Ecological architecture? It's a bit like organic food, let's face it! But will it ever be more than a luxury add on? 

THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE
Solar power makes sense. Today we live in the shadow of nuclear risks like Chernobyl, Thorp and rotting submarines. Hugh Casson once wrote that civilisations tend to get the architecture they deserve. That is an extreme political view but at least it doesn't blame architecture for social problems. 

ENERGY AND SPACE
All the new building in the world won't change the energy use of existing stock. Half of all energy use is due to buildings and their services. New legislation pays lip service to carbon emission targets integrated transport and sustainable development, while the car industry enjoys immense subsidy and obscene advertising. The notion of an holistic centre and public space is increasingly paradoxical while aspirations are prescribed by consumer industry: It really is a throw-away world. Take away the hostile car environment for instance, and more human instincts return: public garden, street party, etc. The festive life of the town really is the most important thing in its life. 

MAKING THINGS IN THE WORLD 
Materials extracted from the earth are endowed with meaning, within an order of values and characters. Eg. timber that was alive, metamorphic and sedimentary stone, plastic, metal, glass and of course, gold. But modern materials like  Aluminium, glass and portland cement are highly energy intensive to produce and deployed even where they may be climatically inappropriate. The polluter should pay for re-cycling and end disposal or design it out. The least re-cyclable material in a building is paint. Not much you can do with dried paint! Not much you can do with used car tyres either. We forget about them once they're buried in a landfill site, but for how long? 

THE QUESTION IS NOT CONCERNING TECHNOLOGY
If you want to, you can make something different - we have the technology! The problem isn't the technological question alone, ordering a modern world in a meaningful sense is not just about 'management of the ecosystem', that ignores social and cultural factors. The problem is the haunting vision of an apocalypse in modern times which propels technological change.