EARTHSHIPS

When people hear about sustainable, off-the-grid living,
they usually picture primitive homes separated from the comforts of the 21st century.
Rightfully so, as most sustainable solutions suggested until now have fit that description.
Earthships, however, offer all of the comforts of modern homes and in a more sustainable way.

The Earthship was designed as a structure that would be free from problems from central utilities
(electricity, plumbing etc…), which most modern shelters rely on.
Earthships must be able to create their own utilities, and to use available sustainable materials. 

Even the driest of climates can provide enough water for daily use through a rain-harvesting system.
Water collected in this way is used for every household activity except flushing toilets.
The water used for flushing toilets has been used at least once already:
frequently it is leftover waste-water from sinks and showers, and described as "Greywater".
That already used ‘grey water’ is then pumped into the greenhouse to water the plants.
After being cleaned by the plants, the water is pumped up into the bathrooms for use in the toilets.
After being flushed, the now ‘black water’ is pumped to the exterior garden to give nutrients to non-edible plants.

Earthships are designed to collect and store their own energy from a variety of sources.
The majority of electrical energy is collected from the sun and wind.
Solar panels and wind turbines located on or near the Earthship,
generate energy that is then stored in several types of batteries.
The space in which the batteries are kept is usually a special room placed on the roof.
Additional energy, if required, can be obtained from gasoline-powered generators or
if needed by plugging into the city grid.

Each Earthship has one or two greenhouses that grow crops year-round, no matter what the climate is.
The most brilliant piece of engineering in the Earthship is their ability to keep comfortable temperatures year round. This is from the solar heat being absorbed and stored by ‘thermal mass’ —
or tyres filled with dirt, which make up the structure of the Earthship.
The thermal mass acts as a heat sink, giving or taking in heat as needed when the inside cools and heats up.

Much of the materials used to build Earthships are recycled.
For starters, the structure is built with used tyres filled with dirt!
The walls (above the tyres) are created by placing plastic and glass bottles in concrete.
Earthships are much cheaper than normal houses.
The most basic Earthships cost as little as $7000 with the most glamorous models costing $70,000 and up,
depending on how flashy you want to be with your decorating.
With all of your basic needs provided for and NO bills each month, you’re free!
You don’t have to work a job you hate just to survive.
So you can focus your time on doing what you love, and bettering the world around you.

The most powerful thing Earthships do is force people to think differently about how they live.
If housing can be this awesome, and be beneficial to the environment, then what else can we change?
What else can become simpler, cheaper and better at the same time?