permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

On Thu, Jul 28, 2016 at 12:51 AM, Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>
wrote:

> Solution would be to selectively log when the canopy closes to open up
> light gaps so the other trees can keep growing fast. Then cut those when
> they slow down, and plant new trees in the gaps. Put it all in structures
> that last 500 years.
>
> Cement: The minute you use even small amounts of cement, gone is all hope
> of being carbon neutral; concrete is that big an energy hog. It takes
> hundreds of millions of joules of energy to make a few pounds of cement.
> Almost certainly the most energy intensive of any commonly used substance
> (cement is #2 after water in tons transported per year).
>

Build small and permanent with concrete (slab), concrete block (walls),
metal roofing and everything else wood. This is a fireproof structure, huge
indoor heatsink for thermal flywheel effect and cool in summer with no AC.
Look at the payback from energy saving, no maintenance, fireproof,
windproof, rotproof.

How are you going to heat and cool any wooden structure? Gas, electricy,
oil, wood? How will you insulate it? Harvest old growth hardwood or conifer
and you will have transportation to and from sawmill, energy to cut logs,
grind up slabs and bark for other uses which require transportation
(chipboard and landscape mulch). Instantly you are competing with concrete
for fossil fuel use. At harvest site grinding up tops and branches also
uses energy but mulch can be left to nourish new trees. Back to the energy
efficiency of wooden structures; to compete with masonry you must use
synthetic insulation or build with log single log or double. Hand hew the
logs? Have them sawed at sawmill and transported? What about rot and boring
insects in wood houses, wose in some regions than others? What about a
foundation for a lod or framed building? Footing plus masonry walls?
Insulated? Moisture and termites or wood borers in crawl space. Buildng
with wood in a very cold climate is less problematic than in warmer or hot
climates which introduce their own set of maintenance and durability
issues. The only structure that can compete with masonry for long term
durability is log and only then if it is in a cold climate
where you do not have rot and insect issues. Adobe is another option tat
competes favorably with concrete and wood but locations that have clay that
is suitable for adobe are limited. It seems to me that framed wooden
structures are the leas desirable because of vulnerability to rot, insect,
fire, need for paint
and need for durable effective supplemental insulation, mandatory for
roofs. Another option not mentioned is people living in intentional
communities with cohousing and facilities used in common for cooking and
eating, laundry, recreation, possibly baths, libraries storage of often
used consumable supplies,
workshops greenhouses with aquaponics and wastewater treatment and
constructed wetlands for wastewater bioremediation. With communities
offering cohousing and group facilities for basic living needs you save
enormous amounts of energy. Over the long haul masonry structures offer
energy, financial,
maintenance, durability and environmental  payback that _probably_
surpasses any other building method.

LL


-- 
Lawrence F. London
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