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Dear our beloved crying planet…
Dear our beloved crying planet… I read an article last week in “The Gazette”, a local English paper here in Montreal Canada. It was titled “Time is running out” and was written by Peter G. Brown. He is a professor in the school of the Environment...
Saving Energy in the Kitchen
Saving Energy in the Kitchen (312 words) The kitchen, with all its appliances, gadgets and heat, is a real hotspot for potential energy saving. As the oven uses the most energy and creates a vast amount of heat while cooking foods, it is a good...
The "Reduce" of Recycle and Reuse
Most of us are familiar with recycle and reusing, but how often
do we think of the third R - REDUCE?
"Reduce" is probably the most important of the three Rs because,
if we reduced, it would limit the need to recycle and reuse. By
reducing,...
The Top 10 Benefits of Spiritual Environmental Design
What would your life be like if you were surrounded by "feel good" people, places, and things so that your spirit really gets the chance to soar? This top ten, taken from CoachVille's Personal Environments Community at...
Water Conservation at the Kitchen Sink
Water Conservation at the Kitchen Sink (577 words) It can sometimes be difficult to visualize the importance and direct effect that simple conservation efforts can have when we are bombarded with negative information regularly. Lets take a look at...
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Straw as real estate building material
In the famous kid's fairy tale 'The Three Little Pigs' one of the pigs built a house of straw that made him almost pay with his life. The pig was blamed in the tale for choosing the wrong building material. But his material was definitely the right one. He was just not aware of one important secret of construction. However, some of the professional builders know the secret, and they apply it in many places throughout the world. As the result, the winners of the situation are reasonable American millionaires.
Why straw? Firstly, it may sound as a paradox, but straw, when handled correctly, is the natural material that maximally resistant to decomposition. The recent researches by US scientists have shown that compressed straw packs about 100 years old contained some sorts of grasses, which have already disappeared. Moreover, they were preserved safe and sound. Geneticists received really unique materials for their work, while builders received confirmation of strength and durability of the forgotten building materials.
Secondly, in the course of studying the myth about straw's fire risk was also denied. Fire tests gave out wondering results. Of course straw house can be burned down, unless straw is finished with plaster or stucco, for instance. However, after straw went under finishing, it could compete with metal by refractoriness. The temperature that made metal constructions melt could be resisted by straw structures for extra 40 minutes. Apart from this, straw buildings showed high energy-saving coefficients.
I could spend hours telling you about positive impact of straw on human health. The USA and Western Europe witness the real straw-construction boom. And this is very easy to explain - straw is a lot cheaper that most conventional building materials, while the final results corresponds considerably with the requirements of eco-houses. Although carcassless technology allows erecting only one-storied buildings, the construction on carcass basis enables to erect buildings with multiple number of floors.
Read more about articles within "Eco-houses" series below
Eco-house concept: pro and con
Mega firmament in real estate
About the Author
Cameron G. Lindblom is a Sweden-born businessman who's built his success in real estate. Apart from running his business, he is the Editorial Board Manager at RealEstateGates Ltd (http://www.realestategates.com).
One of his outstanding works is called 'Drugs and Society', 1998.
"Wrong choice goes from ignorance of the better", Cameron often says to people and this seems to be his lifetime motto.
Eric Svein
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Global Warming
Climate Change
Energy
Recycling
Pollution
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