Episode 4: Surprise CO2 Savings

Is it enough to build sustainably or do we need to adopt a regenerative approach?  Where sustainability focuses on reducing negative impacts, a regenerative approach broadens the paradigm to include repair. 

Clearly thoughtful design that reduces environmental impact when we build is critical but can we also, must we also, include repairs to the harm to the natural world that has already been incurred?  Is this possible?  Yes.  Repair is not only possible but is important to restore the health of the planet and our own family’s health as well.

Consider the common hemp plant.  First spun into a usable product at least 50,000 years ago, 40,000 years before the Mesopotamian or Egyptian civilizations.  Hemp is an immensely versatile plant that has been used in everything from clothing, rope and paper to food and biofuel.  It is one of the fastest growing plants.  Needs less land to grow, uses less water than cotton, and requires no pesticides.  Not only that, but hemp also rehabilitates the soil where it grows, draws out toxins, and has been used for environmental cleanup. 

Hemp is not only easy to grow, takes less resources, is environmentally friendly, but it also improves the lives of the farmers through reduced chemical and pesticide use, leading to healthier communities and a healthier environment.  Hemp products, clothing, textiles, food, are not only non-toxic, but when hemp enters the waste stream it biodegrades naturally, returning nutrients to the soil.

When talking hemp it’s important to differentiate between industrial hemp and medicinal hemp.  They are the same plant, but they are farmed in completely different ways.  Hemp produced for fabric and other industrial products uses the stalk.  Hemp for medicinal purposes uses the flowers.  Industrial hemp grows like a weed, uses very little water and is very disease resistant.  Industrial hemp can have 800,000 plants per acre whereas for medicinal it can be as low as 1600 plants per acre.  Further medicinal hemp consumes a lot of water and is fed a high chemical diet in hydroponic situations. 

Industrial hemp is not only extremely productive and environmentally safe but it repairs the environment at the same time.

So, what if we designed and built using the hemp plant as a model?  What if we built by prioritizing natural materials which were more environmentally friendly to produce, which reduced toxicity in our homes, created a healthier environment to live in as well as repairing the natural world around us?  What would those homes look like?

CarbonShack’s recently completed, Paraiso De Rocas Antiguas, employes these features of regenerative design.  The structure first and foremost works with the found landscape and natural features rather than altering them.  The home was partially built into the hillside to take advantage of the passive cooling qualities of the earth.  It was oriented to the North to take advantage of consistent natural light and was situated under an existing Live Oak tree in order to benefit from the shade the canopy offers.  This well-insulated structure was designed to reduce the need for energy and when energy is needed, this all-electric structure is powered by a solar array and battery to produce its own energy while removing the use of climate destructive fossil fuels. 

The building was designed and outfitted with natural materials to reduce indoor air pollution as well as the pollution that is a result of manufactured products.  Wood cabinets and furniture, hemp drapery and textiles, natural plaster which eliminated the need for off-gassing paints.  Water use was reduced by using low flow water fixtures.  Gray water allowed wastewater from shower and laundry to be distributed back into the landscape, recycling the water, reducing the need for municipal wastewater processing, and allowing the water to percolate naturally into the ground where it would refresh ground water and aquifers.  Composting is another regenerative strategy to reduce municipal waste processing and landfills while restoring nutrients to the landscape.  The site has raised vegetable beds powered by compost, and is planted with natives, a critical approach to restoring natural environments by providing seeds and nectar for native species who cannot survive on invasive plantings. 

Can we design and build homes that are comfortable and beautiful while regenerating and repairing the environment and our family’s health?  Yes, we can and we are doing that at CarbonShack. 

The construction industry uses three quarters of all the raw materials used by the United States, while buildings consume nearly 40% of energy in the country, more than both transportation and industrial sectors. Almost half of the greenhouse gas emissions stemming from buildings are due to materials production and the burning of fossil fuels. The process of construction creates a lot of waste, contributing between 30% and 40% of domestic landfill waste.