Surprisingly, rice is not a newcomer to America’s heartland. The first crop was planted in the colonies in the early 1700s. The two largest, Arkansas and California, have about two million acres in production. But harvesting rice leaves something behind: a tremendous amount of straw.
Want to know more? If you’re curious about straw bale construction, find out more from the California Straw Bale Building Association at www.strawbuilding.org
Bet you didn’t know… America’s Heartland host Paul Ryan has an interest in earth-friendly construction and energy-efficient buildings. In fact, he lives in a passive-solar house that is situated so that the winter sun floods its more than 40 windows but the summer sun passes overhead which helps the house stay cooler. He also lives part-time in an adobe house in southern Arizona. Because of its small size (barely 600 square feet) and its thick walls it tends to stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, helping keep energy costs down.
