MY FAITH AND ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY BUILDINGS
| By Paul Kriescher, Executive Producer/Host, Heart of a Building, llc.
Since I was a child I’ve felt the connection between God and the Earth. It is this feeling of spiritual connection between all of life in conjunction with the physical interdependence of all of life [i.e., the web of life] that has fueled my life mission; to be a steward of life on Earth. Being a steward of life on Earth has provided me a powerful, and practical means of loving God by loving and caring for all of life on Earth every day.
I’ve found the best way to act on this sense of stewardship was by working to make our buildings as energy-efficient as possible and being a part separating our dependence on fossil fuel resources as the dominant means of heating, cooling, and lighting of our buildings. Since we in the western-world live, work, and spend tremendous amounts of our time in buildings, which currently account for approximately 40% of annual energy usage United States, it was buildings where I’ve set my sights and where I see so many of us having a pathway to be good stewards towards God and Earth.
My work with buildings started in the mid-1990s by consulting with builders, homeowners, developers, apartment tenants, and facility managers guiding them to make their buildings more environmentally-friendly while simultaneously enhancing comfort and improving indoor air quality. During this work, I came across many individuals and businesses who wanted their homes or buildings to be environmentally-friendly and I found these people inspiring for wanting to do more with their buildings, often as a means of giving back to the rest of us.
It is these inspiring people, and their inspired buildings, that we are showcasing through the Heart of A Building videos and website. It is my belief that more people want to combine their hearts with their technical and financial expertise to build more environmentally-friendly, sustainable and regenerative buildings but often don’t know how to do it. By seeing and hearing the stories of people who have made these buildings along with having access, via our website (www.heartofabuilding.com) to these project’s architectural plans, engineering specifications, educational/marketing materials, and project costs, I hope to provide pathways for others to create, build and operate more and more buildings which are an expression of love for the Earth and toward God (Yahweh, Shiva, Allah, Jehovah, Spirit, etc.).