‘Green’ – and very dumb!!!

I’m both interested and dumbfounded by a report of a mansion built at a cost of over $21 million, certified ‘green’ by environmental bodies . . . and in a totally inappropriate place! The Daily Mail reports:

A risk-taking property tycoon and bestselling author has just made history by building America’s first ‘green’ mansion.

Frank McKinney ‘s new £15million ecological mansion in Manalapan, Florida is the first home of its size to be certified ‘green’ by the rigorous environmental standards committees of the region.

Inspired by trips to Bali, Fiji, Tahiti and Hawaii, the three-story, 15,000-square-foot, 7-bedroom, 11-bath mansion features floating sun terraces, a waterfall spa with a fire feature in the water and an arched aquarium wet bar.

The Green Building Council and the Florida Green Building Council have approved the epic property as energy self-sufficient.

It is described by McKinney as a ‘beacon of realistic optimism’.

The estate – called ‘Acqua Liana’ after the Tahitian and Fijian words for water flower – and is set upon 1.6 acres of incredible gardens 23 feet above sea level facing onto the Atlantic Ocean.

According to McKinney, the interior is the most spectacular part.

‘Guests will hear nothing of the doom and gloom of the credit crisis,’ McKinney said at the opening.

‘It’s when you cross the threshold into Acqua Liana that the show really begins.

‘It’s a symphony of the senses, created to demonstrate that the American Dream is very much alive.’

Green features inside the one-off mansion include enough solar panels to cover a basketball court generating enough energy for two or three average-size homes.

A water system that collects enough run-off water to fill the average swimming pool every 14 days and environmentally conscious lighting reduces electricity consumption by 70 per cent.

There is enough reclaimed wood to save 10.5 acres of Brazilian rain forest.

But with the world economy still in meltdown, it might be a while before you see eco-houses like this lining the streets in your neighbourhood.

There’s more at the link.

I can believe the last sentence . . . but considering where Mr. McKinney’s built his eco-friendly home, I have to ask how long his neighborhood will see it! Florida’s the most hurricane-prone state in the country, and his house is just 23 feet above water level – not to mention almost surrounded by it! The first big storm to come along might just wash the ‘green house’ out into the Atlantic.

Location, location, location . . .

Peter