Fram construction/Public Domain
There is nothing new about using cork as an insulating material; Fridtjof Nansen lined the Fram with a foot thick layer of the stuff, and almost got to the North Pole in it, while Amundsen used the boat to get to the South Pole.
Cork is a completely renewable resource that we actually should use; the cork forests in Portugal provide habitat for the Iberian Lynx and the short-toed eagle. The land that the cork forests occupy is (or was until the crash) in demand for real estate and other developments; if the cork isn’t harvested the tree gets it.
© Alex Wilson
A world away in Vermont, Alex Wilson of BuildingGreen is renovating a farmhouse, and using only the greenest and healthiest of materials. Cork is certainly that. Alex writes:
There are a few downsides; it is not exactly local, having to take a transatlantic voyage. Alex agonized over this but in the end concluded that the virtues outweighed the distance. It is also expensive, three times the price of the extruded polystyrene it replaces. It’s not going to take over the market.
However it is a serious option for the seriously green builder. More at BuildingGreen where it may be behind a paywall; if you are in the industry it is worth the price of a subscription.
