Last week, I had the chance to see a Net Zero, energy efficient home in Edmonton. The beautifully crafted luxury home in trendy Strathcona neighbourhood produces all its own electricity and heat, with minimized use of water or toxic materials. I found myself asking: Could conspicuous reduction replace conspicuous consumption, as we evolve towards a culture of sustainability? If so, will we be fostering new forms of consumer excess, albeit in a greener shade, or will a green economy allow us to buy our way to sustainability.

Modern consumers have limitless options to display their status in the products with which they surround themselves. The economist Thorstein Veblen called this phenomenon "conspicuous consumption". The ability to purchase and show off articles produced from rare and expensive resources has traditionally been an outward sign of wealth and power. More recently, ecologists have recognized that the greater our material representation of wealth the more extensive our ecological footprint. The three tonne Hummer vehicles produced by General Motors became an archetype of both consumer excess and disregard for the environment. The bankruptcy of GM and the sell off of their Hummer line this month is a potent symbol that the how unsustainable our culture of consumption has become.

We urgently need to find new ways of meeting human needs that respect the rights of future generations to satisfy their own requirements, while preserving integrity of intact ecosystems. Where do Net Zero homes fit on the course we must chart towards a more sustainable culture? Does the lack affordability of Net Zero homes limit their applicability as a widespread solution to our crisis of over-consumption, or do such homes offer innovative ideas that could be implemented universally? Check out the blog of Net Zero home owner, Conrad Norbert to investigate some of these questions and contradictions. You can also join the discussion here as to what constitutes a sustainably constructed future.