<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear GSBN family and beyond,<div><br><div>I am quite excited to get to share that the first Congressional briefing on straw bale building is being organized for June 20th. </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>We will be addressing the benefits, growth,and future of straw bale and other natural materials and related national policy implications and potential areas of federal funding. I would strongly encourage any of you who would like to offer thoughts on national policy recommendations to share them immediately. A briefing summary is being prepared right now and we are working to come up with the "ask". </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>My head is still swimming from the very quick development of this. And believe me, I never quite imagined being one to speak to such a crowd. But while in DC working just a week ago with Builders Without Borders on the Straw Bale Eco House exhibit at the US Botanic Garden (directly across from the Capitol), I was introduced by a colleague to the executive director of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute that is a non-profit policy research institute that regularly sets up briefings. She was very impressed with the technology and immediately saw the many values. After discussion of possible topic areas and many suggestions of panel members, they chose to include myself, David Eisenberg to address what else but codes and regulations, Bob Gough of the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy, to speak to the use of straw bale in tribal communities and the relationships to housing, utility costs, green jobs, health, and more, and Sandy Wiggins, the immediate past chair of the US Green Building Council who has been involved in straw bale projects and can speak to many issues relating to the future of natural materials in green building, the business case for such, etc. </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Also, if there are any photos of US projects that you think would be helpful to include as examples, please let me know by email. </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>I am sure that this wouldn't be happening if this crowd and the whole sb community worldwide was not plugging away doing what we are doing on the whole and in detail. I am feeling quite a bit of gratitude for all that has gone before to get to this point. </div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Blessings,</div><div>Laura</div><div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(76, 114, 29); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; ">Laura Bartels</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#4C721D" face="'Times New Roman'" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><b><i>GreenWeaver Inc.</i></b></span></font></div><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: rgb(76, 114, 29); "><b><i>P.O. Box 912, Carbondale, CO 81623<br>Ph 970-379-6779, Fax 970-963-0905<br><a href="mailto:laura@greenweaverinc.com">laura@greenweaverinc.com</a><br>www.greenweaverinc.com</i></b></span></span></div></div></span> </div><br></div></div></body></html>