The exciting thing is that straw bale construction has advanced so much recently. You can still purchase bales straight from the farm, but by using special compacting tools, these bales that can support up to 4000 pounds per linear foot. How’s that for innovation?

If you’re interested in building a home using straw bales, you definitely should check out this website:

http://www.strawbale.com/

You can find just about anything you need at strawbale.com — everything from basic straw bale info, names of experienced straw bale builders, specialized compacting tools, and so forth — you can even find information about how to finance a straw bale home!

And just in case you’re having some trouble visualizing what a straw bale home might look like, here are a few pictures I found on Wikipedia.org that show how awesome straw-bale construction can be:

This shows the straw bales during construction

This shows a fully-finished straw bale home.

This shows how luxurious a straw bale home can really be!

All you other bloggers out there probably know exactly what I’m talking about. You have all of these good intentions of speaking your mind and touching hearts, but when it comes time to put pen to paper (figuratively), nothing happens. When I first started writing for this blog, I was chomping at the bit to get started. I was going to give the world a whole new perspective on green living. I was going to study and become a green expert, and the world would share in my studies — it would be awesome! But alas, none of that came to fruition.

Instead, I got sick and tired of looking on all of these green building websites. I got tired of wracking my brain, trying to figure out what to write about. I’d rather not put people to sleep, y’know? Anyway, I slowly put this blog on the back-burner, and here we are… at a record low.

So, I’m gonna ask you for another chance, and I’ll try to be a little more consistent. I’m gonna write more about house plans, because that’s what I know. I don’t know too much about green design, so I’m not going to focus on that. Fair enough? Good. Thanks for listening!

First of all, let me tell you something that you probably already know — I’m kinda weird. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most prominent (especially in the summertime) is that I love working in the yard. I haven’t watched TV for weeks because I’ve been too busy pulling weeds, mowing the lawn, hoeing the garden, etc. That being said, you’ll know why this article caught my eye.

Creative Loafing just highlighted two must-have eco-friendly products to look into this summer — push reel mowers and rain catch barrels. I’m not going to go through all of the stats, but here’s a little food for thought:

1. 5% of the nation’s air pollution comes from motorized garden tools.
2. For every inch of rain that falls on a catchment area of 1,000 square feet, you can expect to collect approximately 600 gallons of rain water.

So there you have it. Take that info and run with it, or you can check out the full article for yourself. I’d love to hear what you have to think. Stay cool!

The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu, is a strong advocate for improving roof reflectivity. While speaking in London just before an international summit on reducing climate change, Dr. Chu strongly encouraged people everywhere to paint their roofs white. He said that the simple act of painting a roof white could have a dramatic impact on the amount of money and energy used to keep the building comfortable.

From the original article:

“The EPA reports that $40 billion is spent annually in the United States to cool buildings. That’s an extraordinary amount of money,” states Tom Black, executive director of the non-profit Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA). “We applaud Dr. Chu’s intent. However, in reality, white roofs aren’t feasible for most homeowners. Curb appeal rules. The good news is that highly reflective residential metal roofing is available in a wide variety of styles and colors to suit any home.”

Although a white roof is great, a highly reflective metal roof is even better. In fact, new technologies allow even darker colored metal roofs to absorb less heat through the use of highly reflective pigments in the paint that reflect solar energy. Studies from Oak Ridge National Laboratory show that a reflective metal roof can reduce summer cooling costs by about 40% — that’s great news for homeowners everywhere!

You should probably check out the full article.

I usually try to find some time each week to surf the web in search of resources about green living. This morning in the middle of my wandering, I stumbled upon www.greenhomeguide.org — a website that is run by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Green Home Guide is overflowing with useful information about green living.

You can find anything from Green Home Checklists to Green Living Guides. It really is a great tool if you’re looking to learn more about anything green. You can bet that I’ll be returning! (In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll be blogging about some of the stuff I learn there). I can’t wait! Check it Out!

Now I’m going to digress a little from biobased insulation techniques to put in my two cents about green living. It doesn’t matter if you’re building, remodelling, or just getting a new appliance; going green is something I would suggest looking in to. I’m not saying that the greener option is always the better choice, but sometimes it is.

Take, for instance, this new insulation – EcoBatt.

 According to the article, “EcoBatt has the same performance and cost as Knauf’s other fiberglass products, with R-values ranging from R-8 to R-38, depending on density and thickness.” So, for the same price, you get the insulation you need, but can avoid exposing your family to the obvious dangers of formaldehyde. And as an added bonus, EcoBatt doesn’t contain any petroleum derivatives. That seems like a pretty good deal to me.

I know there are some other green ideas that are way out in left field (like using a wind turbine to power your home), but the number of practical applications of green technology really is growing. On one hand, you could argue that most green products end up using more green from your wallet. On the other hand, green advocates will point out that many of these investments will pay for themselves in the long run.

My advice is to look into it for yourself. Don’t go and buy something just because it says “green” on it. Take it easy, scope it out, and weigh all your options. As often as not, you’ll find that the green option provides the best benefits. But don’t take my word for it — check it out yourself!

Sadly, as I’ve been perusing through various websites, I ‘ve noticed a disturbing trend — the dreaded curse of normativity!

It’s probably a good idea to take the time to define two key terms: normativity and objectivity. Normativity is focused on telling others what “should be”. It attempts to force an opinion on others. Meanwhile, objectivity is not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; it is based on facts and is unbiased.

Although it is impossible to completely eliminate normativity from our writing, true advocates for green living need to be as strictly objective as possible. Remember that when opinions are stated, you should make sure your intended audience knows that it is only an opinion. Writers should be aware that they are not trying to force their views on other people.

I recently read an article that listed the top ten green engineering trends of 2008. The headline sounded very informative, but much to my dismay, I was told that I am single-handedly destroying the planet (all because I use incandescent light bulbs, plastic shopping bags, and a gas-powered car). I speak from experience when I say that people hate it when they are told that their lifestyle is harmful to the environment.

That article left a bad taste in my mouth for quite awhile. If I ever start getting too “green-preachy”, please let me know. I love it when I come across an article that just lays down the facts, fair and square. That is far more persuasive than a publication that tries to “guilt” people into green living.

So there you have it. There is my opinion about normative writing. Personally, I think green lifestyles would gain much more popularity if the loudest advocates weren’t so normative or “pushy”. You’re free to form your own opinion. In fact, I’d love to hear what other people have to say. Let me know what your opinion is about anything – especially green living! (it’d be nice to know if anyone actually reads my rantings) Until then, Happy New Year!

I like the article, and appreciate the media push. However, I’m disappointed to hear that governments, businesses and scientists are still looking for ways to depend on fossil fuels. At the front of this effort is carbon sequestration, a system where carbon is put into the ground instead of the air. It made number 12 on the list. This still needs a lot of testing and is an expensive excuse to stay in our comfort zone. Number 33 on the list brought back the old Geoengineering ideas like orbiting a mass of mirrors around the earth to cut down on sunlight and offset global warming. Both of these so-called solutions disrupt the natural environment by putting something where it doesn’t belong. How long are we going to foster these ideas?

As rediculous as some ideas may seem, the anthology of mini-articles provides a breif overview of a wealth of information. Perhaps the most important message shared by Time is number 51, titled “Consume Less, Share More, Live Simply”. A call to simpler times, the concept of changing our lifestyles for the benefit of us all is the only idea powerful enough to reverse our negative environmental impact. In the mean time, keep upgrading your home and your life with products that support the cause and provide the all important return on investment.