Today Clarke Snell unveiled the sequence of plaster layers on a Nauhaus wall. These walls are super insulated, breathable and sustainable, YEAH BABY, The Nauhaus ROCKS! We pulled up today to the site. The sun was blazing down on the building. All the doors wide open. On a 90F day this usually means you are going to Cook and sweat inside. But not at the Nauhaus. No sir. We stepped into the cool refreshing earth of the coolest house in the Unites States of America!

I’ve pulled up to some very extravagant eco mansions. Amazing homes. I’m grateful they use Earthpaint. But they are very different than pulling up to this one little neighborhood house. They are stunning homes but there is something missing. Eco mansions are better than ego mansions but they aren’t going to change the world. As soon as you pull up to Nauhaus you get the sense that it will. I get a sense that of “Wow” this thing is for real. The vibe, the volunteers, the whole scene feels real. But before I go on a tirade about changing the world let’s look at the walls.

Thick, earthy, breathable, beautiful walls.

First, a thick, super insulative Hemp Crete coat is applied.  Then a super sustainable, Site Based Earth Plaster base coat is troweled over the Hemp Crete. (This beautiful earthplaster can be sealed with Rainforest Sealer or Stone Coat as a final coat.)  Last and optionally, Clarke shows the local white clay final coat being applied over a rounded corner. This type of sustainable building is not only beautiful but has the potential to save the earth. Literally, this building, produced in mass can change the world! It is designed to be replicated. Previously, unavailable materials are being made available in mass under the condition that they save energy.

Clarke Snell applying Clay Plaster over site based Earthplaster walls.

Buildings currently waste far too much energy, especially residential and small businesses.  Clarke, Tim, Jeff and an army of volunteer’s labor tirelessly at the Nauhaus Institute to stop new buildings from wasting energy.  They wholeheartedly believe in this cause; that green building is one area where we can actually make a big difference. A big difference for Global Warming on the earth and everyone on it. Visit http://www.thenauhaus.com/ to learn the science behind the Nauhaus.

The Nauhaus is a green building system, a method similar to Passive Home, developed for USA built green homes. Nauhaus is a ZERO CARBON, Sustainable and Non Toxic building for family or business.   If you REALLY want to make a difference and you are building a new home Nauhaus Institute is a very good place to start. If you are a Green Builder interested in the Passive Home design then Nauhaus will be very exciting, since it makes the Passive Home design fully achievable in the USA!

Green Building Is Corrupted by “Profit At All Costs” Business Structure.

If it’s really about making a difference then, too much green building right now is BS, to be blunt. New labels are invented for the same old products to sell to confused consumers.  Nauhaus isn’t the same old corporate structure. It’s a volunteer team working for a cause at a nonprofit. That is worlds different than the “Make a profit at all costs.” Business structure the world is being devoured by currently.  This same old corporate structure has too much influence over green building and it corrupts the mission for profit and convenience. Unfortunately, that mission is about saving a beautiful green planet and improving life on earth for all future generations.

Those of us in green building right now have to settle for whatever “Green” tools and materials that are available, well, actually we settle for what is affordable and available. But all of us wish for more. Every authentic green builder knows in their heart more must be done to make a REAL difference, to the planet, to the health of the poisoned American public. So many true green builders are working vehemently but the public consciousness and investment system isn’t meeting them at the task.

Home buyers are under educated and most Investment bankers don’t place a high enough priority on Green Building (some bankers are starting to get it). Do they really not get how important it is?  Oceans are poisoned. Cancer is rampant. Oil is running out and the Earth is heating up. We need simple sustainable technology, yesterday! This doesn’t necessarily mean it is profitable. It may mean that the dirt in the backyard makes a better wall, cheaper.  But what investment banker wants to hear that?

“Dirt? Are you kidding me Greenie! [Ha, ha ha ha…fat, arrogant, condescending, white republican laughter, I’m imagining Rush Limbaugh here] How are we supposed to self righteously stuff our faces with more than our share of the earth’s resources when people are using dirt to build their walls? Where’s the profit?”

Wake up America!  Investment capital rules!  Investment Capital dominates corporate construction and corporate construction rules green home marketing dollars. And we sheep love nothing more than a good marketing campaign, right? Wake up!  Don’t buy another crappy, half assed green built home. There are many excellent dedicated green builders (Anchorage Building Corp.)  Nauhaus is not the only answer but it’s a good start and the technology and science they offer is solid. Support this type of system in mass and the tools we need to save the earth will be ours!

Corporate Business Structure and Green Building Don’t Mix.

After going to corporate schmooze parties AKA Green Building Conferences for 6 years, I can’t take another one. If you haven’t been to one, it’s worth a laugh. Once. The primary thing that I see at most Green Building Conferences is money posturing. The wealthy corporations heartlessly buy every market available. They stand up at the podium and slap themselves on the back for doing shit! “We saved twenty million trees by using email instead of paper!” Please. Then why are you spraying green poison all over your lumber and selling it as green building lumber? [Side note: Don’t buy biocide treated wood.]

I want to hear them stand up and say, “Our shareholders voted to put the earth and welfare of the people above profit!”  These CEO’s  are not going to let go of a single market category without a fight. They do a great job of talking a load of BS but its just greenwashing. I saw Al Gore talk about greenwashing in front of 22,000 greenies in Pheonix. How many of them were justifying a greenwashed product at that very moment? How many were wishing they could get the money to do it right?

I’m sure there are a lot of good conferences (Mountain Green at Warren Wilson College) and it’s not fair to stereo type corporate business structure but the system is a disaster.  Work more for less. Work until you’re exhausted; don’t question the egomaniac at the top. I say knock his ass down! If he’s justifying a 30 million dollar a year job by saying he earned it, I say HOW? Did you help anyone? Are you doing any good with your money? Or are you a selfish prickly pear giving your shareholders profit no matter how many oceans you have to destroy in the process?

I have not seen a single major construction company inventing a house like Nauhaus. I’m talking about a house that is literally capable of changing the world.  I see green builders working tirelessly to improve but I don’t see a major construction company, with the required resources to make it happen, doing it. Is it just the corporate profit structure? I mean, think about it. There are some really, really massive and wealthy national construction companies in the USA but does anybody know of a single one that is really sacrificing profit or convenience to make the world a better place? If you do please, let me know. Some colleges (Univ. Illinois, Gable House) have done a truly great job trying but ultimately it’s got to be an obsession, day and night, relentlessly pursued to completion.  As far as I can tell that is how the Nauhaus got here and is continuing to grow.