Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Natural Clay plaster for interior

I read this in a recent e-newsletter from Global Green USA. The good folks rebuilding New Orleans in a more sustainable methods. I'll probably get smacked on the wrist for posting their e-newsletter here, but maybe not. I'm not trying to steal their thunder or copywrite, just want to get people talking about it and to know more the lazy-man's way --aka answer my blog post for me.

I'm wondering if anyone has used this type of plaster in his/her home or has an opinion on it, especially on the bit about the charge humans are accustomed to being around in nature. I wonder if I would know I was experiencing it consciously or if I would just 'feel better'. I like that it's renewable, non-toxic and low-energy usage to create.

Green Product of the Month
Natural Clay Plaster

clay plaster Natural clay or earth based plaster for interior finishes including walls, ceilings, and bathrooms are natural, renewable, and non-toxic materials. The manufacturing process requires low energy usage. Plaster walls help to regulate temperature and sound within a home or office. In addition, natural lay or earth based plaster does not attract dust.

It is compatible with the "breathable" construction recommended for both historic and new buildings. Surrounding your interior environments with clay plasters, or paints, that produce Negative Ions will not only help neutralize the electromagnetic effect created by computers, appliances and synthetic plastics, but also will help eliminate static charge on walls and floors. Not only do your walls stay clean, but by using clay surface materials you are helping to filter air of pollen and dander. You surround yourself with the ''charge Humans are accustomed to when living in nature."

Negative ions are believed to produce biochemical reactions that increase levels of the mood chemical serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, and boost our daytime energy. Normal Ion count in fresh country air is 2,000 to 4,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter (about the size of a sugar cube). At Yosemite Falls, you'll experience over 100,000 negative Ions per cubic centimeter. On the other hand, the level is far below 600 per cubic centimeter in an office with computers.

3 comments:

Hayden said...

I'm planning to use a clay plaster for one of my rooms within the next month. The only one I've found so far that is commercially produced in the US is American Clay. Have you tried it since you posted this?

teagurl327 said...

Since I posted this blog entry I haven't tried the clay plaster. However, I have read something recently in the Science Times section of the NY Times saying how humans like being in environments that have negative ions. I'm thinking that clay plaster's "energy" may simply be that it naturally has negative ions. So you feel better with this kind of plaster than others because of this fact.

It could be completely unrelated but when I read the NY Times article it struck me as intertwined.

Here's the quote and the link to the article from Dec 18, 2007:

"It may sound suspiciously close to snake oil, but the newest promising therapy for SAD is negative air ionization. Dr. Terman found it serendipitously when he used a negative ion generator as a placebo control for bright light, only to discover that high-flow negative ions had positive effects on mood.

Heated and air-conditioned environments are low in negative ion content. Humid places, forests and the shore are loaded with them. It makes you wonder whether there is something, after all, to those tales about the mistral and all those hot dry winds, full of bad positive ions, that supposedly drive people mad."

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/health/18mind.html

greengirlscout said...

I have a love affair going with natural clay plaster. Every time I see it (American Clay seems like the best at this), I get goose bumps. My pupils dilate, my heart zings open, and I get an irresistible urge to hug the wall or whatever building part is finished in it. The first time I remember feeling this way was on New Year's day, 1986. I was hiking with friends in Ernst Tenaja at Big Bend National Park, Texas. The walls of this canyon were made up of layer upon layer of clay.
Something happens energetically that feels like healing.