Straw Bale Resources

I love the feel of a straw bale house. Rammed earth is still my favorite, but straw is a close second. Here are some good sites with pics and details about building with straw bales. Of course, there are so many more, but these make a good start:

http://www.armofthespiral.com
http://www.strawbalediary.com
http://units.aps.org
http://www.strawbale.com
http://foodforest.com.au
http://www.thefarm.org
http://www.greenbuilder.com
http://strawbuilding.org
http://www.caneloproject.com
http://www.balewatch.com
http://www.greenplanethomes.ca
http://www.houseofstraw.com
http://harvesthomes.ca

Rammed Earth Resources

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com
http://www.rammedearthworks.com
http://www.rammedearthhomes.com
http://www.diyrammedearth.com
http://members.optusnet.com.au
http://www.earthhomes.com
http://www.motherearthnews.com
http://www.mcn.org
http://wallsofearth.com
http://www.hustonrammedearth.com
http://www.earth-auroville.com
http://www.adobebuilder.com
http://www.rammedearth.com
http://www.rammedearthconstructions.com.au

Water Conservation Tips

http://www.fema.gov
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/
http://www.monolake.org

Rainwater Harvesting

http://www.kidsfromkanata.org
http://rainwatercollection.com
http://www.birdcrossstitch.com
http://rainbarrelguide.com
http://www.harvesth2o.com

... and we'll be jolly friends, forever more!

Composting Toilets

Q: What is a composting toilet, and how does it work? Why would you want one, and aren't they kind of gross?
A: Check out these sites to find out!
http://www.biolet.com
http://compostingtoilet.org
http://www.sun-mar.com
http://www.envirolet.ca
http://www.ecoethic.ca

Locally Grown Food

http://www.100milediet.org - This started as an experiment - could James MacKennon and Alisa Smith last a year eating only food grown within 100 miles of their Vancouver, BC home? They did, and now they're sharing how you can too.
http://www.eatlocal.net - Portland, OR campaign for eating locally.
http://www.localharvest.org - A vast resource for finding a farmers' market in your area.
http://www.heifer.org - An interesting article on "Food Democracy."
http://www.locavores.com - Eating locally in the San Francisco Bay Area

Our Iraqi Neighbors

An ongoing documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.

Natural Flooring Materials

Here is a list of materials I have seen used for flooring with some beautiful results:

• Bamboo - http://www.bamboodirect.ca
  
• Cork - http://www.apccork.com
  
• Stone - http://www.stone-tile.com
  
• Saltillo Tile - http://www.bourgetbros.com
  
• Brick - http://historicalbricks.com
  
• Linoleum - http://www.themarmoleumstore.com
  
• Rammed Earth - New York Times article
  
• Recycled Leather - http://www.ecodomo.com
  
• Recycled Rubber - http://www.ecosurfaces.com
  
• Recycled Plastic Carpet - http://www.mohawk-flooring.com
  
• Natural Fiber Carpet - http://www.earthweave.com
  

Solar Power

I've been reading about solar panels and trying to get an idea for how easy or effective it might be to install them on our roof:
http://www.solarexpert.com/pvtypes.html - Explains the way different solar collecting systems work in basic terms.
http://www.newenergy.org/sesci/publications/pamphlets/photovoltaic.html - Another simple explanation of how solar power works.
If you saw the movie Who Killed the Electric Car?, then you probably fell in love with Stanford R. Ovshinsky. His company, Uni-Solar, makes the coolest solar products for your roof! http://www.uni-solar.com/interior.asp?id=102 Check out the solar shingles, and the peel-and-stick laminates! If you haven't seen Who Killed the Electric Car? yet please do! It's guaranteed to amaze you.
http://www.solarforhouses.com/content/products/Default.aspx?t=solar - Here is a company local to us who could provide us with exactly what I'm envisioning! Whether it would be affordable remains to be seen.

Green Building

Green building is offering so many choices these days, and not every option will break your bank.

Resources for those of you looking to buy or build high-end sustainable architecture:
http://www.mkd-arc.com/ - Michelle Kaufmann Designs. Beautifully designed, prefab green homes. They are currently building green communities in San Leandro, CA, Las Vegas, NV, and Denver, CO.

http://www1.livinghomes.net/primer.html - Stunning prefab green homes from LivingHomes with Ray Kappe and David Hertz.

I'm really intrigued by the new generation of grid-free emergency shelters. I would love to live in some of these!
http://www.ecocottages.com/index.php
http://www.lamidesign.com/plans/homepg.html
http://www.cusatocottages.com/index_content.html
http://www.nscgallery.info/
http://www.forsythe-macallen.com/ColoradoHouse.htm
http://www.drijvendestad.nl/sites/drijvendestad/tekst_ddwoning_uk.html