Pioneering Ecobuilding Before It Was “Green”

In the Northwest in the 1990s, early pioneers in the construction field were coming together under the term “ecobuilding.” This was green building’s prehistory. James McDonald was one such ecobuilder. Increasingly sensitive to the toxic chemicals in conventional construction, he had become determined to build differently. This determination drove him to scrape together funding and undertake the Environmentally Responsible House.  From there he went on to construct Eugene’s first permitted Straw Bale and Rastra Block houses.