I must be list-crazy.  It may be a new year thing.

But, it struck me that it might be a good idea to scour the interwebs for some encouraging projections in green building, to take a guess at how we’ll move green construction practices and uses of green building materials forward for 2010.  Here are a 7 green building predictions for 2010 that I’ve gathered that I find most encouraging as seen by other bloggers, online magazines, and other online sources.   Take a look!

1. Modular homes move into the mainstream (via earth2tech).  We’ve talked a bit about the advantages, and the stylish nature of modular homes here on this very blog, of course.  Along with the green benefits, 21st Century modular homes make home ownership a more a achievable goal for more people, just because of how inexpensive they are to build and to maintain.

2. ‘Green walls’ (via Good Works Blog).  We’ve seen that green roofs have become more and more prominent in the last year or so.   It seems that the benefits of better air quality and natural insulation may become vertical as well as horizontal in 2010.  And perhaps this is just the beginnings of a trend that is about creativity and lateral thinking in general, with green wall technology as the spearhead.

3. Expanded use of green flooring and other green building materials at the individual consumer level (via Lowesforpros).  Green floors have been in use for many years, including bamboo flooring, and engineered wood floors too.  And in 2010, it looks like a savvy customer base will be clamoring for a floor covering that communicates the values of sustainability.

4. Green Retrofitting (via Environmental News Network).  Not only will new buildings be constructed with sustainable technologies, but existing ones will also fall into more government incentive oriented green refits.  Why not make all buildings green, since green is a money-saver? And green retrofits will be a key means of big developers gaining a competitive advantage in 2010.

5. Green tax credits for consumers drives DIY more green refits (via Mother Nature Network).  Why should developers be the only ones saving money in 2010?

6. Energy-Efficiency becomes key yardstick (via Virginia Real Estate and Construction Law Blog).  This makes sense, since it’s the most easily measurable, and monetized, criterion in the green building and construction hit parade.  And in 2010, revamped energy codes will reflect this.

7. The Big Convergence! (via Steve Mouzon, Treehugger).   When history is at a turning point,  success comes out of great minds that are able to pull the threads of the times together, and devise a solution to all common challenges.  In our era, the global economic downturn (affectionately known as ‘The Meltdown’), the realization that protracted world-wide fossil fuel dependence is a dead-end street, and global climate change are undeniably connected.  This is the three-headed hydra that can only be overcome by thinking about and managing our resources over the long term, not by thinking about them as mere commodities in the short.  What is needed, as always, is vision.

To me, a big part of transforming industries, and ways of solving problems, is faith that it’s possible to find a clear path, to reach a destination, to achieve a goal.  And some of the best ways of doing that is to examine the paths, the proposed destinations, and the goals along the way as held by others.

I  can already feel that 2010 is imbued with  the spirit of optimism.  It will be an interesting year, with a more informed population who are now more focused on the challenges ahead in this next decade than perhaps we were in the last.

Maybe that’s a new year thing, too.  But, I don’t think so.

Cheers!

Rob.