Forty-five percent said that it was very important to live in a home free of toxic chemicals inside. Another 30 percent rated it high on their priority scale. Children s health is important to every mom and their focus is on the home and making it a safe, healthy place. It is easy to be suspicious and attribute these priorities to self-interest or the What s in it for me buyer. After all, saving energy means saving money.
Toxic chemicals are a scary thought.
Of course, when asked, anyone would respond to these issues from the standpoint of the health and financial security of their own family. But interestingly, when consumers were asked what their three most important environmental issues are, the public said saving energy, using recycled-content building products and improved indoor air quality. Saving old-growth trees came in a close fourth. It is significant that larger environmental issues such as recycling and saving old-growth trees are nearly as important as the self interest issues. This is a departure from earlier local surveys, particularly one conducted in Denver in 1998 that identified resource conservation issues as very low in buyers minds.