find their way into architects' and developers' blurb.

Having said all that, I'd trust BioRegional as more likely to get it right than most.

Steve, just to clarify, I'm a 25-year-old environmentalist who has been committed to "the movement" since the fourth grade, including internships both with a hippy farm and with a well-established non-profit.

And I didn't say the term bothers me, I just said it makes me wanna puke! Jeez, lighten up.