Monday, Feb. 26, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
While straw didn't protect the three little pigs from the big bad wolf, environmentalists in Southern Nevada are urging builders to use it as an energy-efficient and inexpensive housing material.
UNLV's Environmental Studies Program and Nevada Power Co., through a grant from the state, will present a three-day workshop showing how to build with straw bales.
The March 15-17 workshop costs $125 per person. Participants receive a 200-page workbook, refreshments and lunch. Registration is limited to 35 people. For more information, call Jan McAdams, 598-5090 or 895-4440.
The program at Nevada Power's West Sahara Avenue office is intended for developers and owner-builders who are interested in nontraditional building methods.
Workshop leader David Eisenberg is author of the book, "The Straw Bale House." Workshop participants will help build a 12-foot-square straw bale demonstration project in the Nevada Power parking lot during the weekend.
"This partnership between UNLV and the community is an excellent example of the attempts we are making to shift practices in Southern Nevada toward things that make environmental sense, to more sustainable practices," said Professor James Deacon, director of the Environmental Studies Program.
Two Environmental Studies students are helping organize the workshop with advice from faculty. Allie Smith is assisting with seminar coordination and Darlene Cartier is developing a comprehensive bibliography of available literature on straw bale construction.
Among the reasons for the growing popularity of building with straw: as an agricultural byproduct, it is inexpensive; it insulates; it resists fire, pests and earthquakes; and it stacks securely.
More than 150 straw bale homes exist in the United States, with more on the drawing boards, especially in the Southwest, Deacon said.
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