[Cob] cob and earthquakes

[Jennifer Hileman-Reinhart]

I have read and heard about a home in New Zealand, I think there is 
info in The Hand Sculpted House, that was one of the few buildings left 
standing after a major earthquake hit.  I think that the idea behind 
cob is that it is a monolithic building structure and if you have good 
long straw and and enough mass via thick walls firmly attached to a 
foundation, the building stops being bits and pieces of materials and 
really takes on a life of its own.

The tensile and shear strength of something built well seems phenomenal 
to me.

-jenn



Although insecticide use in the U.S. increased more than tenfold since 
1945 to date, crop losses to insects have nearly doubled during this 
period.

- David Pimintell, Ph.D., Cornell University