[GSBN] The EU wants 5% strawbuildings by 2020 says the Economist..
John Swearingen
jswearingen at skillful-means.com
Sat Dec 21 17:37:47 UTC 2013
Interesting discussion. We had an engineer from Ladakh visit the office.
He was interested in building with straw because of the great insulation
value. The Indian military has a big presence there, and they've built
uninstalled concrete block buildings which they heat with very polluting
diesel boilers. The problem is that for the native Ladakhis, the small
amount of straw that's produced locally is a very valuable commodity with
many uses; putting it into buildings would be a downgrade. His idea was to
import straw from India. Sounds crazy, but the Indian military has a
continuous stream of supply trucks going up Highway 1 from Shrinigar to
Ladakh, the world's highest highway. Often these trucks carry heavy, but
small equipment, leaving space on the truck for light but bulky material,
such as straw--the straw could get a free ride. I don't know how that's
going. He said the greatest obstacle is that the military governors in
Ladakh make a considerable amount in kickbacks on the diesel trade, a
disincentive for buildings that conserve energy.
Just out of curiosity, I found two maps of roughly similar scale. The
first shows rice fields in the Sacramento Valley ONLY. (incidentally part
of a study about how pesticide run-off might be negatively affecting
salmon. The second is a map of Vermont. It's hard to grasp the extent of
rice growing. A study in 1990 put the acreage of rice BURNED at about 1.2
million acres..
It wouldn't be a complete exaggeration to say it's as if all of Vermont
were covered in rice paddies and ....interesting thought.
[image: Inline image 1][image: Inline image 2]
But I ramble.....
John
On Fri, Dec 20, 2013 at 8:57 PM, Jacob Deva Racusin <
buildnatural at googlemail.com> wrote:
> Really interesting. Here on the east coast, common cover crops (green
> manures) are rye, wheat, buckwheat, oat - all common cereal straws we see
> in buildings (maybe not so much buckwheat, and oat's a bit weak but works
> alright for in-fill walls). They all have different benefits for soil -
> rye is good for arresting spring erosion given its growth culture,
> buckwheat is a quick crop, oat is a good nurse crop - and certainly tilth
> may be more favorable than nutrient availability for some of these, but I'm
> out of my knowledge base here - suffice to say cereal grains are commonly
> planted for cover cropping out here. I understand that the timing in which
> they are integrated as a cover crop is not necessarily the same as a
> harvest crop, but tilling in is a common practice in sustainable grain
> production (when the crop isn't marketable or prioritized) - although I'm
> sure it's much more nuanced than that (Derek, interesting point about
> disease). John, sounds like rice is quite a different story!
>
> I'm happy to hear that there is such good abundance out west - seems like
> this is much less of an issue out there. I've noticed straw being less
> abundant in the 12 years I've been building with it - granted, some years
> are worse than others and seasonal variations abound. Honestly, I don't
> know enough about the big picture here to comment much further - part of
> the reason I take interest in this topic, lots more for me to learn. I
> don't want to take supply for granted, and since straw isn't a 'resource
> distribution' (aka waste) problem out here, I'm still a bit unsettled about
> how our burgeoning industry fits into the bigger picture. Really, if this
> is what we're concerned with, we're doing great compared to most of the
> rest of the building industry - but it's not the complete no-brainer east
> coast as it still seems to be west coast. I continue to be humbled by the
> intricacies of the ecologies and economies in which we operate. Thanks
> John for describing more about the environment in which rice straw is used
> as a resource in your neck of the woods, very interesting indeed.
>
> Like Derek, I too am interested in others' experiences with straw sourcing
> and regional production. I'm grateful for the diversity of opinions and
> regions represented on this list.
>
> Best,
> Jacob
>
>
> On 12/20/13, 11:20 PM, Derek Stearns Roff wrote:
>
> However, this part of the discussion reminds me of the distance between
> what could be and perhaps should be, and how things currently work. It's
> true that almost all agriculture is pulling nutrients from the soil, and
> replacing them with artificial fertilizers. Plants have been bred to
> minimize the waste products and maximize the salable products. So even if
> all stalks and roots were returned to the soil, a large amount of mass
> would still be removed each year.
>
> I'm told that two other factors militate against the return of straw to
> the soil. For the same reasons that we like straw for building, it isn't
> particularly good as a soil builder. It doesn't break down all that
> easily, and it doesn't have that many valuable nutrients. A more severe
> impediment is that many farmers believe that returning plant stalks to the
> soil can increase the frequency of soil diseases affecting those plants.
> Unless crop rotation is sufficiently diverse, tilling straw, or other
> plant stalks back into the soil can reduce crop yields in subsequent years.
>
>
> I read that straw is still a waste product, and that in California,
> storage of excess straw is a problem. Even though finding good bales is
> hard, I believe that straw is still treated as a waste product across much
> of the west. I would be interested in learning more about the situation in
> the east, and in other countries.
>
> Derek
>
> On Dec 20, 2013, at 8:37 PM, Jacob Deva Racusin wrote:
>
> I think that Carol makes a crucial point - straw is actually getting
> more difficult to find here, and there are a lot of competing industries
> both within ag and in landscaping. Heck, there's a pretty big farm west of
> us that grows a straw crop specifically for horse stables (big horse racing
> country over there) - it's the primary crop. Straw may be a secondary
> crop, but it is definitely not a waste product - and if we are considering
> the goal that folks in this thread have stated of dramatically increasing
> straw construction by adoption into the mainstream by prefab applications
> and other means, then we are talking about a future in which there is a lot
> more straw being grown for buildings (primary or secondary crop).
>
> By removing all that carbon from the soil and not tilling in to restore
> soil nutrients and tilth, we are having a net-negative impact on soil
> health and ecology - inherently unsustainable. If we till back in and/or
> cover crop, we reduce net yield, requiring more farmland or production
> somehow. There is already a growing concern in this part of the world
> about the competition for farmland between food and energy production (i.e.
> corn-based ethanol); if we add a surge in straw construction to that,
> coupled with reduction in yields due to diminishing soil productivity, and
> throw in some climate change-induced natural disasters...whoa, ok, not
> trying to get too down here, I honestly don't think that straw is in
> scarcity danger right now - far from it. But I do believe that source is
> an issue we should be taking very seriously, if we are planning for the
> long haul - around here, the sources of our straw are not stable for the
> long term (I'm not even sure how much longer I can get long straws, with
> all the farms switching over to chop-straw combines), and there is
> certainly none of it going to waste. If we truly want to scale up in
> production, we need to be able to ensure availability of our raw materials,
> and I don't feel too secure in that right now. Of course, this involves
> major paradigm shift in industrial agriculture production...good thing
> we're all such a bunch of fired-up change-makers. Maybe we'll be using the
> PAKSBAB-style bale press and go back to gathering field grasses, old-school
> Nebraska-style, after the revolution...
>
> So, are farms in CA/out west still burning straw? I thought that was
> banned years ago...is there really such a glut of straw out there that it's
> still considered waste? Regionalism is fascinating...
>
> Cheers,
> Jacob
>
> On 12/20/13, 8:01 PM, carolatkn at aol.com wrote:
>
> Sorry John, but straw is ABSOLUTELY NOT a waste product - its greatest
> value is as a soil improver - I can't stress how important that is - even
> if many "modern" farmers don't seem to agree these days. Farm soils have
> lost so much organic matter over the last 50 years that it is very a scary
> situation indeed. Of course, locking up carbon in a super insulated straw
> wall is the second best thing - and it would be sustainable to use straw
> for this wonderful purpose every third year or so - in an ideal world!
>
> best wishes
> Carol Atkinson
> www.strawcottage.co.uk
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Swearingen <jswearingen at skillful-means.com><jswearingen at skillful-means.com>
> To: Global Straw Building Network <GSBN at sustainablesources.com><GSBN at sustainablesources.com>
> Sent: Fri, 20 Dec 2013 19:50
> Subject: Re: [GSBN] The EU wants 5% strawbuildings by 2020 says the
> Economist..
>
> Jacob's points about supporting local and sustainable business are well
> taken, but these are choices that we can make, with our pocketbooks, in
> order to bring about better communities.
>
> That said, I think the bottom line is that straw is a* waste product*.
> Unlike wood, it's not grown for construction, and it has limited use--for
> erosion control (composting) or to spread over muddy paddocks for
> livestock. Extra straw, and there is a lot, would likely be burned.
>
> Following the very sound sustainability principle of "highest and best
> use", *any* use of bales for construction involves taking garbage and
> putting it to good use and that's worthy of support. When you consider that
> bales sequester carbon, that's an extra benefit.
>
> John (Trash Talk) Swearingen
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 6:37 PM, Jacob Deva Racusin <
> buildnatural at googlemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Valentina,
>>
>> I appreciate your perspective. This is a conversation that has come up a
>> number of times in our courses and conversations with our colleagues -
>> namely, the roll of agribusiness in providing feedstock for our
>> construction. I think 'greenwashing' may be a bit strong, when I compare
>> to the claims of the concrete and foam industries as being 'green'. That
>> said, the impacts must be considered, and the benefits of using straw in
>> regards to deep ecological and social impact should not be overstated if
>> the source of straw is not being considered. We have access to straw that
>> is grown from medium- and small-scale farms, which come closer to the
>> higher potential of working with this material. It is very analogous to
>> working with wood -the same framing member can come from a local sawyer
>> practicing sustainable silviculture, or from a genetically-engineered
>> clear-cut plantation pine shipped across the world.
>>
>> >From data I've seen, even industrial straw is a fraction of the embodied
>> carbon of other common forms of insulation, so context is relevant when
>> evaluating materials for deep impact. You make an especially good point
>> about the danger of introducing this material to industrial scale, and
>> losing more of the benefits/exacerbating the liabilities in favor of
>> snapping the technology into the mold of industrial housing/building
>> development. We would do well as a community not to lose sight of the
>> importance of scale, and as you mention the relevance of the social
>> benefits of working with straw. At the same time, access to a much larger
>> market and making the technology available to many more people is an
>> arguable net gain, even if there is a sacrifice for environmental and
>> social impact in production - again, compared to the alternatives. I think
>> there is room for both, and as long as we continue to engage in the debate,
>> I have confidence that we'll continue to move the ball further down the
>> field.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Jacob
>>
>> --
>> Jacob Deva Racusin
>> Co-Owner
>> New Frameworks Natural Design/Build
>>
>> Author, The Natural Building Companion
>> Chelsea Green Press, 2012
>>
>> (802) 782-7783
>> jacob at newframeworks.com
>> http://www.newframeworks.com
>>
>>
>> On 12/18/13, 12:43 PM, valentina maini wrote:
>>
>> Martin, John, Caroline, and all
>> as Herbert Gruber recently suggested on Leonardo group, this article
>> maybe very well connected with the EU funded
>> ( eco-innovation) investigation on @Modcell ....based in the UK and with
>> BathUniversity support
>>
>> I personally got in touch with the founder of this panels in 2011 and
>> met with professionals here in spain that are collaborating in this EU
>> funded program of analysis and implementation of this "patent" strawbale
>> panels....i've seen fantastic software and marketing tools they were
>> presenting at Eco event in London 2011
>>
>> From my point of view and with very recent experiences on professional
>> development of strawbale in Spain i think and see this article as a call
>> for action to present the real value of strawbale and strawbale
>> network..that goes, in my view, very much beyond the "simple" energy
>> efficiency issue...
>> and i very important reminder for all that straw is not at all a really
>> safe for the environment product...since is a byproduct of one of the most
>> contaminated human "fabric"...as industrial agriculture ...as very well
>> reminds Luc Foissac in is great book on strawbale...
>>
>> from my point of view...The very big risk/reality at the moment is that
>> straw is used very much as a "simple" greenwash.....
>> and even if i really celebrate the greenwash for what it means in terms
>> of getting rid of toxic materials...i think and personally value much more
>> the social innovation related to strawbale... the ability of people and
>> networks to create opportunity and solutions....
>>
>> what is happening is just "business as usual" with a more
>> eco-material... what the strawbale network gave me me is much much more
>> than simple "strawbale tech"... i learned.... thank to you all.... the
>> value and the tools to innovate and collaborate and manage uncertainty....
>> and adapt and always look for the best solution for people, planet...and
>> even profit...
>>
>> and personally i'm really convinced that the risk for environment and
>> quality (equality) in our society is so big....., that is not enough
>> anymore to "change" material... and hope that the strawbale network (that i
>> value for itself) can make a huge step and show the world that strawbalers
>> are bringing much more to community and economy that a "simple" prefab
>> panel for passive house... a huge step to defend as the real value the
>> mission and vision of all the pioneers in strawbale .... at least this is
>> how i see you all ...
>>
>> hope my english is good enough...and...my mind is getting clear on this
>> issue just in this lasts months... so hope this comments are of some
>> interest for you ;-)
>>
>> best regards to you all, valentina
>>
>> Valentina Maini
>> italy-spain
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> John Swearingen
> Skillful Means Design & Construction
> 2550 9th Street Suite 209A
> Berkeley, CA 94710
> 510.849.1800 phone
> 510.849.1900 fax
>
> Web Site: http://www.skillful-means.com
> Blog: https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
> --
> Jacob Deva Racusin
> Co-Owner
> New Frameworks Natural Design/Build
>
> Author, The Natural Building Companion
> Chelsea Green Press, 2012
>
> (802) 782-7783
> jacob at newframeworks.com
> http://www.newframeworks.com
> _______________________________________________
> GSBN mailing list
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>
> Derek Roff
> derek at unm.edu
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GSBN mailing listGSBN at sustainablesources.comhttp://sustainablesources.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/GSBN
>
>
> --
> Jacob Deva Racusin
> Co-Owner
> New Frameworks Natural Design/Build
>
> Author, The Natural Building Companion
> Chelsea Green Press, 2012
>
> (802) 782-7783
> jacob at newframeworks.com
> http://www.newframeworks.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> GSBN mailing list
> GSBN at sustainablesources.com
> http://sustainablesources.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/GSBN
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--
John Swearingen
Skillful Means Design & Construction
2550 9th Street Suite 209A
Berkeley, CA 94710
510.849.1800 phone
510.849.1900 fax
Web Site: http://www.skillful-means.com
Blog: https://skillfulmeansdesign.wordpress.com
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