The construction sector represents only about 8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States. And yet it consumes 40% of all extracted materials, produces one-third of the total landfill waste stream, and accounts for 39% of national energy consumption for its operation. Reference: Roodman and Lenssen, “A Building Revolution: How Ecology and Health Concerns Are Transforming Construction.”

So don’t let the push for development as economic salvation get around the facts.