January 25th, 2010
The University of Bath is undergoing a project to find environmentally friendly building materials that can be used as an alternative to the current products used within the construction industry.
A straw house came up as a viable option. Straw is not only a renewable resource, but also a farming by-product, which made it a popular choice for the researchers. It can be locally grown and absorbs carbon monoxide, therefore buildings made from straw have zero or even a negative carbon footprint. It can potentially provide such good insulation that normal heating may not be necessary, keeping running costs low and minimising environmental impact.
The construction itself has been built using prefabricated panels, consisting of wooden frames filled with straw or hemp, then rendered with a breathable lime based system.
Research into alternative building materials is important as cement contributes up to 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Hopefully this project, which over the year is to be monitored, will prove that straw is a sustainable building material. Let’s just hope it can withstand all the wolves huffing and puffing and trying to blow the house down!
Tags: Balehouse, Carbon Footprint, Construction, farming, renewable resource, Straw | Posted in Climate Change, Recycling, Self sufficiency, Sustainability, environment, renewable energy
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December 2nd, 2009
It’s taken 30 years, but now it would seem that the English otter is making a comeback! Agricultural pesticides were responsible for their diminishing numbers, but there have been sightings in various parts of the country, particularly in Dorset, with all of the county’s rivers housing otter colonies.
Between the 1950’s and 1980’s agricultural pesticides leaked into the rivers and streams blinding the otters and damaging their immune systems. In addition to this, the chemicals also poisoned the fish the mammals fed on.
Thankfully, due to the combination of conservationists, farmers and water companies, the otter’s luck has changed. There is now a 15m protection zone between agricultural land and the waterways, where the farmers cannot spray pesticides. Consequently, the rivers have improved dramatically, plants grow again, insects flourish and this creates a healthy ecological state for everything else to grow and develop.
With healthier waterways, a ban on otter hunting and the pesticide exclusion zone, the otters are now happily regaining their original habitats. However, there is one disgruntled party; the fishermen – they claim the mammals are stealing their fish and therefore threatening their livelihood. Well, probably true, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time!
Tags: agricultural pesticides, farming, habitats, otters, pesticides, UK | Posted in Wildlife, environment
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