Freeville, New York Earthship Build

From August 13-31 2012, I will be helping to build a Global Model Earthship in Freeville, New York.

I'm really looking forward to working with the Earthship Crew on a project so close to home.

For more information on this specific build click here.

Michael Reynolds Nominated for Prestigious International Energy Prize

From the Earthship Biotecture Blog:

Earthship creator Michael Reynolds has been nominated for the Zayed Future Energy Prize Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious international prize was created to honor the late ruler of Abu Dhabi and Founding Father of the United Arab Emirates, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The prize recognizes business and individuals across three categories: small business, large business and Lifetime Achievement. From the website for the prize, “By honouring and rewarding those people who are tackling the energy crisis today, we hope to educate and inspire future leaders and innovators. Creating a sustainable energy future is the surest way to combat the impending threat of climate change and global warming, and to ensure a clean, livable environment for future generations.” The Lifetime Achievement Award includes a $500,000 cash prize. Winners are honored at an awards ceremony in January.

For the full release from the official Earthship blog click here.

Earthship Academy Acceptance

I am very excited to announce that on Monday I received a letter of acceptance to the Earthship Academy.

I am very excited to be given the chance to get deeper into Earthship Biotecture.

My highest hope is that by becoming involved with Earthship Biotecture I will help bring awareness to the potential of manifesting a post-scarcity economy, where all material needs are met and people are able to exclusively pursue their own creative and innovative interests, and on a hippier note, revel in the evolutionary journey that we are all on.

Here is a video reinforcing the capability of Earthships to exist in extremely remote locations - Buffalo, Wyoming 2011.

The Completed Earthship in Buffalo, Wyoming 2011.

Another Excerpt from my Earthship Academy Application

"I believe that the evolutionary process is one of the fundamental forces, if not the fundamental force that underlies all reality and I sincerely believe that the more we align our lives with this fundamental process, whether physically, spiritually or both, the more rewarding and long-lasting life will be. The Earthship lifestyle is extremely interesting because it allows us to align more closely with the evolutionary process: it affords us the spiritual freedom to work on what we truly believe in, while at the same time providing a comfortable space that not only allows us, but forces us to align with the rhythm of the natural world."

Excerpt from my Earthship Academy Application

"Sustainability to me is a no-brainer, I mean, if we are to survive as a species continuously into the future we must commit to becoming a sustainable society and do it as quickly as we can. And we all know this. And we all want this. But, it is only the most responsible and visionary among us who set aside their selfish desires, look at the bigger picture, and actually commit to minimizing our impact on the ever-changing climate through direct action. A sustainable society will only come about through the act of creating a space that forces us to live sustainably.

I believe there is no better way to promote and become sustainable than to start from the ground up and reformulate the way we live on this planet--though it may not be the most practical considering the infrastructure that we have already built. Earthships have re-imagined how we manage our basic biological needs and fit them neatly into a completely sustainable, self-sufficient package. The Earthship lifestyle provides a stable and comfortable foundation from where we can revamp society to fit a sustainable model. We understand in our minds that we have exhausted our current social model—though we can’t directly feel it yet—and to ensure our survival as a species on this planet we know we have to change and evolve out of old traditions into sustainable ones."

Earthship Academy Application

I submitted my Earthship Academy application. The session that I'm hoping to get into begins March 1.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Great Quote

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."
— Richard Buckminster Fuller

Earthship Academy Application

By the end of next week, my application for the Earthship Academy will be complete. I'm hoping I get a spot for the Spring 2012 semester.

To find out more about the program click here.

British Columbia Earthships

At the end of June 2011, the construction of two beautiful Earthships (one studio and one three bedroom) was finished on a remote island just off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. This was the first time an Earthship crew has built two Earthships on the same plot of land at the same time. Although resources on the island were very scarce--due to the islands isolation--the crew was able to complete both Earthships in under a month.


This is the dream--to have a studio Earthship to write in and a three bedroom Earthship to live in.

The Lizard

I got excited when I came across these images on the internet--a dense, well-designed Earthship community--but I didn't know if this community was already built, was going to be built or was just someone's fantasy. When I investigated further I found out that this was a drawing for The Lizard Development, an Earthship Community planned for Brighton, England. Upon completion, it will be the world’s highest density of Earthships, being home to 16 Earthships on a 1.1-hectare site overlooking Brighton's marina. It is expected to require 15 000 tires--15 000 tires that will not go to the dump. As of 2007 the planning process has been approved, but no word as to when construction will actually begin.

"Projects like this can be extremely powerful and they are vital as they point to a feasible alternative to current building methods. There are Earthship projects taking place across the world from Taos in New Mexico
to Southern Spain and there are individual developments happening in France. The Brighton project will be iconic. It is a prime site and
the development has the potential to capture the imagination and make a global impact." -Daren Howarth (co-director of Biotecture, the social enterprise that submitted the application for the development.)

Earthship Overview

For those of you who aren't familiar with Earthships, Cantore Stories -- a TV show on The Weather Channel -- filmed a great episode illustrating the concept.

Watch it here.

Reading in The Phoenix

In August 2010, my brother and I travelled down to the Earthship Biotecture World Headquarters just outside of Taos, New Mexico to see and experience Earthships for ourselves.
We stayed in The Phoenix, the most luxurious and advanced Earthship design to-date, valued at $1.5 million. It was incredible to say the least. Just from staying in The Phoenix for a night I experienced more of a sense of freedom and a deeper connection with nature than I've ever had while staying in a building.


Here I am reading in The Phoenix Earthship.