Strawbales !!!!!

[Pakanohida]

maybe some crossing up of issues here pebble?

i am talking australian, where before we try to make straw bale housing look sustainable we regrow our habitat forest.

len

A person could grow their own straw and not make a huge issue out of it. A person could get straw from sources other then broad acreage grain farms. Certainly more sustainable then clear cutting a forest for a stick construction methods.

[Pakanohida]

Inspiration.

http://youtu.be/qqFzrUj-CZ8

[gardenlen]

g'day paka,

have you calculated how many bales needed to build a home that will be approved? i dunno, but ti will be more tan 1 or ten, growing your own grain might fetch a bale or 2, most grain farms are broad acre they have to be for the farmer to make a bob out of it, so the tree decimation is past and complete. and now that the trees are gone they will grow grain while it is a viable operation, then they walk away from a man created desert, and unlike mining co's who have to rehabilitate the area farmers don't have that responsibility, so stupid gov's plant windmills. or they sub-divide it into housing/industrial developments.

len
len

[pebble]

Sure Len. But forestry isn't being done in a sustainable way either. If I need to build a house this year, and straw is available or unsustainable timber, why is the straw bad but the timber good?

[gardenlen]

over here pebble,

the straw comes as a result of damaging unsustainable practise. so does plantation timbers, they clear fell habitat forest to plant pine trees, i live in an area where their plans failed, now there are lots of radiata pines that when someone want to build will be pushed into piles and burnt much like bio-char, and the resultant ash gets pushed around to turn into terra preta a thousand years from now. you recognise that forestry is not being managed and habitat developed, that is the only factor that is real not theory.

len

[pebble]

"now there are lots of radiata pines that when someone want to build will be pushed into piles and burnt much like bio-char"

Why will they be burning trees instead of using them??

[gardenlen]

that the rule pebble,

a failed timber growing plan by gov' decimate habitat for no purpose, now when someone wants their acre readied for house building there is no control that says the nearest mill must harvest the trees even for wood chip 9anotehr wasted process), you see this was state forest the gov' then sold it to private people, then the gov' had second thoughts when they were madly into growing pine forests, they then clear felled and planted pines which was low producing so the gov' sold it back to the original private owners who then subdivided and sold it to people like us over about the past 40 years. these are the real things that those who worship science theory don't get involved with, they voted for a bloke who said he would stop old growth forest destruction, he did not keep his promise as most pollies don't there is now a brand spanking new pulp mill in place the rule of thumb if a tree is over 80 meters tall it must not be felled, real pie in the sky stuff hey.

so up here they are still raping hard wood forests and their own pine plantations to send trees from as far north as maryborough down to the port of brisbane to be chipped all those timber jinka's plying the dangerous highway. talk about a waste.

hope that goes someway to giving the picture.

we have our pile of trees that we are harvesting usable posts and fire wood(for others to burn and cause pollution) from before we have our bio-char bonfire. we are saving much to build our gardens with, but the pine in the pile has absolutely no use, it is termite food and burns too easily.

this is an unresponsibilty policy of the gov' once someone else buys it it belongs to that owner the problem and all. we would love to have chipped it all but would cost a fortune, same as taking it to green refuse station cost a fortune.

len

[gardenlen]

can't again edit my post,

should have added pebble,

there is a real world out there with real living factual issues, no theory involved. and no ego's they all follow theory.

len

[S.O.P]

What's more 'sustainable' though, Len? Strawbale or steel like your place? How about Earthbag?

[gardenlen]

at least our place is completely termite proof for ever without a single drop of chemicals, it won't rot, it will handle higher storm ratings, and won't burn like the wooden ones do. with earth the dirt has to come from somewhere if taken from virgin ground it is then habitat, if bought in by truck not desirable and very expensive, what we have is affordable.

if straw bale became more popular it would become more expensive and in times of drought no grain no straw.

len