Hemp homes are cutting edge of green building
source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/09/hemp-houses-built-asheville/1
-
-
- JackHerer
- added this
Hemp is turning a new leaf. The plant fiber, used to make the sails that took Christopher Columbus' ships to the New World, is now a building material.
In Asheville, N.C., a home built with thick hemp walls was completed this summer and two more are in the works.
Dozens of hemp homes have been built in Europe in the past two decades, but they're new to the United States, says David Madera, co-founder of Hemp Technologies, a company that supplied the mixture of ground-up hemp stalks, lime and water.
The industrial hemp is imported because it cannot be grown legally in this country — it comes from the same plant as marijuana.
Its new use reflects an increasing effort to make U.S. homes not only energy-efficient but also healthier. Madera and other proponents say hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest-free and flame-resistant.
"There is a growing interest in less toxic building materials, says Peter Ashley, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.
"The potential health benefits are significant," he says, citing a recent study of a Seattle public housing complex that saw residents' health improve after their homes got a green makeover.tp://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/09/hemp-houses-built-asheville/1
In Asheville, N.C., a home built with thick hemp walls was completed this summer and two more are in the works.
Dozens of hemp homes have been built in Europe in the past two decades, but they're new to the United States, says David Madera, co-founder of Hemp Technologies, a company that supplied the mixture of ground-up hemp stalks, lime and water.
The industrial hemp is imported because it cannot be grown legally in this country — it comes from the same plant as marijuana.
Its new use reflects an increasing effort to make U.S. homes not only energy-efficient but also healthier. Madera and other proponents say hemp-filled walls are non-toxic, mildew-resistant, pest-free and flame-resistant.
"There is a growing interest in less toxic building materials, says Peter Ashley, director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.
"The potential health benefits are significant," he says, citing a recent study of a Seattle public housing complex that saw residents' health improve after their homes got a green makeover.tp://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/09/hemp-houses-built-asheville/1
-
- groups:
- Community, Politics, Green, Current Tonight, 19 more
-
-
GreenHornet88
-
Hemp is similar genus "Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa var. sativa" to marijuana "C. sativa subsp. indica"... it is NOT the same.
Try smoking hemp and you wind up with a massive headache !
The real crime here is the fact the US has denied the invaluable resources of this plant to the marketplace.
- 1 year ago
-
GreenHornet88
-
-
GoldenHeart
-
That's very well for going green.....great start !!
- 1 year ago
-
GoldenHeart
