No longer the domain of students and crunchy hippies, shipping container housing has moved from dystopian concept art to sexy living space.

The United States imports more than it exports, and ports are overrun with shipping containers- which happen to hold tremendous potential for long-term housing solutions. But most attempts to turn the blocky metal behemoths into homes have resulted in houses that call to mind passing through Newark.

SG Blocks is changing that though, creating some amazing modern dwellings that aren’t out of place in the hippest design circles. Recycling the existing structures is Earth-friendly, too. SG Blocks co-founder David Cross told CNN:

“These containers weigh about 9,000 pounds, and it takes about 9,000 kilowatt hours of energy to melt down 9,000 pounds of steel,” Cross said. “We modify that existing piece of steel with approximately 400 kilowatt hours of energy input. [That's a] 95 percent energy footprint reduction.”

There are other major benefits. Shipping container housing can reduce construction time by half. Cost estimates vary- some speculate that pricing runs equivalent to traditional “stick frame” homes. Others indicate a savings of at least 15%.

Another benefit is durability- the homes are stronger than their wood-framed counterparts, and termite resistant, too. Around 18 million shipping containers are currently in use worldwide.

[Image: SG Blocks]

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During this transition period the Obama team has been examining all of the Bush Administration’s policies to see which can easily be reversed to basically give them the biggest bang for their political buck. While much attention is being placed around things like stem cell research and reproductive rights there is another bunch of policies being looked at that could make a big difference to the environmental movement. As Ceci Connolly and R. Jeffrey Smith with the Washington Post wrote today

The president-elect has said, for example, that he intends to quickly reverse the Bush administration’s decision last December to deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. “Effectively tackling global warming demands bold and innovative solutions, and given the failure of this administration to act, California should be allowed to pioneer,” Obama said in January.

As well Obama appears to want to show that politics must not interfere with science

Before the election, Obama told others that he favors declaring that carbon dioxide emissions are endangering human welfare, following an EPA task force recommendation last December that Bush and his aides shunned in order to protect the utility and auto industries.

Robert Sussman, who was the EPA’s deputy administrator during the Clinton administration and is now overseeing EPA transition planning for Obama, wrote a paper last spring strongly recommending such a finding. Others in the campaign have depicted it as an issue on which Obama is keen to show that politics must not interfere with scientific advice.

While reports like this are probably the first of many to come it does provide an interesting look at how the Obama Administration will go about making their changes; and where.

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