Building Green Comes Down to Integrity
Building “green” for me comes down to integrity. It’s about being true to what I believe — that what we do matters, even in ways we can’t always predict.
Small Actions, Big Effects
I’ve always felt a pull toward the idea of chaos theory — the understanding that small actions can create big, unpredictable effects. It’s where the butterfly effect comes from: the idea that a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world can affect a storm on the other.
Everything We Do Connects
To me, that’s more than just a scientific concept — it’s a reminder that everything we do connects to everything else. Every decision we make, every material we choose, every home we build sends ripples out into the world around us.
Building With Health and Care
When we build green, we create homes that are healthy — for the people who live in them and for the planet we all share. By reducing VOCs, we improve indoor air quality, and by using quality insulation, efficient windows, and sustainable HVAC systems we prevent mold and contaminants from growing.
Asking the Right Questions
We also think carefully about the resources we use. My conviction that we stay connected with everything around us drives me to ask questions like:
What’s the least damaging fuel we can use for heating?
What’s the most environmentally friendly insulation?
How can we build in ways that make the best use of our limited resources?
Always Learning, Always Improving
I’ll be the first to admit — we don’t have all the answers. There’s always more to learn about how to build responsibly and with care. Sometimes the gap between what we want to do and what we can do feels wide.
A Mosaic of Care and Integrity
But I keep coming back to that butterfly. Each small decision — each home we build — is a wingbeat. And together, they form part of something larger: a mosaic of care, integrity, and respect for the earth.
That’s why I do what I do.
— Cal
