Earthship- Stylish and Sustainable Living

What in the world is an Earthship?  Well, according to creator and architect Michael Reynolds, an Earthship could be defined as a passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials that utilizes renewable energy and integrated water systems to make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.   A community of Earthships presently exist in the deserts of Taos, New Mexico in a development dubbed "The Greater World Community".  There are also Earthships in every state in the United States and a few in Europe.  The homes are powered largely by solar and wind technologies that is stored in batteries and is used to power appliances and other electronic devices.  Water is obtained from rainfall or snowfall and is filtered and used for drinking, bathing, watering indoor gardens, and flushing toilets.  The Earthship is heated via its own dense walls, which absorb and radiate heat from the sun, and from its positioning, arranged in such a way that its glass wall faces direct sunlight.  Some Earthships are built partially underground and benefit from the Earth's stable temperature.

An  Earthship's walls utilize recycled tires that are packed with dirt (which gives the walls great strength, insulation, and are largely fireproof) and recycled bottles (which let in light and heat) and aluminum cans.  Concrete, adobe and sandbags can also be utilized as building materials.  Reynold's structures have a low environmental impact and help to reduce waste and put recycled materials to good use!   Reynolds refers to the building of an Earthship as "biotecture", and no matter where you live on this planet, he says he can build you an Earthship specifically designed to function with your environment.

So, are you going to be the first person on your block to have an Earthship?

Comments

[Nicaragua Real Estate - Building an Earthship]

And now there is an Earthship in Nicaragua. We’ve just been working with Mike Reynolds, Earthship Biotecture, here in Nicaragua to build the first Earthship in the country. We are keeping a day to a day to day construction blog. We’re currently on Day 26 of what we hope will be the start of a green movement in nicaragua real estate. The project is being run hand in hand with the local community of Carizal just south of the fishing town of San Juan del Sur on the pacific coast. We’re planning some tours later this year where people can get involved with building an Earthship here in Nicaragua.

[esaruoho]

i see they've just built one in jamaica! looks nice :)

http://jamaica.earthship.net/

i wish it would finally be built in new orleans, but the difficulty is raising 280,000$. maybe the following week will change things?!?! (garbage warrior dvd release, garbage warrior aired on sundancechannel, mike reynolds interviewed by colbert report). i really hope this will finally "jump-start" this.

[esaruoho]

i see earthship biotecture are taking donations for building the new orleans earthship, again. nice!
http://www.earthship.net/modules.php?name=Donations&op=make

[CRISTINA SANCHEZ]

I WANT TO BUILD A EARTHSHIP IN PUERTO RICO, I HAVE SEARCHED ON THE INTERNET, BUT I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING IN PUERTO RICO. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY, AND WHAT ABOUT BUILDING ONE IN PUERTO RICO. THANK YOU.

[Steven]

Greetings Cristina!

First of all, check out Earthship's website at http://www.earthship.net/. On the website they have the option for you to create an account with them, which will enable you to post comments on their website and receive news and information. There's also the opportunity to intern with Earthship, though all intern opportunities are filled for 2008.

No, there currently are no Earthships in Puerto Rico, so the best advice I can offer is to contact them directly through their website and let them know your story!

[Peggy]

does anyone know of an earthship in tunisia?

[Stan Joseph]

I would like to know who is building earth ships in Oregon. I'm in Portland and I would like to get involved with the earth ship revolution.