On May 12, 2008, a major earthquake registering 7.9 on the Richter scale toppled buildings, killed scores of people, and reminded all of us of the importance of appropriate earthquake-safe building technologies in earthquake-prone areas in California and around the world. When communities rebuild, there is public pressure to build earthquake-safe structures, but also an opportunity to rebuild with environmentally friendly construction methods. Our guests on today’s show work in the field of straw bale construction, which is said to combine both earthquake-safe construction and environmentally friendly building technologies.