Air abrasive machines were originally designed for the dental industry; but having a mouthful of unsavory grit became disconcerting to the patient, and the dental use quickly gave way to factory applications such as cutting carheaterfanrelay glass and quartz and finishing mass-produced, hardened steel parts. The American Museum of Natural History first applied precision sandblasting units to fossils in the 1960s, and, as word spread of their versatility, most paleontology labs around the world found this tool indispensable.

In 2002, the Denver group teamed up with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to build a home that generates a portion of its own electricity from sunlight using photovoltaic modules. Habitat also has collaborated with the Buildings Technology Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a research carheaterfanrelay and development group focused on promoting energy-efficient and environmentally sound building technologies, and the U.S. Department of Energy''s Building America program, which has built more than 14,000 homes with energy-efficient and affordable features. An initiative in Louden County, Tennessee, fostered Habitat''s construction of several Zero Energy Buildings. Structural insulated panels in the floors, walls and ceiling create a tight building envelope and provide insulation, allowing a smaller air conditioner to be installed. A heat-pump water heater saves about 60 percent in water heating energy costs. Solar-electric panels installed by the Tennessee Valley Authority provide power to the house and reduce demand on the utility grid. Some Habitat affiliates have begun to take their homes to even greener heights by incorporating more environmentally responsible building materials.

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