[BLDG-SIM] Green Insulation Materials

Thu Aug 30 09:05:44 PDT 2007

Commercially farmed soy is genetically modified.  
Genetically modified organisms require heavy pesticide use to grow.  
Pesticides are specifically designed to kill everything except a single
crop.
The man-made tandems cause us cancer and disease.
Health care is skyrocketing to epic proportions.
Our tax dollars go to an illegal war.
According to the law, which is apparently admissible in court, paying taxes
is a choice.

Don't tell the owner this, but there might be a better choice out there.

-----Original Message-----
From: BLDG-SIM at gard.com [mailto:BLDG-SIM at gard.com] On Behalf Of David S
Eldridge
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:24 AM
To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
Subject: [BLDG-SIM] Green Insulation Materials

I wanted to chime in here since I spent my first 17 years as a Western
Illinois farm boy.

I think using the remnants of the soybeans that have already been used
for food purposes is a very good idea.  Not that there aren't other uses
for that material, or that there are both better and worse products to
use for insulation.  Also what industries are near the food plant so
that you can process and use the recovered material without shipping it
cross-country.

I think what you were hinting at in the second part Len is ethanol, then
yes that is a very complex issue with more variables than just energy.

As an aside, soybeans actually are a legume crop that reintroduces some
nutrients to the soil while growing, compared to corn which only takes
from the environment and can be a much more intensive as far as the
inputs required to grow them.  Many farmers will utilize crop rotations
where soybeans and corn are planted in alternating years to reduce the
amount of fertilizers used during the corn year.  Increasing the demand
for soybeans will help that balance.  (Where ethanol will tip the
balance towards more corn.)

Anyway, there are a lot of issues there, but probably not directly
related to building simulation.

David

> -----Original Message-----
> From: BLDG-SIM at gard.com [mailto:BLDG-SIM at gard.com] On Behalf Of
Leonard
> Sciarra
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:16 AM
> To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
> Cc: klair at iastate.edu
> Subject: [BLDG-SIM] Green Insulation Materials
> 
> 
> I just found out that the soy based foams are made from the scrap of
the
> soybean plant after the bean ( protein ) has been removed for food.
> That said is using prime agricultural land for things like fuel and
> building products the highest and best use of the land?  And when you
> take into account conventional factory farming with its intensive use
of
> petroleum based fertilizers it becomes a complex issue.
> 
> Leonard Sciarra
> GENSLER
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: BLDG-SIM at gard.com [mailto:BLDG-SIM at gard.com] On Behalf Of Kevin
> Lair
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:49 AM
> To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
> Subject: [BLDG-SIM] Green Insulation Materials
> 
> This is a challenge. I don't find soy being that great of an solution
> given
> soybeans are not the ideal crop for sustainability, and the protein
used
> is
> can be used for other things to make the foam. I think the best
product
> is
> straw products such as Stramit, but there are very limited options in
> the US.
> Agriboard is a SIP panel with straw and is expensive upfront but will
> pay off
> in overall savings. Again, these are probably not the solutions you
are
> looking for in this large commercial project either, but that is
mostly
> what I
> have come across.
> 
> I also don't care for foam in that it is not a product that promotes
> later
> reuse of the materials, or a more dynamic interactive envelop. In the
> end, it
> seems like it mostly a trade-off to just have good "green" by saving
in
> operation cost with good insulation and work for new products. If
there
> are
> better alternatives out there I would love to know as well.
> 
> 
> Kevin Lair
> (kslair at syr.edu)
> Assistant Professor, School of Architecture
> Syracuse University
> 350 W. Fayette Street
> Syracuse, NY 13202
> 
> 315 443 0298
> c: 515 418 1903
> 
> 
> > Does anyone know of any insulation materials that are particularly
> > environmentally friendly in terms of embodied energy and life cycle
> > cost?
> >
> > I am familiar with a soy-based spray foam and have heard of recycled
> > denim insulation being used in residential projects, but this is for
a
> > large commercial project in which code requires flame retardant
> > insulation.
> >
> > Any ideas on green insulation materials that could be used in
> commercial
> > buildings?
> >
> > Thanks a lot!
> >
> > Kendra Tupper
> > LEED(r) AP
> >  FLACK + KURTZ
> > "Ensuring that today's built environment preserves
> > the natural environment in which we all live."
> > 405 Howard Street		415.398.3833 Main
> > Suite 500			415.402.5840 Direct
> > San Francisco, CA 94105		415.433.5311 Fax
> > http://www.flackandkurtz.com	kendra.tupper at sf.fk.com
> > P  Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
> >
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> 
> Kevin Lair
> 
> 515 418 1903
> 
> Steering Committee GDRC(Green Design Research Collaborative)
> http://gdrc.iastate.edu <http://gdrc.iastate.edu/>
> 
> Co-Founder DRC (Design Research Consortium)
> http://cart.design.iastate.edu/drc/
> 
> Affiliate CBER (Center for Building Energy Research)
> http://www3.me.iastate.edu/cber/
> 
> Co-founder and member AFHIowa (Architecture for Humanity Iowa)
> http://afhiowa.org <http://afhiowa.org/>
> 
> Affiliate Center for Crops Utilization (CCUR)
> http://www.ag.iastate.edu/centers/ccur/
> 
> Advisory Board Member Center on Sustainable Communities
> http://www.icosc.com/
> 
> 
> 
> Principal Westbrook Design http://www.westbrookdesign.com
> <http://www.westbrookdesign.com/>
> 
> Director Westbrook Artists Site (WAS)  http://www.westbrookartists.com
> <http://www.westbrookartists.com/>
> 
> Board Member Ghana Education Project (GEP)
> http://www.ghanaeducation.org/
> 
> Founder/Principal MOD-ECO Architecture http://www.mod-eco.net
> <http://www.mod-eco.net/>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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