Rich and Green?

The other day I was watching "This Old House", I know, I know, but with the writer's strike it is slim pickins out there. No Slim Pickens comments please! Anyway, this old house is currently doing a "Green" renovation in Austin. Austin has a going green program of some sort where they assign you points for how green your renovation is. So the renovation seems like a nice project, a nice house that they are putting energy efficient appliances, heating and cooling, widows, etc. But, what got me worked up is the tour of the house that got the most green points ever in Austin's history. It is a gigantic, I am sure multi-million dollar home, with a pool, stone walls, recycled wood floors, with a man, his wife and a few kids living there. Probably a couple of thousand feet per person. What I want to know is, is that green? Just because you spend lots more money on the components of the house to save a bit on energy doesn't the mere size of the home kind of cancel that out. It would be kind of like buying a Hybrid Hummer, that instead of getting 10 miles per gallon gets 12. I kind of get fed up with the green magazines, green tv shows, etc. that go on and on about being a green consumer and advertise outrageously priced items for you to buy. Somehow I got it in my mind that being green would entail living in an energy efficient home that is appropriate for the size of your family, owning a non gas guzzeling car that your family can comfortably fit in and really being mindful about your purchases. Like, do I really need this, do I already have one, can I borrow one from someone else and can I put this purchase off until later. Not how can I build and consume the most possible, but in a way that makes me feel less guilty about being a big fat ostentatious hog. Anyway, it seems to me that Austin's going green program misses the mark by a long shot. But who can blame them, if it weren't for all the ridiculously huge homes where would the property taxes come from?