Several years ago, I decided that I needed to do something more in terms of contributing in a positive way to the environment of our planet. To make a long story short, I concluded that the best way to contribute was to literally "start at home." After doing some serious research, I began making plans to build an environmentally friendly strawbale house. My wife Cate and I bought an 8.5 acre piece of land outside of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and we began designing the house.