I took exception to the story of the "first green home" in Greenville. I built what most would consider a green home more than 20 years ago in Pitt County. It was a one-story, 2x6 walled, passive solar home with 2-foot overhangs. Currently, I build only with insulated concrete forms now (the ultimate "Green Wall," R-27 and built to last for centuries not decades).

Many builders before and parallel to me built what, at the time, had no buzzword name, but were green — Jeff Mathis, Danny Gonzales, Moses Sheppard, Frank McLawhorn and many others of whom I am not aware.

The GUC E-300 program, started in 1978, was truly one of the first green home programs in the nation and is still one of the best. Tom Chapin built the first E-300 certified home. The Evans Company, Bill Clark, Porter Construction, Randy Randolph and Ed Tipton were the five founding fathers of the program. GUC has certified more than 6,900 E-300 single-family homes in Pitt County.

Pitt Community College builds all their auction homes green and teaches tomorrow's builders the value of this type of construction.

I strongly applaud Gary Cutler joining in this type of construction. I've known Cutler for close to 20 years and he is a fine builder and craftsman. I just feel the article slighted a lot of builders who really pioneered green in this area, taking very real financial risks in pursuing what they felt was the right way to build.

Green building is becoming popular, but the label can be misleading. There are thousands of products that go into a new home. Some are green but don't work with other products or are cost prohibitive. It takes thought and a lot of work to balance wants, needs, environmental concerns, economic realities, product and system compatibilities, longevity and functionality in an aesthetically pleasing home. It's a great time to build green.

DAN THOMAS

Greenville