Houses built out of foam sandwiches are both eco-friendly and strong enough to withstand earthquakes.  Meet the SIP, or Structural Insulated Panel–a thick layer of foam insulation pressed between two sheets of plywood or oriented strand board.

SIP homes are so airtight that the EPA has waived its blower door test requirement for SIP houses.  Because the amount of insulation is consistent throughout the panel, SIP walls have better insulating qualities than traditional walls with fiberglass insulation applied onsite.  SIP homeowners can save up to 60% in energy costs.

For those who prefer natural materials, SIPS with a straw core made from renewable agricultural waste are available, but the foam insulation outperforms the straw.  The foam is 98% air, free of ozone-depleting CFCs, manufactured using heat and steam, recyclable, and “requires only a small amount of petroleum to produce,” according to the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA).  SIPA asserts, “The average SIP home saves nineteen times the energy it took to make the EPS insulation in the first year of installation.”

The versatile SIP can be used for walls, roofs, or flooring.  Because SIP homes require no structural lumber, they use far less wood than a traditionally framed home.  The trees used in the oriented strand board are fast-growing and harvested young, so no old-growth lumber is used.

SIPs are prefabricated and custom measured for each project.  SIP manufacturers often recycle their waste foam into other products.  The panels install easily and produce little construction waste.

A SIP building costs about the same as a traditional structure.  The SIPs themselves are more expensive, but the cost of labor is less.  Homeowners are often pleased to see how quickly their SIP homes take shape.

With SIPs, you get energy efficiency, waste reduction, and resource conservation–not bad for a foam sandwich.

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Up a winding dirt drive, emerging out of blooming meadows…three normal-looking houses–passive solar homes that are the start of a community where both individuality and sustainability can flower.

At White Hawk Ecovillage, living sustainably isn’t just the latest hype; it’s an everyday experience.  Green communities are not some bastion of exclusivity to which only the patchouli-scented and sanctimonious are admitted.  Now sustainable living is fully accessible to Joe Schmoe…er, rather…Joe Italiano.

Joe Italiano, father of two, perfectly normal American male, and ecovillage resident:  “Sustainable living shouldn’t be hard, and it isn’t.  It’s about simplicity, and at a place like White Hawk, learning from your neighbors.”  He notes how his neighbors are experimenting with green roofs and rainwater harvesting.  “It’s a living laboratory, so it’s easy to pick up information about what you might want to try next.”

Joe shares his 1000-square-foot home at White Hawk with his two young children and wife Julie Boerst.  “Our home and our hot water are heated with one on-demand water heater connected to a radiant heating system,” she says.  “Water for washing hands is used a second time to flush the toilet.  Both of these solutions are simple and low-cost.  Green living can and should be attainable for everyone.”

Everyone including the cable guy.  Steven Woinoski climbs ladders by day for the local cable company, and he’s the first to admit that he’s not wealthy in terms of dollars.  “We are technically low-income by government standards, so we are proof that a low-income family can live well in an ecovillage.”  Woinoski’s home is constructed from energy-efficient structural insulated panels (or SIPs) and sided with locally harvested hemlock.

From the beginning, the founding members of White Hawk Ecovillage wanted to make their community affordable and accessible.  Looking at the other available opportunities for green living in community, they saw that most people are easily edged out of pricey eco-developments.  At White Hawk, residents can design their own homes and put in sweat equity to lower the cost.  “We loved taking the lead in designing our home because it saved us money, and that’s important because we’re a one-income family.  We have also completed much of the finish work ourselves,” notes Joe Italiano.

The neighborhood at White Hawk includes thirty homesites clustered around a pedestrian walkway that encircles a common recreation area.  The developed area is about ten acres, with the remaining 110 acres of the property available to residents for hiking, farming, and any common projects they dream up, like solar showers.  Laura Woinoski appreciates the benefits of raising children in a green community.  “It’s a wonderful place for children to really prosper…like the old days when we’d just explore for hours!”

Seven children from three families play in the Woinoskis’, living room in front of a sunny expanse of south-facing windows.  “It’s such a relaxed and nice feeling here,” says Julie Boerst.  “At-home parents don’t have to guzzle gas or cram kids in the car in order to socialize.  Beyond the obvious ecological benefits, I cannot overstate the social benefits of living in a green community.”

Outside, chickens range freely, far beyond their community-built coop.  Organic gardens have popped up at White Hawk, along with compost piles and a playground.  The residents of White Hawk Ecovillage are looking forward to learning and playing with their new neighbors.  Will you be one of them?  For more information, visit http://www.whitehawk.org.

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