Guest Author: CR Herro – Vice President, Environmental Affairs

History has shown that people do not always choose what is best for them, but what they know and understand. The higher the stakes, the more conservative we are in our choices. The challenge of getting each of us to choose to adopt a better behavior or product is twofold. The first challenge is that different is often perceived as risky, because we do not understand it as well as our current choice. The second is that even if we understand we will get an improvement from a new choice, we have to invest effort in changing. Let’s just say it: we can often be too lazy to do better for ourselves.

The challenge is apparent today as Meritage and other members of building industry have adopted superior building specifications to improve the quality and performance of homes. First, in building energy efficient homes the majority of the significant improvements in home building cannot be readily seen. In fact, if we do our jobs well, it is the last thing the buyer of a new Meritage Home thinks about. We want our homeowners to be impacted by how they live in the home, how they can better entertain their guests, and how they can relax after a long work week. The lower the utility bills, the clearer air, and quieter home, just kind of happen. Very few of us take note how we DON’T hear the neighbor’s kids new garage band. Read More