What other materials are relatively green for counters?

Increasing demand has made the mining industry move away from more traditional methods towards extensive large scale projects. Whole mountains are now being routinely reduced to stumps to feed our demand for minerals (mostly coal). We often forget to consider the environment being removed to access the minerals. For example, in the case of aluminium it's often tropical rain forest. Mining has not gathered as much attention as other environmental issues, but it's going to be a major problem in the future. The increasing scale of it is making the supply cheaper and the demand greater, but we're exhausting the world's supply of many minerals (phosphates, for example), it just hasn't gathered the same attention as depleting fossil fuels. Regarding most minerals, people are still in the "endless resources" bubble that was similar to public views on fossil fuels not so long ago. There's so much still in the ground we just assume there will always be another lump to extract and consume - but what we all forget is just how many people are thinking that and planning to do exactly that every day for the rest of their lives.

These reasons are why it concerns me that so many minerals and mineral based products are finding their way on to lists of ecological products, when impartial comparisons show that oil/plastic based alternatives normally consume much less energy, less resources and less land. The full life cycle does have an impact, but high quality plastics (for example kitchen laminates) can last a very long time, perhaps even longer than natural materials. My formica kitchen is from the 1940s and is still glossy, hygienic and easy to clean.

Unfortunately, many kitchens will come to an early end regardless what they're made from, either because low quality materials were used or fashion changed. Avoid these two common pitfalls and I'm sure whatever you choose will be a good choice, but do consider plastics fairly, they actually have very strong environmental credentials when used for long lasting materials such as building materials and furniture.

Finally, someone else who "gets it"! So many people on this board (not in this forum, of course) tout granite countertops and stone flooring as "natural" and "green" and give plastic anything (laminate countertops, vinyl flooring) the ol' hairy eyeball for being made of that demon petroleum. In fact, pretty much anything you put on a floor or countertop has to be "harvested" from somewhere. But, for some reason, the process of excavating granite or marble (usually by workers who do not get the best of the deal), transporting this heavy material, finishing it (using who-knows-how-much water and solvents), and transporting it again to its final resting place (your kitchen) doesn't enter into the declaration of how "natural" and "green" it is.

I just saw an article which stated that the nickel used in Toyota's Prius' batteries travels from Canada (where it is mined), to Europe (where it is refined), to China (where it made into "nickel foam" for the batteries), to Japan (for installation in the car (which is then shipped here). How many miles must one drive a Prius to make up for that many trips across that many oceans? And what happens when that battery is no longer usable?

Just by living on this planet, we consume resources of one kind or another. Minimal consumption is best, but the determination of "minimal" must include everything it takes to make that consumption possible, not just the end product.

The same analogy can be applied to countertops. I live in New England and just finished a kitchen and mudroom remodel. We chose granite counters sourced from Canada and slate tile sourced from Vermont to support local businesses and to minimize the environmental impact of long distance transport of materials. I'm satisfied that we met our environmental objectives with choices that are both beautiful and long lasting.

What are your thoughts on concrete countertops? I've been researching them and they look kinda cool. Depending on the choice of color and finish, some of them look like soapstone.

We're thinking about using concrete in our kitchen project, mostly because of cost. My husband will likely do them himself. Any idea how feasible this is?