Straw Bale Houses and other "Green" Buildings

OK. I heard about straw bale houses from a friend's real estate website and then started looking for videos on youtube etc. Well, I found a whole bunch and I asked my friend if these homes were for real. (I haven't ever seen one in either California or Utah... well, actually, I haven't ever seen one anywhere except the internet.)

I was wondering if any of you know about these buildings and could give more details on:

• The cost vs. traditional homes
• What about Termites? Mold? Flooding, Decomposition???
• Where I might be able to see one of these homes first-hand (In Utah...)
• Where would you find Buyers who are looking for this type of home?
• How would this type of home fare in the resale market? (When 99.999% of the homes in your community are Frame or Brick.)

Thanks for the education. I asked my friend if he could tell me more about it and he said he thought that straw bale houses was someones idea of a joke that will not go away. (An Urban Myth?)

I would guess it is a bit more than that, since I have seen them on the internet, but I have also seen the Wyoming Jackalope online (and a statue in person, but never in real life...) so, there you go!