UC Davis Professor Michele Barbato explains why current fire-resistant homes still have a 50/50 chance of survival in a wildfire and how ancient earthen construction techniques hold the key to a truly fire-resilient future. Discover how compressed earth blocks can withstand extreme heat, drastically cut energy bills, and offer a sustainable solution to the intertwined housing, insurance, and climate crises.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
- Ignition-Resistant vs. Fire-Resilient: The critical difference and why it matters in a conflagration.
- Earthen Construction: Reinventing 10,000-year-old technologies (Adobe, Rammed Earth) for the modern world.
- Surviving the Fire Test: How compressed earth blocks get stronger after being exposed to 1800°F heat for hours.
- The Insurance Crisis: Why building more resiliently is essential to keeping communities insurable and mortgages available.
- Thermal Mass Magic: The science behind how earthen homes can slash heating and cooling bills by up to 70%.
- Hurdles to Adoption: The challenges with building codes, supply chains, and education that prevent mainstream use.
- A Path Forward: The steps needed to scale up production and make earthen homes affordable for everyone.
- From Earth to Mars: How this research is paving the way for building on other planets.
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