The first of these organizations is Earthship biotecture. Earthships are a concept created by Michael Reynolds, an expert in sustainable living. He calls his creation the “epitome of sustainable design and construction.” An earthship is a passive solar house that is built into the earth and made out of natural and recycled materials. The walls are made of tires and recycled bottles and cans, and are designed in such a way that heat from the sun is stored so that the house can maintain a homeostasis much like the earth does with thermo mass. Water is collected via precipitation and filtered/ treated before used for practical purposes, including watering the indoor vegetable garden. The house is run on electricity that is harvested from the sun and the wind. It is designed to be as eco-friendly and independent as possible, costing about roughly the same as a conventional home. The only difference is that you would no longer have to pay for utility bills such as heating and electricity. The organization also has much cheaper and simpler models for mass production to be applied to third world countries and basically anyone in need.
The second organization researched was the New Earth Project. The project is a global sovereignty movement that takes the solution to societies problems to the extreme. They basically want to restart civilization and implement new communities, institutes, and retreats in various locations around the world to promote a healthier future for humanity that is more aligned with nature. Their manifesto is: “health sovereignty, regeneration of environment, primacy of peace, justice & liberty, protection of indigenous and cultural wisdom, harmonization of global commerce with sustainability, elimination of all threats posed by wmd & nuclear weapons, the cultivation and appreciation of all spiritual & cultural values, the establishment of ethical and accountable governance worldwide, the advancement of our education & new modalities for learning, furtherance of all individual freedoms, rights & responsibilities, elevation of beauty, artistic expression and human creativity, the restoration of honest and open debate in our media, the safe-harbouring of breakthrough medical cures, protection of technological advancements, the promulgation of free energy, economic reform."
I personally think both of these concepts are exactly what we as a collective whole need to start looking towards if we want continue to live harmoniously on this planet. With our population growing exponentially and our resources being drained more and more, it is vital for us to slow down our consumption and to live a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
--Kyle Espenshade
[Editor's note: also check out Kyle's music here.]
