"Live the change you want to see in the World"

I managed to stumble across this web page as I was researching for another topic.  This website is created by a couple (Patrick and Mel) who have dropped everything in their 'normal' lives to go and live in the Apache County Arizona (the high desert) and start a new simple life that requires as little energy as possible and creates a self-sustaining lifestyle.

What Patrick and Mel are doing:

• Currently living in a travel trailer with plans to build their own small, simple homestead.
• Plans for an off grid solar powered house. It is important to them that the house is as energy efficient as possible as this is the major factor in consumption.
• Built a passive solar greenhouse.
• Solar design barn with rabbits and chickens.  They have plans to expand the barn and include goats and pigs.
• They produce their own food with a garden with raised beds.
• Rely entirely on solar power system for all energy needs.
• They manage all their own waste by reusing as much as they can and transforming.
• In the process of building a freshwater well.

Patrick and Mel's guiding principles consist of things that the western world could really learn from.  These principles are outlined on their website as:

• Live simply.
• Be happy and at peace.
• Start with the basics.
• Make do with what's available now.
• Avoid going into debt.
• Keep tax liabilities as low as possible.

Patrick describes in the 'our vision' section of the website why they decided to live a more simple and self-sustaining life: "Our world is rapidly approaching it's capacity for supporting human life. There are many more of us living on the Earth today than there were when I first entered this world. There are more cars, more machines and much, much more stuff to consume. All this requires energy. Lots of energy. Energy to create it. Energy to move it from one place to another. Energy to advertise it. Energy to sell it. Energy to power it. Energy to dispose of it".  We all know this.  But why aren't we doing anything in our own power to stop ourselves?  We all need to live the change that we want to see in the world.

In their website they explain everything in great detail under 'Articles' and have uploaded their plans etc.  Check it out:  http://www.byexample.com/

Is microgeneration the key to a sustainable future?

Microgeneration is the generation of power and low carbon heat for a household, small business or community to meet their own needs.  Microgeneration units tend to be solar panels or wind turbines (or a combination) which are located on or next to the building to create an efficient self-sustaining energy source.

A new report shows that microgeneration could generate as much energy as five nuclear power plants, and for every 1 million homes that establish microgeneration units, 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be saved (McDermott, 2008).  An incentive basis is being talked about establishing in the UK with reports suggesting a fixed rate of money to be offered to those houses that install a microgeneration unit and feed it into the electric grid.  Efforts must therefore be concentrated on the expansion of renewable energy technologies and the centralised production and distribution in order for this to be a viable solution to begin to combat global warming.

Microgeneration will however not appeal to all members of the public.  A journalist from The Daily Mail states that wind turbines: "... barely produce enough electricity to power a hairdryer in many houses. They also do nothing to tackle greenhouses gases, while there are far better ways to cut down on energy bills" (Laumer, 2006).  Clearly awareness needs to be raised about the advantages of microgeneration to the mass public to stop the reporting of these negative/single minded views!

McDermott, M. (2008) Tree Hugger.  Could Microgeneration be as powerful as Nuclear Energy?http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/microgeneration-as-powerful-as-nuclear.php

Laumer, J. (2006) Tree Hugger. Home Wind Turbines are a Worthless, Dangerous, Wasteful Vanity http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/home_wind_turbi.php

Value Te Ao Maori

The Te Hana marae has broadened my knowledge and perception of the Maori culture and after staying there over the weekend, it has become apparent to me how beautiful the Maori culture is.  The hosts of the Marae were so caring, loving and only had the best interests of their community at heart.  This brought about a question for me: is design more sustainable when the community is actively engaged in the design process? 

The community of Te Hana work as volunteers to develop the landscape, Marae and historic village in Te Hana.  It seems that with this active participation, a more sustainable outcome is created as the community feels responsible for the work that they have done and wish to keep it in good condition, effectively providing for future generations.  The Te Hana Marae also grows most of their own fruit and vegetables in their garden which they offer their guests which saves them money and is far more sustainable than driving to Wellsford to purchase them.

The Marae is designed in such a way that allows the sunlight to shine through the front entrance and through the windows of the Wharae Kai every morning.  This maximises the natural light of the facility and enhances the level of positive energy.

The community wellbeing in Te Hana seemed to be very healthy and inclusive through the cultural traditions that take place and their welcoming and caring nature.

There are many lessons that planners can learn from Te Hana such as:

• The community itself can be the deciding factor in the sustainability of a community.
• A bottom-up approach of planning is often the most effective and efficient.
• Cultural practises can lead to community wellbeing and a safer environment.
• It is possible to fix problem at the source.

Horizontal streets - an excuse for mixed use development sprawl?

Horizontal streets, also known as 'horizontal skyscrapers', seem to be the new trend for sustainable design in China.  The Vanke Center by Steven Holl is said to be the most sustainable building in China, which isn't surprising that it is striving to achieve this when the country has hit an all-time low in terms of pollution levels over the last few decades. 

You may say that having a horizontal building defeats the purpose of a skyscraper and its building footprint benefits, however the Vanke Center is held 50 feet above ground on eight supporting translucent glass clads.  Therefore, the building footprint is only as big as the support clads.

The building is a bit longer than the Empire State Building is in height and the entire area underneath the building is a public park.  It may be questioned whether people would want to sit in the shade underneath a suspended building, but the building seems to be thin enough that shading would not be major issue.  The architects have also redesigned a waterfront retaining wall as a planted estuary, establishing a restorative ecology that minimizes run-off, erosion, and environmental damage.

The building consists of:

• Mixed use
• Onsite retention pond
• Permeable surfaces for walkways
• Green roof
• Double glazed glass
• Sun sensored louvers
• Solar cells to generate power
• Grey water system

It is hard to say that China is not trying, but is too late?  It seems that the country is trying to mitigate the effects of its steeply inclining economic development that has caused outrageous levels of pollution, rather than defuse the problem at source. China needs to be thinking on a larger scale than constructing the 'world's most sustainable building' and look at cleaner mass produced energy sources.