Kelly Lerner has earned an award for her work introducing energy efficient straw-bale construction to China. In her book Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green-House, she tells the story of Matts Myhrman and Judy Knox, pioneers of the straw bale revival, when the couple used densely packed bales of waste straw to build their highly insulated, thick-walled home in Tuscon, Arizona. It's not quite as easy as stacking a few bales here and there, but with a little work and preparation it is worth the finished result which is both beautiful and sustainable. Lerner broke it down step by step in Myhrman and Knox's Case Study in Natural Remodeling. First the home's existing concrete block walls were wrapped (by stacking them into place) with the straw bales, using wire to hold them tightly to the walls. The bale walls were then covered with a little metal roof to ensure that water would not find its way between the bale and block walls. Then the artistry began: plastering and detailing the walls. Neither cement nor wire mesh was used on the exterior walls of the house; instead earth plaster was used with a white lime plaster finish, transforming their home into a desert oasis . So along with a well insulated home, Myhrman and Knox are perfect examples of remodeling sustainably but reusing a product that would normally be considered waste.