Comments on: Life in an earthship

These fully sustainable, off-the-grid dwellings can maintain a comfortable interior temperature regardless of the heat or cold outside.
Photos: Home sweet earthship

[lynxss]

Expansion on a centuries old tradition

There is an age old tradition of self sufficiency in this sometimes harsh climate of temperature extremes from scorching heat during the day and hard freezes at night. The pueblos have used similar designs to regulate temperature for thousands of years, check out Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon as an example of this. Modern pueblos are also built in a stepped style to achieve that triangular side profile to gather more heat in winter, look at Taos pueblo or Acoma built like a Masada like fortress against sieges

The Spanish style adobe houses achieve the same effect with 18 inch thick earth brick walls, they heat up very slowly throughout the day and release the heat all night with the large mass. Many today still do not have air conditioning, although they do have a bit of a ceiling height problem. I guess people were shorter 300 years ago ;)

The ranch houses out on the plains of NM from the mid to lat 1800's when settlers started coming in from back east used a different approach. They all have large elms and other deciduous trees on the south and evergreens elsewhere, in the winter more sun from the south and evergreens to block heat loss from wind and in the summer lots of shade.

I think earth ships are the next step in this centuries old tradition of self sufficiency here in the south west. I especially like the indoor greenhouses and water reuse. You should also look at rammed earth construction, sorta a poor-mans way of doing traditional adobe.

Only problem with these style houses and newer adobes, very few straight walls, so good luck finding a bookshelf, desk or bed frame that fits right :)

[Phillep_H]

Sensible housing

This sort of thing does make a lot of sense. It also calls for the inhabitants to be involved with things they were not brought up doing. Some yutz from LA or NYC is not going to understand why she should do things /this/ way, instead of the way she did them back in the big city, so the wife of the household is going to sabatoge it, and demand "modern" plumbing, etc.

Trying to tell her what she is getting into is not likely to work, either. It'll just bounce off or she will figure to do things her way anyhow.

BTW, don't ever use grey water for house plants. About a week later, the stuff in the water will start stinking and it takes a lot of washing and airing out to gett the stink out of the curtains, etc. Whew, does it stink.

[SiXiam]

$250,000 for a house made of old rubber

It's a joke check the website....

[elisa Urmston]

Not a Joke

The earthship is not a joke. Actor Dennis Weaver lived in a
gorgeous one that was faetured in many interior design magazines.
I would gladly pat that much for that house. It was spectacular.