I have some thoughts about Earthships, most of which are good thoughts.
But, I also have some questions. Here is an excerpt from Earthship Village Ecologies:
“The building is built from 45% recycled materials... thus starting the construction of the building with a negative carbon footprint. Discarded materials take the place of new materials that require energy to produce. Also, once used, discarded materials, would have taken energy to dispose of. There is no energy required to reuse existing materials. This further contributes to a negative carbon foot print at the birth of the building.”
So, the premise of the Earthship is to not only create a home that is completely self-sufficient and “off the grid” but to change a cultural mindset with regard to how we live and interact with the environment around us. The principles behind Earthships are at least in part trying to get us to actually consider our environment on a daily basis – to not leech off of it, but cohabitate in it. That’s awesome. It’s a philosophy that I am definitely drawn to if there is a practical way of doing that AND living a normal life within society. It seems as if Earthships are at least one method of doing just that.
But, let’s take this model as far as we can. Let’s create a scenario where Earthships have successfully changed the mindset of America and ALL new homes being built are being built with discarded materials under the Earthship model. If Earthship succeeds, then construction companies would seldom go to lumber yards for materials opting, instead, to go to the dump. Lumber manufacturing companies would go out of business (not all, but a lot, I’m sure) all the way down to the very lumber jacks that harvest the wood for lumber. All of the energy we spend on creating the materials we use for building most homes today would be gone. Done away with.
What happens then? Where do all of those people who are out of work go? Would Earthship builders be able to find discarded materials to build homes with if no one is making those materials to discard anymore? I realize that car manufacturers would still be creating cars and likely using rubber to make tires and tires would still be discarded so Earthships would still have foundations and most of their walls. But, would the supply meet the demand? And if not what would happen?
I think that some savvy, business-minded person would see that there is a demand without a good supply and a new industry would blossom. But, at that point, would the Earthship ideal be dead? Because now tire manufacturers are needing to make more tires because discarded tires aren’t meeting the needs and so increasing the carbon footprint that Earthship is attempting to get rid of.
I do realize that my hypothetical scenario is somewhat unrealistic because the idea that the mindset of America would be changed in such a way is almost foolish. Too many Americans are too set in their ways and are too drawn to shiny, sexy things. (Which, in my opinion Earthships are not – organic? Yes. Sexy? No.) But, posing the question does make me wonder whether Earthship is actually the answer?
My conclusion is that it is a step in the right direction and that we should walk down this right path until it becomes wrong. But, Future be warned…Eartships might help decrease the carbon footprint and dependency on international energy corporations in the relatively near future, but in the long run will likely create another problem set in and of itself.
These are just my thoughts. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic.
