Greenhomebuilding.com E-zine #9 January 16, 2003

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Greenhomebuilding.com E-zine is a monthly opt-in email publication for people who are interested in sustainable architecture and alternative or natural building. It is written by Kelly Hart, the host of http://www.greenhomebuilding.com .......

Rosana and I are about to leave for a couple month trip into Mexico. This means that you will not receive another issue of this E-zine until after we are back. This also means that The Ask the Experts feature of greenhomebuilding.com will not be hosted for this duration, so don't expect a response to any posted question until after we are back.

Big challenges require bold action and leadership. To get the United States off fossil fuels in this uneasy national climate of terrorism and conflict in the Persian Gulf, we must treat the issue with the urgency and persistence it deserves. The measure of our success will be the condition in which we leave the world for the next generation. Weaning our nation from fossil fuels should be understood as the most patriotic policy to which we can commit ourselves.---Robert Redford

Consumption of energy from renewable sources, like the sun, the wind and biological fuels, fell sharply in 2001, the Department of Energy has reported. The department attributed much of the decline to a drought that cut generation of hydroelectric power by 23 percent. Such variations are natural, but the department's Energy Information Administration also said solar equipment was being retired faster than new equipment was being built. "Back in the late 70's and early 80's, we had very, very large support programs," said Fred Mayes, who handles data on renewable energy at the energy information agency. Those programs, begun after the loss of oil from Iran pushed the price to almost $40 a barrel, expired in the 1980's, and "things went into the tank," Mr. Mayes said. Equipment from the boom years is wearing out, and the base of installed equipment is shrinking, he said.

In this final season of soft-money giving to political parties in America, Big Oil and other energy companies gave politicians little incentive to pursue forms of energy that would free America from dependence on foreign oil. It's different in Europe, where the power of the wind is turning a profit for companies that envision an alternative future. With politics in this country so beholden to the fossil fuel industry, wind power hasn't had the chance to show what it can do. On the plains of Minnesota, however, some people have decided that nature's own breath can contribute to an energy efficient economy. ---Bill Moyers

The human race has only one or perhaps two generations to rescue itself, according to the 2003 State of the World report by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute.The longer that no remedial action is taken, the greater the degree of misery and biological impoverishment that humankind must be prepared to accept, the institute says in its 20th annual report. Overuse of resources, pollution and destruction of natural areas continue to threaten life on the planet. Conditions continue to deteriorate rapidly, the report says, although there are some hopeful signs in that technical solutions to the problems have been found and - where there is political will - adopted. In most cases, though, nothing is being done.

NEW FUND OFFERS GRANTS FOR SUSTAINABLE AFFORDABLE DESIGN
The Oak Hill Fund is seeking grant applications from nonprofits with 501c(3) standing for its Environmentally Sustainable Affordable Design program. The program offers grants in four areas intended to encourage sustainability and affordability in residential design: 1) educational initiatives; 2) initiatives that incorporate sustainability and affordability in residential design and construction; 3) efforts to provide the public in the Southeastern U.S. with access to green building technologies; and 4) local grants for nonprofits in the Charlottesville, Virginia area. The Oak Hill Fund expects to disburse $1.5 million during its first year. More: www.oakhillfund.org.

Site of the Month

I recently got this email from Joe Fisher:

I have created a new website I hope can bring some fresh new air into this genre of living. It pains me to see a million websites and forums for people who own the same type of SUV but then when I want to look up "greywater recycling" its very difficult to find the information I need. I seek to do my part in changing this. I have created a new website called www.ecoforums.com It is still VERY new, and I am making additions and working on it all the time. (if you look in the links section you will see that greenhomebuilding is already there!) I hope to someday create a fairly complete resource for all things sustainable and practical but for the time being I am trying to devote most of my time to optimizing the main feature of the site, the individual forums for each subject. Hopefully with time (and some help) I can create a healthy community of frequent posters that will offer their advice and ideas.

Book of the Month

Writer Mark Hertsgaard has circled the world twice reporting on the long shadow America casts over the world. His first book, EARTH ODYSSEY: AROUND THE WORLD IN SEARCH OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURE, was praised by the NEW YORK TIMES for his story telling and named one of the best books on the environment by TIME magazine. The subject of his latest book, THE EAGLE'S SHADOW: WHY AMERICA FASCINATES AND INFURIATES THE WORLD is what he learned talking to ordinary people in 15 countries.

Feedback
I like your publication. It is always good to find publications that talk about sustainability. I think there are many assumptions that many make about what sustainability should be and should not be. I take a liberal interpretation because anyone who recycles or uses PV's in their house, or reuses old things, or lives in the city is contributing to sustainability.

For example the points you made about a PV exec's 3000 square foot house seem a bit unfair. I do not know any more about this individual case than what I read in your ezine, but there is a certain attitude, almost religious, that suggests people should do without or do with less to be sustainable. If sustainability is really going to go mainstream it must be have appeal and not be about sacrifice. Asking people to live in smaller houses or hay bails, or earth bags is not going to make the move to sustainability popular. People need to have their cake and eat it.

While it is important to ask what one essentially needs, the person that built that house must have needed more than you did in your house. Maybe he needs to entertain or has a big family, who knows. 3000 square feet is actually not that big given the average house size these days. The fact that the house is off the grid probably makes up for many of the manufactured or distantly traveled recycled materials.

We need moderation and understanding. I feel I live sustainably because I live in the city and have just one car. I walk, I buy local. I work at home so I do not travel to work. I ride my bike when I can. My house is 130 years old, now that is really recycling.

J. H., Philadelphia

I appreciate your considered response to my little editorial opinion. I feel that what you have to say really amplifies the basic point that I was trying to make: there are many shades of green and any evaluation is relative to your perspective. I was comparing one color of green (the executive's) to mine as an example of this point. I think that any lifestyle choice that moves toward the green side of the spectrum is worthwhile, but there is always further one could go; I know that I could certainly live in more sustainable ways.

I'm not sure about people needing to have their cake and eat it too. The whole idea behind sustainabability is to leave enough cake for our descendants to enjoy life as we do. If this means eating a little less cake, then perhaps we should make that sacrifice. My idea behind compact housing is that we should each assess what is the right fit for our needs, and then be content. Maybe 3000 square feet (or more) is appropriate for some people. I guess I feel that there is a certain irony in the PV exec who publicly represents himself as especially dark green making choices that seem to me rather pale.

I have made an effort at greenhomebuilding.com to accomodate the interests of a wide spectrum of alternatives to green architecture, including many manufactured approaches that have a value from one perspective or another. The mainstream clearly does need to shift; every little bit helps.

Kelly

I read on your site of a person interested in building sandbag homes in South Africa. I, too, am pursuing that vision. I am close to getting the funding together for a demonstration size village here in the States that can be used to showcase an example of how we can help with the crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. Thanks for all the energy you've put into your site...I find it easy to use and am way glad not to have to 'reinvent the wheel' as I go about energizing the vision of bringing aid to Africa. Blessings, Thomas

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