If you’re free Friday morning, you might want to hop on over to the Russell Senate Office Building to learn about the amazing, inexplicable, short‐​sighted market bias against straw‐​bale buildings and the need for the feds to do something about it. The Environmental & Energy Study Institute, the sponsor of this event,

Invites you to learn how the ‘new but old’ method of straw‐​bale construction can help address some of our most serious national policy challenges, such as record energy prices and unemployment, inadequate supply of affordable housing, the threat of climate change, and pressing needs in transportation and infrastructure funding. The modern building industry places heavy demands on the energy and transportation sectors. Straw is a locally‐​sourced, widely available, and renewable resource that builders, architects, engineers, and home owners are turning into affordable, safe, durable, and energy‐​efficient buildings in many climates. The following presenters will discuss the benefits of using this American invention, the regulatory barriers and institutional biases against straw‐​bale construction, and the role of the federal government in resolving these issues.

And that parable about the three little pigs? A PR smear spun by “Big Brick” no doubt.