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R We do however save a lot of money. Last year we spent approximately $1,000 onelectricity before we had installed the wind/solar power system. This year, basedon savings thus far, we expect we'll save about $500 each year.Can all electricity meters go backwards?R No, some models run in only one direction (forwards). You should be able tohave it switched to a model that does run backwards although that might be anadditional cost to you.Is straw bale safefire, pests, rot, strengthcan you do it in the city?R There is no problem with pests, rot, fi re or strength. The concrete stucco coatingprevents any pests from entering and together with the compression of the bales,provides sufficient strength. The straw bale walls are considered more fire -retardant than conventional stud walls. Since the wall breathes (that is, air andmoisture pass through freely), there is no problem with rot. Straw bales aresupported by the building code. A 6000 square foot straw bale home was built inMississauga.Did you have any problems getting the building permit?R No, we were fortunate to have a building inspector who is familiar with straw baleconstruction. There were some issues with central composting toilets and rainwatercollection. In the end, the Town allowed both the composting toilets andrain-water collection, but required a septic field to be built (along with one flushtoilet so that it would operate properly), and a well to be dug.Did you have any problem getting insurance?R Some insurance companies required inspections because of the "unconventionalconstruction" of the home. The only issue they identified was the wood stove,due to an error made by the inspector. He listed the pipe as single -wall, when infact it is double-wall. We had no difficulty finding an insurance company willingto insure the home at a reasonable rate, with no issues. Our insurance companyended up being State Farm Insurance.Did you have any problem getting building financing?R Our bank provided a construction mortgage, although these are becoming harderto get. Because of the unconventional construction, the bank required themortgage to be insured by CMHC, even though we had a 25% down payment.282
How much is the wind turbine?R The wind turbine requires batteries, a tower (60 feet in our case), a chargecontroller, and an inverter (to convert the DC current to AC for use withconventional appliance and to supply to the electricity grid). Our system alsoincluded ten Siemens 40 watt photovoltai c solar panels. This complete systeminstalled was $20,000. We purchased our systems from Phantom ElectronCorporation - http://www.phantomelectron.com/ . Contact Leonard Allen orBed Rodgers.Does the wind turbine make much noise?R The wind turbine is actually very quiet. In a moderate breeze, you will hear a quietwhisper, and occasionally a mild him from the wind turbine. When the wind isvery strong and gusty, you may at times hear a low "growl". Each type of turbineis different. It is best to check out the unit your expect to purchase if you can.What was most valuable in your research into how to do Natural Living?R Toronto Healthy House tourR book Living Spaces try GrassRoots store http://www.grassrootsstore.com/ orhave it ordered from your local book store.R Architect Martin Liefhebber - check out his new web site athttp://www.martinliefhebber.com/R Solar Living Center in California - web site: http://www.solarliving.org/R The Solar House book - look for it at your local book storeR Natural Home magazine - web site: http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/R Natural Home book seriesR Kortright Centre for Conservation - they have a wind/solar power tour andlearning facility as well as a large Living Machine.If you could have done anything different what would it be?R Reduce the size of the housereduced cost of constructionkeep below$400,000 to take advantage of GST rebate. Eliminate the basement space for themost part.283
Page 1:
Your Complete Guide to Sustainable
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Special OfferNatural Living: The Wi
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Copyright 8 2004 John WilsonPublish
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AcknowledgementsThis book could not
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TRANSPORTATION 178VALUE CONNECTION
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Dazzling and tremendous how quick t
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our times in the struggle to stop t
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ChangeThings happen for a reasonAn
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Chapter 1OUR CURRENT SITUATIONMajor
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eing restarted slowly. It turns out
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insanity of war and the terrible de
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R The first large wind turbine has
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R Kalundborg, Denmark: This area is
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29> EcoVillage at Ithaca NewYork.
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television, advertising designed to
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Chapter 2A BRIEF HISTORY OFSUSTAINA
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sunlight entered them in winter, bu
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The History of Wind EnergyWind ener
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Chapter 3CHANGE?Change really can c
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consumers to ask the question, does
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Too Many Parking LotsThere are too
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all of these are now known to produ
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R Drug useR CrimeR PovertyR Terrori
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the economic assumption of endless
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much less. More than that, we could
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that reinforces scientific material
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To bring down the whole house of ca
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Big PictureThe vast scale and compl
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Find the Right Scale for Action In
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direct use of heat from the sun in
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Driven by an uncritical worship of
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The fact is that our earth system w
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This analysis suggests that the glo
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capitalism institutionalizes a syst
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to finance the types of projects th
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Much of it was formed before many o
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of time, gave Al Gore a new sense o
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corporations, or countries is that
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Natural Living1. Awareness2. Food3.
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Chapter 4TAKE THE FIRST STEPStart t
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e aware of nature, life, rocks, lea
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That is why Natural Living revolves
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• Transportation (cars and trucks
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5. Make a concerted effort to focus
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these changes. When youve achieved
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Natural LivingLife Activity Take Ac
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Chapter 6NATURAL LIVING STEPSThe fo
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Step 2: FoodReminder: You are what
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Step 3: PlanReminder: Failure to pl
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6. Use local renewable sources of w
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found the resources to achieve Natu
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Step 4: HomeReminder: Home is where
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for materials significantly minimiz
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with nature and people who are of n
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quantum mechanics, Gandhi has appli
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Connect, in the article All Hands t
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connecting, and building your relat
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Step 7: CreativityReminder: If we c
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Words of Truth by VincentI will try
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· Get local businesses to provide
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Chapter 7ORGANIC FOODTaking pleasur
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More NutritiousThe variety and nutr
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Chapter 8PLACELooking at your place
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Chapter 9EFFICIENCYNot needing some
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Chapter 10PASSIVE SOLAR HEATINGAND
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R Hydronic heating to supplement st
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Chapter 11STRAW BALECONSTRUCTION135
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dampen the shock, bend, while not b
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anywhere near the work site. Also,
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are not many architects who are fam
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· Wire mesh for window/door corner
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windows allowing sufficient wire to
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With tools prepared the sewing can
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Each layer should be applied comple
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Straw Bale Details: A Manual for De
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This home in the city of Mississaug
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ideas. This included the idea of th
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feeds the existing water tank. This
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desire to learn from nature. The pl
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Active SolarWood stoveFood· Uni-so
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DesignR Typically a green roof need
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Chapter 13RENEWABLE ENERGYSYSTEMSNo
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way to convert sunlight into electr
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Case Study: Freedom Off-The-GridGai
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Leonard bought the property in 1987
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The home has lots of natural daylig
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The appliances, washer and dryer ar
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complete set of videos from the con
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ecause at the time Leigh, my wife,
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fuel driven economy even though the
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Peace· True peace is a symbiosis w
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Chapter 16THE JOURNEYIt started whe
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Claire, our daughter is almost one
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waves, wind and rain would soon swa
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local restaurant was far enough to
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charge the batteries when power is
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The town of Cabarete providesplenty
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Every time we visit the wind is blo
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SOLAR HOT WATER SHOWERThis system a
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R CoconutsR MangoesR PapayaR Cherri
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Being an organic farmer is not alwa
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· Airtight walls: Airtight walls e
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· Reduced disposal of toxic produc
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DRINKABLE-WATER SYSTEMWater and Was
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Chapter 17PLANNING THE NEW HOUSEIn
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Most properties we saw had problems
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and piping systems would be require
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system pushed costs beyond the orig
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solar home design, excellent insula
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system that is being used to transf
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It is the goal of Natural Living to
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R Take advantage of the local straw
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R Straw-bale wall on north side of
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on the south side of the basement n
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Page 233 and 234: Chapter 21BUILDINGOn my 34 th birth
Page 235 and 236: Pers walked us through the Kortrigh
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Page 239 and 240: Letting Light InNovember 2000The gr
Page 241 and 242: Green Roof withCentral Sky LightFeb
Page 243 and 244: Stacking BalesApril 2001Up go the b
Page 245 and 246: Finishing Stucco onthe Straw Bale W
Page 247 and 248: Green Roof ConceptMartin Liefhebber
Page 249 and 250: Wind TurbineOperating whileSolar Pa
Page 251 and 252: Wind and SolarGoing Full BlastAugus
Page 253 and 254: technologies such as straw-bale con
Page 255 and 256: R Staple the chicken wire to the ou
Page 257 and 258: sunshine from the south are where t
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Page 263 and 264: R Silent operation;R Solid state el
Page 265 and 266: R The north wall has a minimal numb
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Page 269 and 270: R Smaller size reduces energy requi
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Page 277 and 278: what we had done wrong. Several wee
Page 279 and 280: Chapter 23FREQUENTLY ASKEDQUESTIONS
Page 281: summer, it absorbs the heat so that
Page 285 and 286: What is the grey/tin/silver roof/si
Page 287 and 288: What are composting toilets and how
Page 289 and 290: Chapter 25LOOKING BACKWeve lived in
Page 291 and 292: Chapter 25NATURAL LIVINGVISION OF T
Page 293 and 294: organic farmers have teamed up with
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Page 297 and 298: floor solar waterheating and passiv
Page 299 and 300: Back at home the sun provides the r
Page 301 and 302: Chapter 26NEXT STEPSI know this boo
Page 303 and 304: Chapter 27RESOURCESBreathe Architec
Page 305 and 306: IkeaBirch wood kitchen cabinetry.We
Page 307 and 308: Appendix AWARNING TO HUMANITYIssued
Page 309 and 310: ForestsTropical rain forests, as we
Page 311 and 312: WHAT WE MUST DOFive inextricably li
Page 313 and 314: A new ethic is required -- a new at
Page 315 and 316: The Global SituationThe dominant pa
Page 317 and 318: . Promote social and economic justi
Page 319 and 320: c. Ensure that information of vital
Page 321 and 322: f. Strengthen local communities, en
Page 323 and 324: Earth Charter principles with an in
Page 325 and 326: "shadow science" origin is that mos
Page 327 and 328: constant slow re-radiation, resulti
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Figure 4b: Two-story sunspace: wint
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mentioned earlier, special care mus
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about 86 percent. Non-storage mater
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ecommended ratio. If water in conta
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the wall to 90%, compared to 60% fo
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Figure 7:When designing a solar hom
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STEP 2: Recommended Insulation Valu
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Figure 9: Use this map to find your
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oof is not glazed and the south wal
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walls with direct-gain windows abov
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BIBLIOGRAPHYVan der Ryn, the Toilet
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Berry, Thomas, THE GREAT WORK:OUR W
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connections, 15, 25, 49, 51, 53, 57
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health, 16, 39, 45, 48, 49, 54, 55,
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SScience, 113, 354sewage, 24, 40, 4
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Back Inside CoverJOHN WILSONis an a
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