Why are we so afraid of green buildings? | Lindsey Kindrat | TEDxYYC

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"We’re scared of green buildings – we want to do the right thing and make our lives green, but we've lost our connection with nature," says green building expert Lindsey Kindrat. "We design conventional buildings to keep nature out; but green buildings let nature in. They reconnect us with our place in the environment, and let us control our living and working spaces."
So why hasn't building green become mainstream? Kindrat explores the idea that what holds us back from building green is neither expense nor ignorance, but a deeper fear of our disconnect with the natural world around us.

Lindsey Kindrat is a born naturalist, explorer and small town girl at heart, with roots in Alberta oil country and a vast appreciation for the potential of her beloved planet. Combining her passion for ecology and physics into sustainable building planning, design and construction for government and public sector projects, Lindsey quickly earned a place among Alberta’s top green building professionals. She has twice been awarded a Directorship with the Alberta Chapter, Canada Green Building Council, where she seeks to bring green building education into the mainstream for everyone to share, understand and enjoy.

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Hi.

This is nice, isn't it?

We're all sitting here together,
warm, safe, cozy, dry,

inside this building.

It's nice. I bet the temperature
is about 21 degrees Celsius,

which's considered comfortable
by those people who make those decisions.

We can imagine that:

a lone building operator sitting
back there in front of computers

connected to sensors
that are constantly monitoring

the temperature
and the oxygen levels in this space.

Those sensors are sending a live feed
back to our building operator saying,

"Optimal comfort levels achieved.

All clear."

But there's no little wizard
behind that curtain,

No Great Oz controls this building.

More or less, the building
is programmed to control itself.

It's programmed to monitor
our activity levels

and to respond with a pre-programmed
set of comfort controls.

Not only does the building assume

that we all have the same comfort levels,
which is obviously true,

but it doesn't even allow us
to feel sunshine or a cool breeze,

though these lights
are getting pretty close.

Look out the window.

I'm just kidding,
there's no window over there,

but we're intrinsically wired to need
that connection with our environment,

to see what's going on around us.

We're going to sit inside here for hours
and not get to see outdoors.

And why?

We should be outside,
we should be reconnecting with nature.

We just went through
eight months of winter hell.

(Laughter)

Maybe it's not the nicest day of summer,
but it's still summer out there,

and our brain tells us
that we need that connection.

We need sunlight,
and green grass, and fresh air.

Yet you're all sitting here,
and you're listening to me;

which is great, thank you, don't go yet.

What happened? How did we get here?

What happened is
human beings started to create

this artificial, built environment
all around us.

We've built these massive cities,

and then we stick ourselves
inside these constructs,

and that's where we've stayed.

We've lived like this,
disconnected from nature

and from the environment for so long

that we no longer recognize
our rightful place in it.

We say we love nature, and I think we do,

we need that connection.

Something starts happening

when we talk about buildings
that reconnect us with the environment.

People start shaking their heads
frowning and saying,

"No, Lindsey, I don't want that.

That's really different
from what I'm used to."

I'm used to it.

For ten years, I've been

in the sustainable building
or green building industry.

I didn't know much about it
at first, either.

I went into science to become
a biologist, and then a geologist,

and then, somewhere along the way,
I started working with these people

who were designing, building,
and renovating green buildings.

These buildings were so cool!

I started to see how my studies
in energy conservation,

in ecological and geological systems
applied directly to buildings,

and I became obsessed with
what I refer to as "ecological physics."

That's the basic fundamentals
of thermodynamics

that drive everything on our planet.

For example, we all know
that dark objects absorb heat,

and white objects reflect it.

We know that hot air rises,
and evaporation cools things down.

We know that every action requires energy,

but I also learned
that we blatantly ignore

all these fundamental principles
when we design buildings.

When we ignore physics,

we lose energy.

Instead of building a building

that can interact with the environment
as part of that system,

we construct them and design them

in a way that forces them
to act against it.

Buildings, conventional buildings use
40% of the generated energy we consume,

but green buildings use less energy,

less resources,

because they work with thermodynamics
in a more natural way.

What do you guys think of
when I say "green buildings"?

This?

Hey, I stayed in that; it was awesome.

How about this?

Or this?

They're all green buildings,

some of them are
pretty conventional-looking,

but others are a little more
expressive and more creative,

but that perception
of what a green building is;

it varies widely from person to person.

I sat in design meetings
where the client is absolutely sure

that they do not want a green building.

No, they want a normal building
that saves energy.

That's a great start.

That can be a green building, why not?

A building that uses
less energy or resources,

compared to a conventional building.

That's what we call
"best management practices

in green building design
and construction."

Then we get those clients
who want so much more,

they want a building
that interacts with the environment,

that produces its own energy,
recycles its own waste,

and recycles its water.

They want buildings
that allow the occupants

- that's you and me, people, -
the ability to adjust

the interior environment
to suit their needs.

So that's a building
that lets nature into the space.

OK, this is a test.

Who can tell the difference

between the green fire hall
and the not-so-green fire hall?

One of the buildings
is obviously a lot newer,

and it does have some more
advanced sustainability features,

but even that old brick fire hall
has solar panels on the roof.

It's actually undergoing an energy upgrade
to make it more efficient.

Regardless of how green
these fire halls are,

those firefighters eat, sleep,
jump in their trucks, and fight fires.

The greenness of a building

doesn't change the way
that we work and live.

Buildings will always be
part of our habitat,

but green buildings
are becoming a more natural,

more integrated part of out habitat.

Most of my projects,
including that new fire hall,

follow a green-built building
certification program.

The Canada and US Green Building Councils
have gathered data

from hundreds of projects
across North America over 15 years,

that tell us green buildings
save money and energy,

and they actually make people happier.

Kids get higher test scores
in green schools,

workers are more productive
and have less sick days in green offices

- that's most of us -

and patients recover faster
in green hospitals.

Sometimes, that can be as simple
as just giving those people a window,

so that they have a visual connection
with the environment.

This sounds great.

Why aren't we all over this?

Green buildings should be the mainstream,

but if you go outside,

walk around downtown
or through your neighborhood,

you'll see that green building
is not the mainstream.

So why not?

We've got every opportunity

to educate ourselves in the wide array
of green building possibilities out there,

and yet, very few of us even know

the basic, fundamental
elements of building,

or even less, how or why we should make
these structures more sustainable.

So why aren't we there yet?

Excuse number 1: It's too expensive.

OK, I get that.

Everyone wants to save money, I do too.

But people tend to focus on the upfront
cost of design and construction

while forgetting the decades
of operations and maintenance costs

to sustain that building
throughout its life cycle.

Green buildings cost less
to maintain throughout their life cycle.

Excuse number 2:

it's all a bunch of left-wing,
health-nut hippie crap.

(Laughter)

Well I'm no hippie
- don't think I'm a hippie -

but I think it's healthier and safer
to live and work in a building

where there's no harmful chemicals.

You know that new car smell?

It happens when we have a new carpet,
paint, furniture, and curtains;

those are chemicals
that make us feel sick, and tired,

and compromise our immune systems.

But green buildings virtually eliminate
the use of those chemicals in the space.

Green buildings better air circulation,
filtration, monitoring, and fresh air.

The green building program I use

does not allow toxic materials
in this space.

Excuse number 3: we don't like
being told what to do.

Extreme ultimatums don't work on us,

"Change your ways
or you'll kill the Earth,"

"Stop driving, take transit."

"Recycle, compost."

Those just make us feel like the bad guy,
and we resent that.

But I think it goes deeper.

I think all of these excuses
are just topical.

I think if we start looking deep down
into our primordial subconscious,

where we don't really like to look,

we begin to see we're not

the Earth-dominating alpha primates
that we should be by now.

We're weaker creatures

and sure, at the mercy of the environment.

We're afraid of
what the environment will do to us.

What it will take from us.

We've lived on the edge
of nature for so long,

apart from it, above it,
protected from it

that we no longer recognize
our place in it.

We don't feel connected to it.

No one wants to end up
in a hostile, dangerous place

a cold, hungry, and naked ape.

Fear is important.

So let's look at
those instinctive, primitive fears

because I think

that while conventional buildings
have been built to keep nature out,

green buildings start talking
about letting nature in

and reconnecting us with nature,

with the environment.

Green buildings are actually
reminding us of these ancient fears

that we've had of nature for millenia.

Let's break down a building
into these primitive fears.

Build with me here.

A rooftop garden.

That's great, that means fresh,
local organic food,

but our subconscious starts
playing tricks on us and tells us,

"You don't know what you're doing,"

"Do you know how to grow a tomato?"

That's because we don't grow
our own food anymore.

We're disconnected from our food chain.

Other people control that now,

so our subconscious tells us,
"You're going to starve!"

"You're going to be hungry!"

Let's go down to the ground.

A key component of green buildings,

when they can have the linebase to do so,

is to provide open space
for habitat preservation and biodiversity.

It's open space for us to roam around
and enjoy the environment

when it's not raining.

But our subconscious says,

"We are losing our land."

Loss of land means loss of freedom,

and that creates stress.

Let's go inside our building.

Imagine an open workspace,

big windows, open to let
the fresh air and sunlight in.

Everyone has a view of the environment
through the window,

a direct connection with nature.

But to alpha members of our pack,

this means no more window office.

This is serious, that means a loss
of dominance, insecurity

because there was the rest of us.

It's interesting, I've run into this
at almost every project, except schools.

Because no teacher ever
feels entitled to sunlight

while denying it to the students.

Let's think about water.

Green buildings use less water.

Water-efficient fixtures,

harvesting rainwater from the roof,

it means more water is available
for the natural water cycle.

But on some primitive level, we think,
"Why do we have to save water?"

"We're running out of water?"

"Is the river drying up?"

"We're going be thirsty."

Same thing happens with alternative
energy, green energy.

We've got free solar,
wind, hydro, geothermal

acting all around us every day.

That should mean
clean air, less pollution.

But our subconscious says,
"Why do we have to save energy?"

"We're running out of energy?"

"Is there a crisis?"

"We're going to have to rely
on the wind and the sun to stay warm."

"We're going to be cold."

So we start to see how our instinct
to avoid natural hazards

begins to affect the way we design,
build, and occupy our buildings.

A very basic human need
is to blend in with the pack.

"Be one of us, live like us."

Nobody wants to be that weird,
antisocial guy living off the grid.

But no respectable green
builder expects you

to give up your creature comforts,
possessions, and technologies

and go live in the bush.

We're not wired that way.

We won't put ourselves
in the way of a direct threat.

It goes against our nature.

We're wired to ensure

the continuation of our genetic bloodlines
and the survival of our species;

and so we build to protect ourselves
from the environment

in order to survive.

But I say we can do better.

I'm going to take that a step further

and say it's the mission
of our species to build better.

We've come so far,

we can take an inherently unnatural
object of building

and actually use it to reconnect us
with the natural world.

We can use a benign form of control
to work with nature

to create a built environment
that connects us with the environment.

We can use these amazing
logical brains of ours

to build in a way
that maintains that balance

between finite resources
and our biological needs.

We're smart enough
to make buildings work for us

so let's tell it what to do.

Design that building,

create that open concept

with windows that you can
open and close when you need,

to let in the fresh air,
to let in the sunlight.

Tell the building to recirculate the air,

finish your space
with natural, renewable materials,

create a growing wall
that's soothing to look at

while it generates oxygen
for you to breathe.

Take advantage of natural
solar and wind patterns

to help your building
passively heat and cool itself

and while you're at it,

take advantage
of all that free solar and wind

and capture it, harvest it, store it,
and use it as you wish.

Design the landscapes
so that it will actually capture rainwater

and you can sit
beside a waterfaller screen

that's designed to flow when it rains.

Install motion sensors on your faucet

so you can wave your hand
magically over it

to turn the fresh water
on and then off again.

Then, when you're ready,

go up to your green roof,
or your garden, or your sunny H trim,

sit down, relax, and enjoy being human.

Just enjoy being human,

because we are part of the environment.

We need to recognize our place in it
and not be afraid of it.

We've come a long way,

and green buildings may reinforce
our awareness of natural hazards

and make us aware of the err of our ways,

but they also offer us salvation.

They give us the opportunity
to work with nature,

to control it even on a small scale

in order to reconnect with it.

So take this time to reconnect,

think about buildings in a new way.

The building's in your hand

to design, build, and program
to suit your needs.

So imagine what window you'll open

to let nature in.

Human beings:

we're a smart, sensitive species,

we can build green,

but we hold the power of imagination
and innovation to build amazing.

Thank you.

(Applause)