like the U.S. to rebuild disaster regions with the same disaster-prone types of structures? Is it logical to invest billions of dollars of materials and energy in another doomed community by rebuilding the same structures on the flimsy foundation of what has already been torn to shreds by a hurricane, reduced to rubble by an earthquake or turned to ashes by fire? We must never forget that it is not the hurricane, earthquake or fire that causes the disaster, it is mainly the man-made structures and infrastructures.

        It is high time we utilize those timeless principles that work in harmony with the laws of aerodynamics, fire resistance, compression, gravity and monolithic response. The spin-off technologies from designing for the moon and Mars have proven able to weather extreme environments and natural disasters. The materials are fireproof and the aerodynamic forms naturally ride through hurricanes and tornados and resist earthquakes. Simple sandbags have been used to resist flooding for centuries, and now the technology exists for using on-site material not only for building homes and public buildings, but also for flood and erosion control. The U.S. could lead the way in developing and implementing these sustainable technologies that address the urgent needs of this new millenium.

Thangavelu: What measure should we take to foster these technologies?

Khalili: First, the International Building Code should take into account the projected 80 percent of the world's population who will be living in developing countries in the next 25 years and will be unable to afford highly manufactured building materials or timber. Any international code that omits technologies appropriate for these regions will be inapplicable internationally. Perhaps a totally different type of code, such as the performance code, will open the avenue to relevant building technologies, which can in turn create future business and technological improvement opportunities for the U.S.

        If existing codes do not allow for entry of new ideas, then some basic rethinking should go into code structures. Do we really want to look back on this millenium and say: "How stubbornly our engineers and officials fought for untenable structures, and how blindly we followed because our lives were swept up on a wave of panic, financial gain, insurance, tradition and resistance to change?"

        Watching the former Soviet Union fragment, we can be thankful that the U.S. still retains the flexibility to grow and adapt to today's needs and still has institutions that can nuture freedom and the pioneering spirit into relevant and useful new products and methods.

Thangavelu: What would be the impact of this new technology on building manufacturers' products, the job market and the mainstream?

Khalili: The computer industry was at first feared because it might eliminate great numbers of clerical jobs; however, once invested in, it created a giant industry. Likewise, the earth, ceramic, straw bale and alternative building industry in general has the potential of opening totally new business horizons and job opportunities. It will allow us, in the best American tradition of moving forward with new ideas, to create flourishing businesses with wiser resource management both nationally and globally.

        America's economic base is increasingly shifting from products to services and information, and the offspring of these technologies will produce environmentally friendly wealth.

Thangavelu: What potential opportunities do these technologies offer?


Khalili: The new millenium is offering great opportunities for creative solutions to pressing demands for sustainable building materials, technologies, design and regulatory practices. The accelerating increase in global population and natural and manmade disasters are wake-up calls to a wiser utilization of renewable resources. Development of advanced technologies, with an integrated focus on human and global needs, can be the main source of these creative solutions. It may take a long time to go through the system; meanwhile we can depend on the good old American entrepreneur to take a look at Cal-Earth's web site (www.calearth.org), take the next plane to Hesperia, California, and recognize the potential for turning the disasters of the last millenium into the fortunes of the new one.

       Nader Khalili, California architect and author, is the innovator of the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire System known as "ceramic houses," and is founder and director of the Cal-Earth Institute in Hesperia, California.

       Madhu Thangavelu is an adjunct faculty member of the University of Southern California School of Architecture and Department of Aerospace Engineering in the School of Engineering. Thangavelu is also the co-author of the recently published book The Moon: Resources, Future Development and Colonization (John Wiley and Sons) and is the vice-chairman for education of the Los Angeles section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thangavelu was first captivated by Khalili's ideas at the inaugural session of the International Space University, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1988, and has been following and assisting in the activities of Cal-Earth Institute since.