The road to our final four.

I have to admit, "green building" and "sustainable" were not terms I grew up hearing in my hometown of Pensacola, Florida. In fact, even today, the only time you're likely to hear anything close to green building there is in reference to the green-colored roofs many homeowners chose to replace the ones hurricanes Ivan and Dennis stripped away. And the only sustainability initiatives I know of in place involve the county doing whatever it takes, including expanding parking lots for city blocks, to ensure that the town's beloved strip malls stay just where they are--forever.

So you can imagine my excitement when I recently arrived in Asheville, all of my belongings inside a trusty U-Haul, ready to plant roots in a "green" community and become a member of the New Life Journal team. When it comes to green building, there's a lot going on in the area; every day is Earth Day. From environmentally conscious townhome and condo developments to off-the-grid Earthships, Asheville's citizens, builders, architects, designers and real estate agents have green on their brains.

While all of those involved in green building may be working towards common goals of lessened environmental impact and sustainability, the tactics for achieving those goals are wide-ranging. And, to make things even more complicated, the definitions of "green" and "sustainable" also differ across the board. To some, green means urban and small--a home that allows owners to rely on their feet, not their car. Others think green means totally off the grid, often away from urban development. And still, others believe the definition lies somewhere in the middle.

When NLJ approached this green building issue, we had the lofty idea of choosing the best of the best green homes in our area. But, we quickly realized that was an impossible task; since 'green' means something different to everyone, everyone's eco-conscious home is so in a different way. To revive a lesson passed on from parents to children, different makes us who we are, makes the world exciting and interesting. Unfortunately, NLJ couldn't be 100 pages long this month, so we had to narrow it down. To do so, we formed a Green Home Experts Board of top green building professionals in the area. Each member of the Board comes from a different area of the green continuum and helped paint a complete picture of the homes we received as nominations to be featured this issue. Using their input, we picked four homes that are great examples of what's taking place in our community. Sure, we could have picked five or even six homes, but then we wouldn't have been able to sit in our offices brainstorming comic-book connections to green building. Hey, we love what we do. Be sure to check out our "Green-tastic 4" feature on page eight.

But it's not just homes that are being built with sustainability in mind; Warren Wilson has adopted large-scale sustainability initiatives that permeate through all aspects of their campus. Take a look at the college's exciting new developments on page fourteen.

We know it's probably not the best idea to encourage stealing, but we're pretty sure the homeowners and builders featured in this issue won't mind if you "borrow" an idea or two and apply it to your own green home--whether you're building from scratch or are working with an existing home. Imitation is the best form of flattery, and these "greenies" deserve the recognition.

Here's to feeling at home and to creating a sustainable environment for the future.

We know that to our readers, every day is Earth Day, but it' s great to take time out and celebrate the mission we're all working toward. Have a great one!

Maggie Cramer, managing editor