RE: 10 Reasons Why EarthShips Are Totally Awesome!
I really think this is a great solution to many of the issues people face in todays society, but on a large scale (ie. every citizen of the US), I don't know if it's the most practical. The reason I say this is because I believe people have become so comfortable in the way they live, that it would be difficult to convince them to transition to an earthship, or any other off-grid home, without an urgent reason or strong incentive.
I think the next step here would be to convince people with urgency that living off the grid is something that is neccessary (not optional) for the future of their progeny and the progeny of earth, then work to find practical ways with which the average citizen living in a suburb/city can go about transitioning to such a way of life.
Maybe the idea can be proposed to certain local governments who are willing to listen, that way governmental organizations can make arrangements in town/city design and planning to accomodate for earthships and similiar off-grid housing, though unfortunatley I doubt any local or federal instituion in the United States would seriously consider supporting off-grid housing seeing that it threatens the very structure of society as we know it. Just my two cents. Peace.
Diamonofmankind! nice name ;! thanks for posting this.. These are great questions and ones that we could talk about for a while actually!
I cant pick up on all your points right now but i'd like to respond to a few of them.
You said "I believe people have become so comfortable in the way they live it would be difficult to convince them to transition to an earthship, or any other off-grid home, without an urgent reason or strong incentive."
So one of the reasons i created Earthship Karuna was not only to demonstrate a way of building that is sustainable and good for the environment.. BUT also to show that you can live in real LUXUARY at the same time. My Earthship feels more comfortable to me than even some of the best hotels i have stayed in! Whenever i leave i miss this amazing space a lot.
I have a lovely kitchen! It has a blender and grinder. I have a 5 star energy efficient fridge that only uses 100 Watts. In the bathroom i have my washing machine for laundry and even a really nice Jacuzzi! The Jacuzzi fills up most days with boiling hot water from the solar water heater and doesn't cost a penny to use as its also powered by my solar photovoltaic panels. The bathroom is tiled in gorgeous artwork that looks just beautiful.
I have a little office with my computer, printer etc. I also have a good cordless hoover ( A nice Dyson) that works well with almost no power drain..
Basically, i have more or less everything that people consider quite luxurious but all flipped on its head since its all sustainably harvested. In fact... if i DONT have a nice hot bath at night its almost a waste since the water is all hot and ready to go after a day's sun..
I could go on but i think you get the idea.. ;-)
There are many ways to build.. and i think you are quite right that not everyone can do this.. especially right now, and especially using the standard model of single houses. It Is a little tricky to design something that is 'High Rise' with Earthship Biotecture, but it can REALLY be done. I have my own ideas for incredible larger scale structures that could accommodate 100's of people. There are images around of similar ideas that basically all loook really nice and function incredibly well. They would be well suited to rural areas where there is no infrastructure. I never reccomend building Earthships in cities! Im my view cities are for WOrk and play! Home should be out of the big cities. So Earthships can be built almost anywhere which means that you actually can open up vast areas of land that would be otherwise considered useless. When you take this approach you can also snap up land at very low prices.. In USA they bought quite a lot of land in the mountains of Taos for around $150 USD . it had no major road or any access for large vehicles. No power or water lines.. Now they have a nice community up there called REACH .
This happens not through government but through individuals taking initiative and just doing it! This is really taking a leap out of the system.. and so the most effective way forward is to use the powers of modern age networking and communications to manifest amazing things without centralised control or decision making.
SO i hope that helps a bit! I will write more soon in other posts that will cover these kinds of things.. Lots to say !
you flag me. your video all copyright. your photos all copyright. don't flag go on. note. you crazy dog.