It was interesting to read about the “green building” movement and the Glidehouse that was put up here on the Island. I felt encouraged by the owners’ commitment to saving energy by paying more for a well-designed and well-insulated house.

I was surprised, however, to read that moving the Glidehouse from Massachusetts to Vashon took four semi-trucks driving over 3,000 miles. At five miles per gallon, those four trucks burned 2,400 gallons of petroleum to move a house that could have been designed and built here on the Island by skilled contractors using materials produced in the Northwest.

Recently there was an article in The Beachcomber citing the importance of supporting our local economy. That made a lot of sense to me. I am willing to pay more for the things I need to support people on Vashon. But I also like to spend my money locally to reduce the need to transport goods — like all the way from China or Massachusetts — thereby reducing my own carbon footprint.

I wonder how many years it will take for the Glidehouse, with its reduced consumption of fossil fuels, to offset the fossil fuel it consumed to deliver it. And though the trucking may have been “affordable,” sometimes it seems that we forget that the price of buying petroleum does not reflect the costs of burning petroleum.

— Scott Durkee