Sustainable Sources http://sustainablesources.com Celebrating 16 years of online Green Building information Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:50:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Web Hosting Sale! http://sustainablesources.com/2010/02/08/web-hosting-sale/ http://sustainablesources.com/2010/02/08/web-hosting-sale/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:10:46 +0000 billc http://sustainablesources.com/?p=297 During the month of February, new web hosting accounts get $5 per month off our listed rates for a full year!

Contact us if you’re interested in starting a new web site or moving an existing web site to our renewable-powered servers!

Is it the recession? Is it our 16th anniversary? Does it matter?

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2010/02/08/web-hosting-sale/feed/ 0 ASTM Standard Guide for Earthen Wall Systems http://sustainablesources.com/2010/01/11/astm-standard-guide-for-earthen-wall-systems/ http://sustainablesources.com/2010/01/11/astm-standard-guide-for-earthen-wall-systems/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:00:57 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=295 A note from our friend Bruce King:

Friends and colleagues –

I’m very happy to tell you that ASTM International has approved publication of revisions to ASTM E2392, Standard Guide for Design of Earthen Wall Building Systems.

This has been a four year project for me and for the Ecological Building Network, and you helped make it happen! This building standard now provides:
- prescriptive guidance for affordable seismic safety,
- engineering guidance where it is practically available, and
- discourages the use of cement, especially applied as render over earthen walls.

Various industries tried to stop this project, and it has been a sometimes weird experience, but we are now done. It has taken four years but was worth it, for we now have a document that we can work with anywhere in the world.

If you already have a draft from any time in the past two years, then you have something pretty close to the final language. If you want the formal document, you must order it from ASTM International, where it will be ready with all final edits by late January. Upon request, ASTM will also translate it for any country holding a memorandum of understanding with ASTM (which is most countries). http://www.astm.org/index.shtml

Thanks, and warm greetings from cool California,

Bruce King
bruce-king.com
ecobuildnetwork.org

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2010/01/11/astm-standard-guide-for-earthen-wall-systems/feed/ 0 New Topic: Shipping Container Housing http://sustainablesources.com/2010/01/03/new-topic-shipping-container-housing/ http://sustainablesources.com/2010/01/03/new-topic-shipping-container-housing/#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:13:33 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=292 One important guideline for sustainable building is to use materials which are locally abundant. Another guideline is that waste from one system can often be utilized as feedstock for another.

Shipping containers are abundant in the US due to current trade imbalances and are therefore inexpensive pre-built modules which some enterprising people have begun using to create residences, dorms, and commercial space.

Reza Pouraghabagher has written our newest topic area on Shipping Container Housing and will be adding more in the coming months. Follow the Resource links to see some completed projects.

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2010/01/03/new-topic-shipping-container-housing/feed/ 0 Atlanta area rainharvesting microbrewer can’t use rain http://sustainablesources.com/2009/11/23/atlanta-area-rainharvesting-microbrewer-cant-use-rain/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/11/23/atlanta-area-rainharvesting-microbrewer-cant-use-rain/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:53:38 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=284 In an unfortunately too common incident of bureaucratic lack of common sense, an Atlanta area microbrewer 5 Seasons had to switch back to city water after officials couldn’t find any regulations on rainwater use in their books and concluded it must therefore be illegal.

According to our source the brewery “could have dug a well on the site of the former stockyard without even having the water tested” but their rainwater, which has been tested and passed with flying colors can’t be used until they receive official blessings to do so.

Support these guys if you’re able. They’re trying to do the right thing.

More on the story…

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2009/11/23/atlanta-area-rainharvesting-microbrewer-cant-use-rain/feed/ 0 Resource listings now available on Calendar http://sustainablesources.com/2009/10/04/resource-listings-now-available-on-calendar/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/10/04/resource-listings-now-available-on-calendar/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:09:49 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=282 It’s now possible to add your company in the Resource listings in the right hand column of the Sustainable Building Calendar! Now that it’s available as an RSS Feed (allowing other sites to automatically display the next 20 events on their own web pages) the Calendar is quickly becoming even more popular than it was before.

Listings start at just $75/year.

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2009/10/04/resource-listings-now-available-on-calendar/feed/ 0 Houses Made Of Hemp Could Help Combat Climate Change http://sustainablesources.com/2009/09/15/houses-made-of-hemp-could-help-combat-climate-change/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/09/15/houses-made-of-hemp-could-help-combat-climate-change/#comments Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:27:12 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=280 ScienceDaily (Sep. 17, 2008) ˜ Houses made of hemp, timber or straw could help combat climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of building construction, according to researchers at the University of Bath.

More…

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2009/09/15/houses-made-of-hemp-could-help-combat-climate-change/feed/ 0 Dick Peterson joins for Rainwater Q&A http://sustainablesources.com/2009/09/10/dick-peterson-joins-for-rainwater-qa/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/09/10/dick-peterson-joins-for-rainwater-qa/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:20:58 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=275 We’re happy to report that Dick Peterson, a 15+ year veteran of Austin Green Building who spent a fair bit of that time advocating, educating, and advancing rainwater harvesting in Central Texas has agreed to join us in the Harvested Rainwater section.

Dick will be keeping that section up to date and is available for Q&A (scroll to the comments section at the bottom of the page… you must be registered and logged in to post).

You can also subscribe to the Q&A RSS feed at the top right corner of the Harvested Rainwater page.

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2009/09/10/dick-peterson-joins-for-rainwater-qa/feed/ 0 Bale Raising Sept 12 http://sustainablesources.com/2009/08/18/bale-raising-sept-12/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/08/18/bale-raising-sept-12/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:15:58 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=268 Sustainable Sources founder Bill Christensen will be leading a straw bale wall raising in conjuction with DesignBuildLive.org on September 12th outside of Wimberley, TX (about 50 min SW of Austin).  Hope to see you there!

(Originally scheduled for Aug 22)

Full and registration at http://designbuildlive.org/

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2009/08/18/bale-raising-sept-12/feed/ 0 Neighbors and Fruit Trees http://sustainablesources.com/2009/08/10/neighbors-and-fruit-trees/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/08/10/neighbors-and-fruit-trees/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:49:21 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=266 Not exactly green building, but sustainable none the less…

As long time proponents of edible agriculture and local foods, we were delighted to find the article Neighbors and Fruit Trees by Jim Hightower.  The the websites referenced, www.fallenfruit.org, www.forageoakland.blogspot.com, www.neighborhoodfruit.com, and www.veggietrader.com all look useful, though the latter two are probably the ones I’m most likely to use as they’re both free and not limited to a specific geographical area.  Happy eating!

]]> http://sustainablesources.com/2009/08/10/neighbors-and-fruit-trees/feed/ 0 Social Bookmarks added http://sustainablesources.com/2009/07/31/social-bookmarks-added/ http://sustainablesources.com/2009/07/31/social-bookmarks-added/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 23:02:55 +0000 admin http://sustainablesources.com/?p=264 We just added links at the bottom of each page to a dozen social bookmarks:

  • del.icio.us
  • digg
  • reddit
  • newsvine
  • stumbleupon
  • google
  • bloglines
  • ask
  • live-msn
  • facebook
  • myspace
  • twitter

Did we leave your favorite out?  Let us know!

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