Prairie Chapel Ranch

[stevedeshazer]

Prairie Chapel Ranch is a 1583 acre (6.4 km²) estate located seven miles (10 km) northwest of Crawford, Texas. It is the home of President George W. Bush. Then–Governor Bush bought the land, which was a former turkey/hog farm, in 1999 shortly after earning a $14.3 million profit from the sale of the Texas Rangers. Based on fair-market land prices at the time the deal was closed for an estimated $1.3 million. When Bush, still President, stays there, the estate is known as the Western White House and it has also been called the "Texas White House".

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The land includes seven canyons and three miles (5 km) of frontage along Rainey Creek and the Middle Bosque River. It is a part of land settled in the mid-19th century by German immigrant Heinrich Englebrecht, who raised turkeys and hogs there and donated some of it to found the Canaan Baptist Church (the "Prairie Chapel").

Buildings on the land built by the Englebrechts were refurbished for new uses, such as Secret Service quarters and guest houses. Bush and his wife had David Heymann, then an associate professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, design a 10,000 ft² (930 m²) honey-colored native limestone single-level home on the site. Over half of that area is from a 10 foot (3 m) wide limestone porch that encircles the house. The house was built by members of a religious community from nearby Elm Mott, Texas and wasn't completed until after his inauguration.

The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet (100 m) deep in the ground. A 40,000 US gallon (151 m³) underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home. Photographs of the interior of the house indicate a sophisticated take on rough-hewn living, with generous English-style club chairs covered in what appears to be printed Fortuny linen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_Chapel_Ranch

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So Chimpy and Pickles are conservationists?

I have just a simple question for all the Edwards-bashers:

Why do the same standards not apply to Bush and his hog ranch?

[BrklynLiberal]

1. A few aerial shots

[Neshanic]

2. Well the LEED standard for reuse of water alone....you really want the answer?

Could it be possible that the Monkey Pen is as energy efficient and waterwise or more than the Edwardses?

That would be quite embarrassing I must say, quoting Ed Grimley.

[stevedeshazer]

3. Go ahead

If that is what it all comes down to...Bush's mansion is better than Edwards'.

[tanyev]

4. Accidental conservationists? Sounds like they wanted off the grid.

That will still be a nice place to live even after he accomplishes his goal of destroying society as we know it.