Green Building

WE were watching The Nature Of Things the other night. We didn't even know it was on but we're so glad we came across it. The show was about green building in Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/buildgreen/index.html

I learned a lot. I am now interested in rammed earth houses, although it doesn't seem to be very common. It was widely used in years gone by, a good alternative to using precious wood in many areas.

I also learned a bit more about straw bale houses. I didn't realize it was just a layer of concrete on the outside of the houses. It would be hard to get a hold of enough year old straw bales around here. They do everything in those big round white plastic looking things, although if I tried hard enough I'm sure it would be possible.

I also finally learned what geothermal heating was. I've heard of it but never saw it in action.

I think we would like to explore green building options when it comes time to spend our hard earned/saved cash on a house. I'm already pretty sold on wind and solar energy. There are pretty good rebates through the government for people using these. It will be nice when the day comes green is totally mainstream :)