New Single Release in Japan.
My Times
| June 25, 2001 |
New Single Release in Japan.
My Times
This week's song of the week is my first single on
Nick Wood
and Simon Lebon's Syn Records released this week in Japan. (Syn)
The song was written and produced by Michael Becker, a regular collaborator on Syn's commercial music projects and songwriter for such artists as Maxi Priest and Peter Frampton.
It was recorded in March of this year for the latest Kirin Beer commercial and will be followed by the release in Japan of my one and only solo album, One Moment in Time, this coming September.
You can hear the opening chorus on the Victor
Entertainment website.
If you have a Mac and can set your
keyboard to Japanese, the text will look even stranger!
According to a US Department of Energy study from 1995 , homes built using Straw
Bales stacked like bricks are seriously more energy efficient than those made with
wood and or bricks in cold or hot climates.
In addition to that they are virtually
earthquake proof and should last 100's of years!
| Straw is a viable building alternative, plentiful and inexpensive. Straw-bale buildings boast superinsulated walls (R-50), simple construction, low costs, and the conversion of an agricultural byproduct into a valued building material. Properly constructed and maintained, the straw-bale walls, stucco exterior and plaster interior remain water proof, fire resistant, and pest free. Because only limited skill is required, a community house-raising effort can build most of a straw-bale house in a single day. This effort yields a low-cost, elegant, and energy-efficient living space for the owners, a graceful addition to the community, and a desirable boost to local farm income. - U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy April 1995 |
In fact it will still cost about the same per square foot to build a Straw Bale house as it does for a traditionaly constructed home. The savings come in heating and cooling costs which could be as much as 60% lower per year. And that would mean much lower bills and of course less energy wasting with many benefits to the environment, not the least of which would be to the millions of poor trees we slaughter every year!
A typical 2000 sq ft house costs about $70 per sq ft.
Simple Straw Bale buildings can
cost as little as $5.00 a square foot.
| Straw has been used for centuries by builders who recognized its structural integrity. A piece of straw is simply a tube made of cellulose. Tubes are recognized as one of the strongest structural shapes. |
Straw Bale homes are currently fighting their way through the strong business community
bias of our local city building codes and Insurance companies.
Let's hope this
brilliant answer to so many of our housing problems can be taken advantage of!
Trust me, I'm a clown...Ouchy" |