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Renewable can be defined as "able to be restored by nature". The concept of renewable energy is one that seems common sense on the surface, but then it seems like some industries are touting their sources as renewable. We have to question whether or not they truly are renewable. Wind is one resource that seems like an obvious choice for some locations. It is completely generated by nature. Some places on the planet are located where wind is in abundance. For those communities, harnessing the power of wind to create electricity to power the town is a great opportunity. I reviewed the write-up on www.buildinggreen.com regarding the case study the rebuilding of Greensburg, Kansas' as a community powered by wind. The community was decimated by a tornado in 2007 and within 3 years rebuilt as a town powered by the Greensburg Wind Farm (created by John Deere Renewables). I also looked at the town's website: http://www.greensburggreentown.org/ for more information. The town worked together from the initial outset of rebuilding with a sustainable vision.

In our class, we were introduced to a relatively new material from the Portuguese company Amorim Isolamentos, rigid expanded corkboard insulation. http://www.amorim.com/en/cor_neg_isolamentos.php Their website claims that the expanded corkboards are 100% natural, renewable raw material with "unlimited durability with no loss of its characteristics". I am naturally skeptical. However, the recyclability of the product may make up for my skepticism. Cork has been known for years in the wine industry, and this company has been creating wine corks for years. The technical specifications of the insulation product are on the surface impressive, with apparent dimensional stability. However, the website does not offer how the product was tested or even case study examples of where the product has been used. From what I can tell, the cork itself is not glued together like in traditional cork floors, but is subjected to steam that expands it. I found another resource on BG about the same material. http://www2.buildinggreen.com/blogs/expanded-cork-greenest-insulation-material. This blogger had much more information regarding the technical specifics about the process and even the fire rating (in Europe only) of the material. It looks like the product was highlighted in a few recent trade shows (Metamorphosis 11/8-12/1/2013 and Concreta 10/22/2013). I look forward to reading more about it and seeing it in use.