Purdue scientists working with polymers say they've developed "eco-friendly coatings" that can be applied in industrial and household settings to create surfaces that resist oil and can be cleaned with plain water, reducing the need for heavy duty detergents or solvents.

Greenerdesign, in its story, noted that the polymer coatings, which can be applied to surfaces including glass and concrete, are 20,000 times thinner than a human hair and have two key layers: A bottom layer of polyethylene glycol, which attracts water, and an upper layer of a Teflon-like molecule that repels oil.

So when oil, whether in a machine shop or a kitchen, comes in contact with a concrete floor or a countertop coated with the substance, the surface resists the oil while attracting the water.  It was also discovered that the polymer could be used to prevent fogging either by coating a surface with it or adding it to a product.

"It worked better than the commercial defogger, but not as good as spit," noted Jeffrey Youngblood, an assistant professor of Materials Engineering at Purdue University. 

I came across an interesting article called If Green’s So Great.  It outlines a number of strategies and technologies that can be considered green building, such as Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), Spray Foam Insulation, Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs), Solar Energy –Photovoltaics (PV), Wind and Geothermal.

All these sustainable strategies are existing and available.  The author suggests that wide spread implementation could be more prevalent with more consumer education.  While I don’t disagree with more education on alternative and efficiency benefits, there was something missing.  The article discusses the advantage of each technology but omits some critical information – costs compared to existing technologies.

Any article on a technology must include relative costs.  I realize every home is different but my theory is that people want to be more “green” – as long as it doesn’t cost more money.

If you are building a house or starting the process, by all means become familiar with these wonderful clean technologies.  You want to maximize the energy efficiency of your home.  As you are getting your specifications prepared, ask your architect or designer to prepare a base and alternate specifications.  Have individual alternative technologies priced separately so you can compare the relative cost advantages between the traditional and alternative technology.  Another helpful comparison is among the various alternative technologies themselves.