Moving On : Better Homes and Habitats EarleBarnhart2015
In“ThisChangesEverything”,NaomiKleinsuggeststhatasurvivableendgameforoursociety
dependson“...arealizable,ifdistant,vision"ofabetterandmoresustainablefuture."Thismeans
layingoutavisionoftheworldthatcompetesdirectlywithtoday'svision,onethatresonateswith
themajorityofpeopleontheplanetbecauseitistrue:thatwearenotapartfromnaturebutofit."
"Thisisavisionofthefuturethatgoesbeyondjustsurvivingorenduringclimatechange,beyond
'mitigating'and'adapting'toit...Itisavisioninwhichwecollectivelyusethecrisistoleap
somewherethatseems,frankly,betterthanwherewearerightnow."[2]
Tostabilizetheclimatebysharinglowgreenhousegasemissionsequallyamongallpeopleonearth,
Americanswillhavetoreducetheiremissionsbyabout90%.Mostlife-supportsystemsand
servicesinoursocietyarenowpoweredbyfossilfuelandwillhavetobeabandoned,andnewones
developedthatoperateonrenewableenergy.Therenewableenergiesofchoice–renewablesolar
andwindenergy-aredecentralized.Newsustainablesystemswillalsohavetobedecentralized.
Growingfoodlocallyandpoweringhomeswithlocalenergywillresultinthegreatestenergy
efficiencyintransportingfood,nutrients,andpeople.
OldChina,NewAlchemyThemostpromisingpathtosustainabilityofbasichumanneedsoffood,waterandshelteristo
combinetraditionalchinesepermaculture,bioshelterarchitecture,andadvancednutrientrecycling.
1)traditionalchineseagricultureAgricultureinChinaevolvedover6000yearsfromthecollectiveexperienceofseveralhundred
generationsoffarmers.Themethodstheydevelopedproducethehighestpossiblefoodyields,
higherperlandareathanmodernindustrialagriculture,whileusingnofossilfuelsorchemical
fertilizers.Theirkeytechniquesincludedgrowingmixedcropsinpolyculture,usingallrainfalland
watermostefficiently,recyclingallorganicwastenutrientsbackintoagricultureandemploying
human-poweredtransportrequiringminimumtechnology.
2)agriculturalbiosheltersBiosheltersarefood-producinggreenhouses
heatedprimarilywithpassivesolarenergyand
containingdiverseplants,ponds,insectsandsoil
life–anagriculturalecosysteminagreenhouse.
Intemperateclimateswithsunnywinters,
agriculturalbioshelterscanproducefoodyear-
roundwithoutfossilfuelsforheating.Fish
pondsinsideproduceediblefishwhilealso
storingsolarheatforgreenhouseheating.When
biosheltersarecombinedwithoutdoor
agriculture(bygrowingwinterfoodandspring
seedlings),freshfoodcanbeprovidedyear-
round.
3)residentialbiosheltersResidentialbiosheltersarebiosheltersthatalso
providehousingforpeople,poweredprimarily
bysolarenergy.Aresidentialbiosheltercan
producesustainableservicesofhousing,food,
andwatersupply,whilegreatlyreducingtheuse
ofenergyforagricultureandtransport.
Residentialbioshelterscanbemodularand
mass-producedforrapidimplementation,and
canbeengineeredtoconnectintonetworksto
createecological
neighborhoods.
4)nutrientrecyclingEcologicalsolutionshavebeendevelopedfor
food,water,andshelter.Thelastfrontierof
sustainabilityistherecoveryandrecyclingof
humanwastenutrients.Continuousrecycling
ofnutrientsisabasicecologicalprocessfound
inallofnature,butitismissinginoursociety
andinmodernagriculture.Technologyto
safelyrecyclehumanwastenutrientsis
simple,low-techandenergy-efficient.
Recyclingofwastenutrientsbackto
agricultureiscrucialforthecontinued
survivalofafuturepopulationof10billion
peopleontheearth.
FoodFirstIntensiveproductionoffood,closetowhereitisconsumed,withlittleornotransportfromfieldtotable,
resultsintheultimateenergyefficiencyandfoodquality.Chineseraisedbedtechniques,growingdense
mixturesoffoodcropsyearroundwithrecyclednutrients,producethehighestpossiblecontinuousyields.
FreshFoodinWinter
fromAgriculturalBioshelters
Inclimateswithmildwintersandsunnyweather,an
agriculturalbiosheltercangrowfoodcropsandedible
fishyear-round.Hydroponiccrops,vinecrops,andtree
cropscanbegrowntogethertomaximizefood
productioninanindoorcontainedecosystem.
Aquacultureand
Hydroponics
Aquacultureandhydroponics
ResidentialBioshelters
HalfHouse,HalfGreenhouse
Anintegratedhouseandgreenhousecan
providelight,heat,foodandahealthy,pleasant
environmentforitsresidents.Bycombining
solarelectricity,solarhotwater,raincollection
andoutdoorfoodgardens,manybasichuman
needscanbeproducedusinglocalresources.
TeachYourChildrenWell
"Inabetterworld,architectswouldnotonlylaunchtheir
buildingsintothefuture,they'dtrainthecrewstosailthem."
MalcolmWells
NetworksofAdvancedBioshelters
"...topographicallyandregionallyetched,...thecreationsofathousandminds."JohnTodd
Linear,modularbiosheltersconnectedintonetworkscanprovidehousing,food,
watersupplyandefficienttransportofgoodsandservices.
AdvancedBioshelters
forEco-Services
Specializedbiosheltersdesignedfor
agriculture,aquaculture,housing,
watersupplyandpurification,and
nutrientrecoveryandrecycling.
"Abioshelterisamythicconstructaswellasapractical,ecologicalone.Itisaportalintothe
mindofGaia,ariteofidentificationwiththeprocessesofEarth,asymbolofhowwemaylearn
tothink,notjustaboutaplanet,butasaplanet.”
DavidSpangler
Biologically,abioshelteris:
--acontainedenvironmentinsideapermeablemembrane,likeacell
--anenclosurewiththermalstability,likeawarm-bloodedorganism
--anassociationofinteractingspecies,likeanecosystem
--anewformofhabitatforhumans
("habitat"-anareathatsurroundsapopulationandprovidesitsneeds)
Architecturally,abioshelteris:
--apassivesolarbuildingandagreenhouse
--ahomeandafoodgarden
--foodproductionandnutrientcycling
"Amongourmajortasksisthecreationofecologicallyderivedhumansupportsystems-renewableenergy,agriculture,aquaculture,housingandlandscapes.Thestrategiesweresearchemphasizea
minimalrelianceonfossilfuelsandoperateonascaleaccessibletoindividuals,families,andsmall
groups.Itisourbeliefthatecologicalandsocialtransformationsmusttakeplaceatthelowestfunctional
levelsofsocietyifhumankindistodirectitscoursetowardsagreener,sanerworld
"Ourprogramsaregearedtoproducenotriches,butrichandstablelives,independentofworldfashion
andthevagariesofinternationaleconomics.TheNewAlchemistsworkatthelowestfunctionallevelof
societyonthepremisethatsociety,liketheplanetitself,canbenohealthierthanthecomponentsof
whichitisconstructed.Theurgencyofoureffortsisbasedonourbeliefthattheindustrialsocieties
whichnowdominatetheworldareintheprocessofdestroyingit."
Fall1970BulletinoftheNewAlchemists
References
[1]TheNewAlchemyInstitute.1971-1991.TheNewAlchemyInstituteconductedresearchand
educationonbehalfoftheplanet:
see website – www.greencenter.net see website - www.capecodecotoiletcenter.com
[2]NaomiKlein.2014."ThisChangesEverything:Capitalismvs.theClimate" [3]TraditionalChinesePermaculturecanbefoundin:
1911.F.H.King."FarmersofFortyCenturies"
1937.RudolfP.Hommel."ChinaatWork"
1984.FrancescaBray."ScienceandCivilizationinChina–Volume6,PartII–Agriculture'
2010.FrankDikotter."Mao’sGreatFamine"
1987.Wittwer,Yu,Sun,Wan."FeedingaBillion:FrontiersofChineseAgriculture"
1985.PeterChan."BetterVegetableGardenstheChineseWay"
ThesesourcesdescribethetoolsandmethodsoftraditionalChinesepermacultureanddetailed
lessonslearnedfrom6000yearsofexperience.Togethertheyprovideabaselinestrategyfor
sustainablelocalfoodproduction.
[4]EarleBarnhartandHildeMaingay.Environmentaleducators,ecologicallandscapedesigners,
andfoodgardeners.TheyliveatAlchemyFarm,Falmouth,Massachussetts,aco-housing
community.Theyliveinanenergy-efficientresidentialbioshelterwithsolarelectricity,
solardomestichotwaterandheating,eco-toilets,andwinterfoodproduction.Nutrientsfromthe
greenhouse,gardens,kitchen,eco-toilets,chickensandfisharerecycledintheirpermaculture
landscape.Theirprofessionalworkisecologicaleducation,designandconstructionoflandscapes,
andbioshelterresearch.
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