Summary

Here are real examples from around the globe showing how homeowners are creating dream houses that satisfy their low-carbon lifestyles. From solar homes in California to an ecovillage in New York, from a wind-powered ranch in Kansas to a home built from jumbo straw bales in the Swiss Alps, people are doing their part to build a healthful home and planet. In the industrialized world, half of the energy consumed is used to construct and power buildings. Burning fossil fuels for heating and generating electricity pumps pollution into the air, which contributes to global warming. By using energy more efficiently, we can begin to reverse this trend and lower energy bills at the same time. Like a hybrid car, a hybrid house employs a combination of strategies to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. Designed to utilize the free energy of sunlight, the passing breeze, and the rain falling on the roof, the hybrid household also incorporates non-toxic building materials that can be produced sustainably, as well as using cutting-edge technologies. Thanks to modern-day pioneers leading the way, here is living proof of beautiful twenty-first century homes that are good for both people and the planet. Catherine Wanek is the author and photographer of The New Strawbale Home and co-editor/author of The Art of Natural Building. Also a filmmaker, she produced The Straw Bale Solution, Urban Permaculture, and the Building with Straw video series. For five years, Catherine published and edited The Last Straw, the International Journal of Straw Bale and Natural Building. She has contributed articles and images to Su Casa magazine, Communities, Permaculture Activist, Mother Earth News, and the New York Times. Catherine is also a founding member of Builders Without Borders.