Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 7:23 PM

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 7:23 PM

thoughts on the use of plastic

Hi Redwood

I thought I should share a few more thoughts about our use of plastic with you. Our culture uses plastic and being part of the culture we can not avoid it. I do feel it is important to limit its use were possible. This is not easy since it is everywhere: we line our cars and paint our houses with it. For good reason: it has many virtues: strong, light , flexible and water and rot resistant. Most of the domes we make are used for basic shelter and I think we can feel good about this use. If our customer was to say build buy or rent a small wooden shelter I believe the harm to our earth would be greater. Think of all the plastics and other materials used. The shingles are petroleum based, the paint is plastics, the solvents are petroleum based, carpets are plastic, etc. There is also the use of other materials such as wood, etc. Another way is to examining the weight of the shelter and all the materials used. Take this small house I live in, it hugely massive and in constant decay, termites, sun, water and wear and tear. To live in one of our domes my footprint would be much smaller. The waste produced in building one of our 20′ domes will fit in 1/2 of a shopping bag. They have been known to last 9 plus years in part shade. When they do finely brake down from the sun they sequestering their carbon in a landfill which is unlike the carbon of gasoline which ends up contributing to global warming.

Sincerely

Bob Gillis