Building the way

Guided tours of “Green Buildings” will be held on Sunday, Aug. 28, in conjunction with the Southern Energy and Environment Expo. Tour goers will see some of the most innovative and creative buildings in WNC using passive and active solar design principles, energy and resource efficient construction and natural building techniques. A range of homes and building, from modest to luxurious, will be presented demonstrating how to live comfortably using earth friendly technologies. The green building tour departs from the expo center on Sunday at noon and returns by 5 p.m. $5.

Whether it’s making your own vegetable fuel or building a backyard hydropower operation, the annual Southern Energy and Environment Expo to be held Aug. 26 through 28 will expose attendees to a wealth of earth-friendly workshops and exhibits.

The expo is held at the Western N.C. Agricultural Center outside Asheville at exit 40 off Interstate 26. The annual event showcases renewable, sustainable energy sources and technologies, from low-emission vehicles to do-it-yourself energy systems.

According to event organizers, the expo gives the public an opportunity to explore first-hand “the practical and presently available options for utilizing clean, renewable sources of energy, protecting our natural environment and working towards a sustainable economy for the region.”

More than 6,000 people attended last year’s expo, which is the largest event of its kind in the Southeast.

A boundless number of workshops highlight do-it-yourself solutions to solving the world’s energy crisis one household at a time. You can learn how to make your own biofuel from vegetable waste or ethanol from corn. You can build a mini-hydro power operation in a backyard creek or put up a windmill.

Solar workshops run the gamut from installing advanced solar cells on the roof to passive solar techniques for heating water and operating solar cookers.

The expo places an equal emphasis on sustainable living in general, with workshops on collecting rain for your water demands, overhauling your business to be environmentally friendly or signing up for programs to buy blocks of green-power from your power company.

Green building is another major focus of the expo. Learn about earth-friendly construction products like cordwood, or how to simply incorporate the earth itself as a building medium. Everything from thermal slab floors to improving problem crawl spaces are covered in the plethora of building related workshops, as well as sundry techniques for making homes more energy efficient, including old tricks and new devices.

The politics of energy has its place in the expo as well. Learn about tax breaks available for energy efficient homes or alternative fuel cars, or help plot environmental strategies to change what’s wrong with today’s energy policies. On the lighter side, you can explore inner power systems, from feng shui principles to the energy of stone circles and megaliths.

Don’t like workshops? Meander around some 200 displays, demonstrations and booths and talk one-on-one with exhibitors sharing solutions for utilizing clean, renewable sources of energy.

Hours are Friday from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 pm and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the expo is $6 for adults; $3 per day for ages 13-21 and children under 12 free. For more information go to www.seeexpo.com or call the Environment and Conservation Organization at 828.696.3877.