Sunday good news blogging

The news is about apartment buildings designed from an ecologically conscious perspective. The article I want to share with you is from the New York Times and is entitled "It’s Getting Easier to Be Green". Here's part of what it says:

THEY are not yet as ubiquitous as the Toyota Prius, the hybrid car popular among the ecologically minded, but “green” apartment buildings have begun popping up around Manhattan. At least six large buildings designed to meet elevated standards for energy efficiency and for the use of environmentally friendly materials have opened in the last three years, and several more are under construction or being planned.

The green designation is conferred on buildings that incorporate recycled or renewable materials and that slash energy use and water consumption with features like photovoltaic cells, internal sewage treatment systems and roofs covered in soil and vegetation.

Developers say they are building green because they believe in it, but they also expect to gain a competitive edge. If faced with the choice of renting or buying two similar apartments, the developers say, consumers increasingly will opt for the one with green features, even if it comes at a higher price.

“We think it’s important to do, and we think that other buildings that don’t do this will become obsolete, and our buildings will continue to maintain their value,” said Douglas Durst, who built 4 Times Square, a pioneering green office building, in the late 1990’s. He is now building his second green apartment tower.

The not so good news is that the apartments described in this article rent in the neighborhood of $5,000 - $6,000 a month for 2 and 3 bedroom apartments. (But then so do non-green apartments.) That just staggered my mind. Well, I guess salaries in New York are commensurate with the cost of living. Still, it makes me glad I live in Oklahoma!