[GSBN] A Climate Ride Challenge for Straw Building from David Arkin

Fri May 17 06:03:52 UTC 2013

Dear GSBN:

Final Pre-Ride Update:  Since I can't realistically haul a full 3-string bale (just too unwieldy - see picture), we're revising the challenge:  An anonymous donor will match every donation dollar-for-dollar between $5000 and $10,000, but the deal is the same:  I'm already carrying a mini-bale, but at $7k (that's only $6k because of the match) I'll switch to an Xtracycle, and at $10k ($7.5k) I'll haul a 2-string or half of a 3-string bale.  All donations from here forward go entirely to CASBA, 100% tax-deductible, and everything we raise above $5k will go toward the code effort!  Thanks!!   

Sunday we ride,

David 'hoping for a strong bale-wind' Arkin

http://bike.climateride.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2034

ps:  Shout out to Bruce, Marty, David E., Derek, Kevin Donahue, Janet Johnston, Barbara Roemer, Marisha Farnsworth and Pete Gang (who's also riding for CASBA), Team CASBA Riders Ian MacLeod and Karl Sporer, and our other donors for all the support so far!

On May 12, 2013, at 3:22 PM, Paul Olivier <paul.olivier at esrla.com> wrote:

> See comments below.
> 
> 
> On Mon, May 13, 2013 at 4:10 AM, David Arkin <david at arkintilt.com> wrote:
> Dear Colleagues, Friends and Straw Bale Enthusiasts Worldwide:
> 
> In one week I'll be riding my bicycle 320 miles—from Eureka to San Francisco—on the Climate Ride. 
> 
> This past Friday, for the first time in millions of year, over 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide were recorded in our atmosphere.  As many of you know, 350 ppm is the widely recognized sustainable maximum.
> 
> If the agricultural crop residues grown each year in the US were sequestered, they'd get us over 1/4 closer to achieving a sustainable level of carbon.
> 
> Another way of  sequestering the carbon contained in straw is to gasify it, and to let syngas replace fossil fuel gas.
> The biochar from this process can be incorporated into the soil, and it stays there for thousands of years.
> Please see:
> 
> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Paper/Presentations/Gasification.ppsx
> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/22013094/Paper/Summaries/Food%20Crisis.pdf
> 
> Thanks.
> Paul Olivier
> 
> 
> 
> And, of course, if we were to build houses and buildings with this agricultural residue (aka straw), we'd not only sequester this carbon, but we'd create much needed housing, and comfortable efficient housing at that.
> 
> I've reached the minimum necessary ($2700) to participate in the Climate Ride, but this year I'm riding for the California Straw Building Association, to support our outreach efforts, emergency housing projects in Pakistan and Haiti, and to fund our efforts to add an appendix chapter on straw bale construction into the International Residential Code, and ultimately the Building Code, and I want to do all I can to support these.  
> 
> I'm reaching out to anyone and everyone with the following challenge:  If my fundraising for CASBA reaches $4000, I'll carry a mini bale on the Climate Ride.  If donations hit $7000 (last year we raised $6000), I'll carry that mini bale on a non-motorized Xtracycle.  Get that figure to $10,000 and I'll haul a full 3-string straw bale on it.  At $15,000 I'll carry Martin Hammer, OR David Eisenberg, OR a 3-sting AND a 2-string AND a mini bale.  This challenge is good through the Climate Ride (May 19-23) and I'll upgrade as described above any day of the ride (and keep in mind Day 3, Tuesday May 21, is the Century Day (aka 100 miles).  All donations over $5000 will go toward the code effort.  And as promised earlier, for any donation over $150 I'll thank the donor with a 10th anniversary ATA olive label black long sleeve t-shirt, featuring 10 of Anni's beautiful olive label designs. 
> 
> Please donate, please spread the word.  The link to donate is in my signature below.  Together we can do this!  
> 
> David
> 
> ps:  My sincere gratitude to everyone who has donated so far - Thank You!!!
> 
> -- 
> Paul A. Olivier PhD
> 26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong
> Dalat
> Vietnam
> 
> Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam)
> Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam)
> Skype address: Xpolivier
> http://www.esrla.com/
> _______________________________________________
> GSBN mailing list
> GSBN at sustainablesources.com
> http://sustainablesources.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/GSBN

*  *  *  *  *
Arkin Tilt Architects
Ecological Planning & Design

Please Support my 2013 CA Climate Ride (320 mile bicycle ride from Eureka to San Francisco, May 19-23, with a fundraising goal of $3,000 to support Straw-Bale outreach) 
http://bike.climateride.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=2034
Thank you!

David Arkin, AIA, Architect
LEED Accredited Professional
CA #C22459/NV #5030

1101 8th St. #180, Berkeley, CA  94710
510/528-9830 ext. 2#
www.arkintilt.com

"There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."
— A. J. Muste 

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