Patty Loew:
We begin this week with the legacy of Aldo Leopold and his challenge to minimize human impact on the environment. Today that challenge is being met with some very high tech solutions as "In Wisconsin" reporter Andy Soth discovered at America's greenest building in Baraboo.

Andy Soth:
It's known the world over as “The Shack.” The quiet retreat on the Wisconsin River built by Aldo Leopold. It represents for many a way of life that respects nature. And tries to have as little negative impact on it as possible. It was his time spent here at this simple shack that inspired Aldo Leopold to write the essays that became the Sand County Almanac and now the thoughts and values expressed in the book have become the inspiration for the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center.

Man:
This is actually the site where Aldo Leopold died in 1948.

Andy Soth:
Leopold died fighting a fire on a neighbor's farm. Here they keep alive his land ethic that Leopold summed up this way:

Voice, reading Leopold’s words:
We end, I think, at what might be called the standard paradox of the 20th century. Our tools are better than we are, and grow faster than we do. They suffice to crack the atom, to command the tides. But they do not suffice for the oldest task in human history, to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.

Buddy Huffaker:
Our vision really was to uphold and demonstrate Leopold’s concept of the land ethic.

Andy Soth:
I learned from the tour that this is no simple shack.

Woman:
This is a radiant floor system. The heat is set off of geothermal wells and then is used to heat the floor panels.

Andy Soth:
While Leopold cautioned about aspects of 20th century technology, the center makes use of plenty of 21st century tools.

Woman:
This is the source of our power here.

Andy Soth:
The solar array, the second largest in Wisconsin, produces enough power to operate the center and then some.

Andy Soth:
You're not off the grid.

Woman:
We're not off the grid. We're tied into the grid. On a day like this we're selling them power.

Andy Soth:
At the same time, some technology used is centuries old.

Woman:
We've used wood heat as a supplemental heat source in various areas throughout the building.

Andy Soth:
While burning wood does put particulate matter in the air, the center's location in the sparsely populated area makes wood a good choice.

Jeannine Richards:
For us out here in the country with a vast supply of wood on our own land around us, it's a decision that makes a lot of sense.

Andy Soth:
Much of the wood, some of it planted by Aldo Leopold, went into the construction.

Jeannine Richards:
They were sustainably harvested and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council for sustainable harvest.

Andy Soth:
If Aldo Leopold saw the challenge of living on land without spoiling it, then his legacy center succeeds, at least by one important measure.

Buddy Huffaker:
We didn't set out to be the greenest building in the world. We're the highest-rated Leed building now in the United States. At the time of the certification, we were the highest rated building in the world.

Andy Soth:
The building is officially rated as carbon neutral. It produces as much energy as it consumes.

Jeannine Richards:
It's really a showcase piece. We wanted to show what was possible.

Andy Soth:
The hope is that coming here inspires visitors to do what they can.

Buddy Huffaker:
We want them to walk away inspired that as an individual or as a family like the Aldo Leopold family. They can make a difference. A big difference. This really is possible. We can live on a piece of land without spoiling it.