Thursday, September 23, 2010

Garbage Warrior

For 35 years, Architect Michael Reynolds has been developing and tweaking sustainable housing all over the globe. Garbage Warrior is a documentary about “Earthships” and its creator. This is a Six-part post. I hope you find time to watch them all. His story is truly inspirational. I have included the following 5 links below.




Part 2 of 6
Part 3 of 6
Part 4 of 6
Part 5 of 6
Part 6 of 6

Thursday, September 9, 2010

A method of burning less wood and creating more heat?

This is called the Rocket Mass Heater Stove.  As you will notice. It burns from bottom of inside a "U" shape.  The back of the "U" being much taller containing insulation warming effect, to create an upwards draft.  Venting and heating the rest of the system. This type of system has very small carbon foot print. It's chimney expels mainly steam as the wood gas is completely burned before leaving the system.  Here are 12 different stoves for you to take a look at.



This is a very easy way to burn small amounts of wood. It can be built in a day or two from easy to find materials. Don't forget to include a clean out.  Because this stove burns so cleanly it rarely needs to be cleaned. 

Thursday, September 2, 2010

What can we do if our water stops ?

This system could be build anywhere on the planet for next to nothing. What is it?  It is called a bio sand filter. Here is an introduction to the bio sand filter.  This system could be built quickly and proved clean water for a long time. Here is someone who has set up a collection system in their back yard using a rain barrel.




Why are we treating water with chemicals? We can all collect our own water and treat it on site. Ensuring clean and consistent water should be everyone s goal, or at least a small back up system for drinking and cooking water. Here is a small system and a demonstration on how to clean the sand filter system.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

What are some of the systems in an Earthship?

Reply to Shirleejo (Dated Sept 1,2010)

 


Shirleejo. Thank you for your question. This type of home an "Earthship" it was actually first developed in hot climates. However they are built all over the world. Buy controlling the airflow, sun direction and angle of the windows they can control the heating and cooling. Blinds are hung over the windows to provide shade. These kinds of homes have been constructed all over the world using cob or adobe. This is then plastered over the walls of the home to create a seal over the tires, bottles etc. My understanding is that you can smell the tires inside the home until this process has been completed. I have included this video to demonstrate some methods of cooling a house in a hot climate.  I hope this answers you question.