EMA Young Hollywood Board Member and host of HGTV’s Carter Can and Red, Hot & Green, Carter Oosterhouse has dedicated his life to making home design more sustainable.
In an interview with Greening of the Great Lakes, Carter, who has been building and designing since he was thirteen years old, explained why he is so passionate about combining design and sustainability.
“My philosophy is that as builders, as designers, as artists, it is our moral responsibility to present these green, eco-friendly, efficient options that are out there.”
Carter employs elements of eco-friendliness on each of his shows on HGTV. He says, “It’s about being efficient. It’s about being able to maintain a lifestyle without excessively taking away from the planet.” His aim is to bring awareness to just how easy it can be to green your home.
One simple DIY green solution that Carter advocates is making sure that your home is properly insulated. This includes cleaning out air filters every six months. Not only will this keep your energy consumption down, it’ll also give you a break on your bills.
“It’s about little things in your home that you can do to save money, be more efficient, and not overusing the resources that we have to produce energy.” says Oosterhouse.
Carter believes that the green movement is here to stay. “My feeling is that the next generation is already going to have that understanding of being sustainable,” he says.
My husband and I are building a home in Traverse City and are wondering what Carter would recommend for alternative energy souces. We will have some limitations as we will be building in a subdivision.