Environment & Infrastructure

Natural ecosystems, human habitats, and the innate interplay of these core aspects of human-earth existence.

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1	The U.S. Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone within a generation. This is the place to: » Certify your green building » Join USGBC as an organization » Join a chapter as an individual » Sign up for courses and workshops » Purchase LEED Reference Guides » Learn about Greenbuild » Sign up for e-newsletters » Become a LEED AP or Green Associate » Explore green building research
2	World Widelife Federation living Planet Report The Living Planet Report is the world's leading, science-based analysis on the health of our only planet and the impact of human activity. Its key finding? Humanity's demands exceed our planet's capacity to sustain us. That is, we ask for more than what we have.
3	Global Footprint Network Humans are the most successful species on the planet. But we are using more resources than the Earth can provide. We are in global ecological overshoot. In 2003, Global Footprint Network, a 501c (3) nonprofit organization, was established to enable a sustainable future where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives within the means of one planet. An essential step in creating a one-planet future is measuring human impact on the Earth so we can make more informed choices. That is why our work aims to accelerate the use of the Ecological Footprint — a resource accounting tool that measures how much nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what.
4	Cob Cottage Company We're not a Corporation, we're a Company of friends. Cob Cottage Company is a loose collective of people who really like one another, who believe in a lot of the same positive solutions to human problems. We come together irregularly in different groupings and take on challenging tasks. Some of us have worked together and have been close friends for decades. What is Cob? Earth is probably still the world's commonest building material. The word cob comes from an old English root meaning a lump or rounded mass. Cob building uses hands and feet to form lumps of earth mixed with sand and straw, a sensory and aesthetic experience similar to sculpting with clay. Cob is easy to learn and inexpensive to build. Because there are no forms, ramming, cement or rectilinear bricks, cob lends itself to organic shapes: curved walls, arches and niches. Earth homes are cool in summer, warm in winter. Cob's resistance to rain and cold makes it ideally suited to cold climates like the Pacific Northwest, and to desert conditions. Cob has been used for millennia even in the harsh climates of coastal Britain, at the latitude of the Aleutians. Thousands of comfortable and picturesque cob homes in England have been continuously occupied for many centuries and now command very high market values. With recent rises in the price of lumber and increasing interest in natural and environmentally safe building practices, cob is enjoying a renaissance. This ancient technology doesn't contribute to deforestation, pollution or mining nor depend on manufactured materials or power tools. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn't it make sense to return to nature's most abundant, cheap and healthy building material?
5	House Alive House Alive! started as an organization in 2001. Its primary activity is to teach workshops about Natural Building, natural design and appropriate technology. We also offer consulting services, do presentations and seminars and work to promote natural building as a real alternative to conventional construction methods. Our concerns go beyond just buildings, which we hope to reflect in our approach, our presentation on the web and our workshops. We care about community, health, our environment, social justice and a peaceful world. Most of our work has taken place in the western United States. However, we have also done projects in Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Jamaica, Spain and on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Besides preparing and teaching workshops, lots of our time is taken answering people’s questions, writing articles, doing research and organizing/participating in community events.
6	Green Home Building Welcome to greenhomebuilding.com where you can find a wide range of information about sustainable architecture and natural building. As an example of natural building, the image at the upper left was taken during the construction of the earthbag house that has served as the home for greenhomebuilding.com and Kelly and Rosana Hart, your hosts.
7	International Straw Bale Building Registry Greenbuilder.com, The Last Straw Journal, The Straw Bale Association of Texas, and the Development Center for Appropriate Technology, along with a number of regional strawbale organizations, are working together to build a database of buildings constructed using straw bale.
8	Earthed Sustainable Building, Design and Education Earthed are artists and builders specialising in cob, roundpole timber framing, lime, and stonework. Earthed undertake private and funded projects, run educational workshops and renovation /repair work.
9	Natural Building Network Natural Building Network is a not-for-profit membership association promoting natural building principles, materials and practitioners worldwide. We support ecological regeneration, social justice, the building of community and economic opportunity, and the recognition of indigenous wisdom as essential in creating healthy, beautiful, and spiritually-uplifting habitation for everyone.