BY: JOHNATHAN MOSS
Why pay for electricity, heat, and water when Mother Nature provides wind, rain, and solar energy for absolutely free?
This is the question that concerned Michael Reynolds as soon as he graduated architectural school in 1972. Reynolds designs homes from repurposed objects such as tires, dirt, beer bottles and aluminum cans, and though this may sound like a garbage kingdom fit for a cracked out homeless man, it is anything but.
The design focuses on the principles of geothermal energy; the tires filled with dirt create thermal mass that acts as a heat sink allowing each “earth ship” to sustain comfortable temperatures year round. The thermostat is constantly stuck at 22 degrees Celsius, whether you live in the Arctic tundra or the New Mexico desert.
Reuse, rather that recycle, is the motto of homeowners, whose earth ship is outfitted with a greenhouse to grow edible crops year round. Rainwater is collected into a cistern which pumps it into sinks and showers, reusing the “grey” water to hydrate edible plants it is then pumped into the toilets, and finally the “black water” is pumped into the exterior garden to feed nutrients to non-edible plants. Harvesting energy from the sun and wind, if you live sustainably, you will never be short of power.
If you just chained yourself to a mortgage of a carbon-copy house in the middle of a suburban wasteland, then I guess the joke is on you. A city of earth ships can be built by hand and have no need for any infrastructure, meaning the dream of settling at the base of a mountain is more attainable than ever. Experience nature without being divorced from modern comforts. The best part is with basic needs provided and no bills each month, you are free to live the life you want.
The idea is catching on, and now an entire community lives in earth ships among the vast beauty of Taos, New Mexico. Filmmakers Flora Lichtman and Katherine Wells dropped in to document this rising trend.