30th Oct 2006
Earthships
The first time I saw an earthship, I was driving outside of Taos, New Mexico.
The earthship appeared as a small bump on otherwise flat terrain. But looking closer, I saw another bump, and another. It was a community of earthships.
Earthships are self-sufficient homes that generate their own heat from active solar systems, heat their own water with passive solar systems, grow their own food in indoor gardens along large south-facing windows, collect their own water from rain and snow, and treat their own waste and gray water. Michael Reynolds, the original architect for earthships, constructed earthships from recycled tires filled with dirt. The tires act as large bricks that form walls that are three-feet thick. They are considered autonomous dwellings, yet they are are usually found in communities, such as the developments outside of Taos.
With a concept of self-sufficiency so inspiring, what could the downsides be? While financing is available at two banks in Taos for local earthships, finding financing for a mortgage elsewhere may be difficult. Likewise, while zoning requirements are now met in Taos, an earthship may be difficult to build legally elsewhere. And reselling may also be awkward.
And then there is the larger issue of autonomy. Are human beings really that autonomous? Our utility systems connect conventional homes to a grid, but we are connected in familial relationships as well to one another. While the earthships in Taos are in developments, the concept of an earthship is to make each unit self-sufficient. And while we do want to decrease resource use, we don’t necessarily want to encourage a mentality of every family for itself.
