What is Building Science?

1. What is Building Science? Building science is the study of how buildings function under various environmental conditions. Building scientists study how heat is generated or lost in a house and how to make houses more comfortable and healthy. Source: www.healthyindoorair.org - a partnership program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Indoor Environments Division, Montana State University Extension Service, Housing Program; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

2. What Is Indoor Air Quality? • Indoor Air Quality is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a top environmental threat. The major cause of indoor air pollution are the particles released into the air that come from a variety of sources. The key factors to "healthy air" is it must be clean, fresh and have the proper relative humidity. • Our environment’s fresh air is constantly mixed with pollution. We are exposed on a daily basis to organic chemicals found in the ingredients of common household products also known as volatile organic compounds. These toxins build up in our environment to unhealthy levels that stay in the air long after the activity is completed. Many building products and furnishings in our interiors "off-gas" harmful toxins over a long period of time. HOW DOES INDOOR AIR QUALITY DETERIORATE? • If one or more of your office or home ventilation processes is inadequate, due to poor building design, inappropriate occupant activities, or improper maintenance or operation, the quality of indoor air may deteriorate. When that happens, occupants may suffer from Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) or Building Related Illness (BRI). Source: www.healthylivingfoundation.org andwww.epa.gov/iaq

3. What Is Green Building? Green building practices offer an opportunity to create environmentally sound and resource-efficient buildings by using an integrated approach to design. THE INTENT OF GREEN BUILDING PROGRAMS IS TO • promote resource conservation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation features; • incorporate environmental impacts and waste minimization; • create a healthful and comfortable environment; • reduce operation and maintenance costs; and • address issues such as historic preservation, access to public transportation, and other community infrastructure systems. The entire life cycle of the building and its components is considered as well as the economic and environmental impact and performance. Source: U.S. Department of Energy Resources U.S. Department of Energy, Smart Communities Network, www.sustainable.doe.gov U.S. Green Building Council, www.usgbc.org U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov/greenbuilding Austin Green Building Program, www.ci.austin.tx.us/greenbuilder (An Internet search will take you to other green building programs around the country)

4. What is LEED? LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a rating system for new and existing commercial, institutional, and high-rise residential buildings, designed by the US Green Building Council using an extensive peer review process. Four levels of green building certification are awarded based on the total credits earned in each of five categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. Source: www.usgbc.org

5. What is Natural Building? • Natural building is any building system which places the highest value on social and environmental sustainability. It assumes the need to minimize the environmental impact of our housing and other building needs while providing healthy, beautiful, comfortable and spiritually-uplifting homes for everyone. • Natural builders emphasize simple, easy-to-learn techniques based on locally-available, renewable resources. These systems rely heavily on human labor and creativity instead of on capital, high technology and specialized skills. Source: Michael G. Smith, leader in the cob and natural building community Resources www.thelaststraw.org (strawbale) www.econest.com (light straw/clay) www.cobcottage.com (cob) www.livingpaper.com (papercrete) www.ecocomposite.com (fiber and two other materials)

6. What is Sustainability? Webster’s definition: 1 : capable of being sustained, 2 a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged <sustainable techniques> <sustainable agriculture> b : of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods <sustainable society> • Sustainability in our day-to-day lives means reducing our consumption –sensible quantities, good quality and healthy choices; recycling and reuse of everything possible; less use of all chemicals in all forms and uses as well as gas-and-oil-based products, converting to ag-based and natural products. It means getting off the grid and converting to solar and wind energy, using rainwater catchment and grey water methods to conserve this precious resource, and turning to permaculture approaches and xeriscape plantings in our surroundings. • It means using what we have at hand as basic materials for building – as the prairie pioneers and many others did long ago. It means approaches for farming that are sustainable and natural rather than overuse of the land, chemical fertilization, weed control and pesticides, and irrigation levels that deplete the available resources; improved methods of forestry (coppicing, for example), less high energy use manufacturing and a movement toward small cottage industries creating products from local resources distributed to regional outlets; control of packaging–one of the highest sources of waste.

7. Sustainability requires lifestyle changes. There is an element of drawing from the past to study what worked and what didn’t or won’t. Accepting the existence of an industrialized world while attempting to apply agrarian and pre-industrial ways to manufacturing needed goods and products. And accepting that we probably will not see a sustainable society in our lifetime yet dedicating ourselves to moving in that direction.

8. What is Appropriate Technology? • To be appropriate, technology must be connected to the place, resources, economics, culture and impacts of its use. Source: Development Center for Appropriate Technologies, Tucson, Arizona, USA • Appropriate technology is small-scale technology. It is simple enough that people can manage it directly and on a local level. Appropriate technology makes use of skills and technology that are available in a local community to supply basic human needs, such as gas and electricity, water, food, and waste disposal. Source: http://lsa.colorado.edu/essence/texts/appropriate.htm

9. Appropriate technology is decentralized. Today, many of our basic needs are handled by huge, complex systems. These systems are managed centrally by large private corporations or the government. A simpler technology tends to be more reliable, and the effects of breakdowns do not disrupt as many lives. • Technologically sophisticated, though simple in design. It is important to realize that use of appropriate technology does not mean turning the clock back to the 18th or 19th century. Although the technology involves simple, easy-to use and repair designs, it is based on sophisticated, 20th-century technologies. One example is the invention of photovoltaic or solar cells that convert solar energy, a renewable energy source, into electricity.

10. Environmentally friendly. Appropriate technology emphasizes the use of renewable resources, like the energy from the sun, wind, or water. These energy sources are available almost everywhere and need only the right technology to capture them. Unlike burning coal and oil, these local energy sources do not contribute to air and water pollution and they do not need to be transported over long distances. Food, energy, water, and waste disposal are also handled locally by ecological systems. These are systems that conserve resources by recycling organic nutrients back into the soil and reusing manufactured goods in innovative ways. Appropriate technology makes it possible to satisfy our basic human needs while minimizing our impact on the environment.

11. Social problems. Many people are beginning to realize that neither our economy nor our population can continue to grow forever. We are running out of the Natural resources necessary to sustain ourselves. In addition we are limited in our ability to deal with the social and environmental problems that result from continuous growth. There seems to be a growing dissatisfaction with the complexity and hectic lifestyle of 20th-century society. Many people would prefer to return to a simpler way of life. Appropriate technology is attractive because it makes households and industries more self-sufficient, and most things can be managed at a local level. We may have to do more hand labor instead of depending on automation to satisfy our basic needs. However, there are many advantages to simplifying our lives. By growing more of our own food and producing and buying goods in our own communities, we spend less time and money on transportation, produce less waste and consume fewer environmental resources. Resources Development Center for Appropriate Technologies, Tucson, Arizona. www.dcat.net The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, Austin, Texas. www.cmpbs.org Ecological Building Network, Sausalito, California. www.ecobuildnetwork.org