[Strawbale] Strawbale Registry and other updates

[billc]

Hi folks,

I've been rather busy lately and haven't been getting as much time on 
the list as usual, so here's a somewhat belated update on the Straw 
Bale Building Registry and some of our other sites:

The number of listed structures in the Straw Bale Building Registry 
(http://sbregistry.greenbuilder.com/) in the US just hit 500 this 
past week - woo hoo!  Total listed in all countries is  now 1260 - 
not including an additional 110 in China that I recently learned of.

We know that those numbers are just a small fraction of the actual 
number of straw structures in the world. But they provide a good 
representative cross section and having the list has not only helped 
many find sympathetic providers of mortgages and insurance but also 
provides a critical base for research on the longevity of various SB 
construction methods.  If you know of anyone who has a strawbale 
structure, please encourage them to list - anonymously if they'd like 
- so we can get as accurate a picture of SB construction as possible.

Translation of the site into French is slow but underway.


Our http://StrawLocator.com site currently lists straw suppliers in 
some 16 locations (and three "bales wanted" listings), so if you're 
looking for a bale supplier please give it a check.  There's only one 
"specialized tool" listed at the moment (a stucco sprayer).  If you 
know of a good straw source, please encourage them to list - it's run 
entirely on the 'honor system': we simply ask that you send us a 
'tip' if you find or sell straw through a listing with us.


Our Sustainable Building Calendar (http://greenbuilder.com/calendar/) 
is free and self-service, and lists a wide array of upcoming 
workshops, tours, bale-raisings, lectures, trade shows, and other 
such events.  Let us know if we're missing any - or put it in 
yourself!  We especially like to have as many bale and plaster 
workshops listed as we can, 'cuz people love to get down and dirty!


Our online Sustainable Building Sourcebook 
(http://greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/) is currently undergoing 
transition into a reader-updateable "wiki" document.  We've found 
that the green building world is growing faster than our 
thinly-stretched staff can keep up, so we'll be inviting our readers 
to keep us up to date by editing the existing chapters directly and 
adding new ones.  We're quite excited about the prospects for this. 
If you're interested in becoming a moderator for one or more 
chapters, please let me know offlist.  We expect to roll out the 
changes in a month or two, depending on the workload demands of our 
paying clients.


Finally, and though we haven't had a chance to officially announce 
this online yet, we are now able to offer renewable-energy powered 
web hosting.  Contact me for details on switching over from your 
current web host.


-- 
Bill Christensen
<http://greenbuilder.com/contact/>

Green Building Professionals Directory: <http://directory.greenbuilder.com>
Sustainable Building Calendar: <http://www.greenbuilder.com/calendar/>
Green Real Estate: <http://www.greenbuilder.com/realestate/>
Straw Bale Registry: <http://sbregistry.greenbuilder.com/>
Books/videos/software: <http://bookstore.greenbuilder.com/>