We've often noticed that the push to be more 'eco-friendly' and 'green' often involves using regressive technology and practices in the name of 'saving the planet' and 'climate change.'
The BBC asked if more British homes should be made of straw because, you know, it's more environmentally friendly.
Should more British homes be built using straw? https://t.co/vQhHUPDWRE
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 2, 2024
Barbara Jones and her colleagues at Todmorden Learning Centre and Community Hub have hatched a plan to clad the college, built in the 1950s, in more than 1,600 sq metres of straw-stuffed panels - to better insulate it.
"We're going to make it a showcase," says Ms Jones, an expert on natural building materials.
The panels will be supplied by EcoCocon, a Slovakian firm that has appointed Ms Jones as one of its technical sales consultants. Each timber-framed panel is around 400mm thick and contains a mass of chopped straw - essentially, a slightly more high-tech version of the simple straw bales that have been used by some eco-friendly builders for decades.
Such solutions have been around for years and other firms are selling similar products, but, with rising demand for insulation and sustainability, EcoCocon is now targeting larger-scale projects. The question is whether straw, a millennia-old building material, can scale up to meet 21st Century ambitions.
Twitter/X users weren't too keen on the idea, though.
Did a wolf write this https://t.co/6JVdcPmhSq
— Erica Buist (@ericabuist) February 2, 2024
A big, bad wolf, perhaps?
We know who you are. pic.twitter.com/PCI5weh4Oh
— ׂׂૢ (@quanybinladenn) February 2, 2024
They can't fool us!
Your not slick pic.twitter.com/pThNvjpu1l
— 🦇 (@Shadowiscold) February 2, 2024
Everyone knows how straw houses turn out.
I'm pretty sure there's a story telling us not to
— --RN-- (@___R___N___ahah) February 2, 2024
Yes, there is.
And the big bad wolf said, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in”.
— Jimmy Walker (@JimmyWa76268102) February 2, 2024
Notice a theme here?
Looks like a Bon fire 🔥.
— Phoenician Tin (@phoeniciantin22) February 2, 2024
Yeah, doesn't seem to fire proof to us.
"Yes"
— Sean Gill (@GillsiesGoons) February 3, 2024
- Big Bad Wolf https://t.co/i6hsV3Tsvj pic.twitter.com/OySwxzPzmI
He's all for this plan.
You standing outside your straw house on the hottest day of the year https://t.co/aFTmvrmz39 pic.twitter.com/ZLPNE1zLhO
— Tall is her body 🇩🇲 (@verniejtweets) February 2, 2024
Pretty much.
Over 500 Quote Tweets, guess how many are making the same joke. https://t.co/S5mmmrVvDJ pic.twitter.com/G8wnFrHhjX
— Presuming Ed (@JamesOldham) February 2, 2024
All of them.
Not if you don’t want to make these people angry. https://t.co/rtBKzatjIU pic.twitter.com/01sPJrZpDF
— Robot of Death (@GrahamWard68) February 2, 2024
We don't want to make them angry.
Wow now the brits want to go back to 1170 https://t.co/wG8SBTiRtO pic.twitter.com/OlmBjmNFPZ
— Highway Unicorn🦄 (@ilovearsenal02) February 2, 2024
But 'progressive' or something.
more than a little sus https://t.co/eUg7zMRWar pic.twitter.com/FNYJDKolQQ
— Josh Evans (@itsjoshevans) February 2, 2024
Just a little sus, isn't it?
Straw.....houses...🤦♀️🤡🌎 https://t.co/jv0rQPHWm0 pic.twitter.com/sAzcM8G5FX
— Rachel Forsyth (@snarkybitch3000) February 2, 2024
Yeah, those straw houses didn't do so well, did they?
Arsonists be all like https://t.co/Ch7sUrMnJ2 pic.twitter.com/ypAUnpTeoB
— ___//\/\/ (@nutts2020) February 2, 2024
Yep.
The wolves typing this: https://t.co/QEKigBM9W1 pic.twitter.com/M7vn9N2Lw1
— OKSOTHICK. (@SophAintSayIt) February 2, 2024
Such an adorable face, tho.
Wolf jokes aside, straw used to be used as insulation in Britain.
— Orgogg 🦉 (@orgogg) February 2, 2024
It’s a nightmare if it gets damp and it’s a very flammable.
And things like to live in it. https://t.co/6IIjUyy8tX
Problems abound. Just like with EVs and their batteries.
you know there's a fire code
— laggo (@laggy_computer) February 2, 2024
and the only building exempt from it is the modern globe theatre https://t.co/LjmSRsDbNH
A little bit of trivia for you, too.
Our government failed to ensure homes had adequate fire safety, which led to the Grenfell tragedy. Absolutely not a terrible idea to make houses under this government out of an even more flammable material. Not going to be an issue at all. https://t.co/iTZOc62dKA
— I don't want to be Bronk (@durrellb) February 2, 2024
It's fine. This is fine. Everything is fine.
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