[GSBN] Wasted energies (embodied, new and otherwise) Re: GSBN Digest, Vol 8, Issue 5

[RT]

On Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:00:18 -0500, <gsbn-request at greenbuilder.com> wrote:

>    1. Polish Rep? (Rikki Nitzkin)
>    2. new energies during wintersleep? (martin oehlmann)
>    3. Re: Embodied Energy - SB vs Stick-built (Nehemiah Stone)
>    4. Save the Faro-expo zaragoza 2008 (Rikki Nitzkin)
>    5. Re: Save the Faro-expo zaragoza 2008 (martin oehlmann)
>    6. Re: new energies during wintersleep? (Lars Keller)
>    7. Re: Embodied Energy - SB vs Stick-built (cmagwood at kos.net)
>    8. Re: Save the Faro-expo zaragoza 2008 (Rikki Nitzkin)

I wasn't grumpy when I got up this morning but upon seeing the lastest  
edition of the GSBN Digest I must admit that I am now a wee bit.

We're well into the second decade of the email listserver phenomenon and  
one would think that by now, people using this medium of community would  
be aware of the universally accepted etiquette of editing out all but that  
which is essential to set up the context for the message to which one is  
replying.

But in reading through messages sent to this List, one might conclude that:

(1) The Listmembers don't care about anyone other than themselves (ie  
lacking in proper etiquette)
     and/or

(2) The Listmembers are recent novices to this business of email  
communication and don't understand
     the consequneces of their actions and/or

(3) Have chimpanzees to take care of all of their email correspondence

How else does one explain repetitive postings of the same lengthy messages  
in today's Digest ?

So dear Listmembers, just to be perfectly clear:

     "Please learn how to edit your replies to this and other email lists  
and then make
      an effort to put that learning into practise each and every time you  
send an email."


D-o-o-on't make me come down there to remind you, or in the words of Elmer  
Fudd:
  "You'll be vewwy, vewwy sowwy."
				=== * ==

Re: Embodied Energy - SB vs Stick-built

If someone is truly interested in the embodied energy ramifications of  
their proposed building then I think that they should learn how to the  
analysis rather than simply (mis)quoting a comparison that someone else  
provided.

Why ? Simply because such analysis are very locale and situation-specific.

I can build easily a SB house whose wall system is substantially higher in  
embodied energy than a typical, tract home stick-built wall system, using  
typical, widely-used SBB practises.

I could also build a SB house whose wall system is EE is lower, but it  
would require a conscious effort with an eye to details along the way.

So rather than simply cite studies or comparisons that have been done  
already which may or may not apply to one's situation, I think that it  
would be far more useful to provide charts or links to charts listing the  
embodied energies of commonly used materials (I say "charts" (plural))  
because obviously, the numbers are not universally applicable.

But that's enough from me. I've got to go kick my dog and hurl some verbal  
abuse at passersby out on the road. &@^#(! !&#^$@

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at  chaffYahoo  dot ca>
(manually winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply)