zero

Zero Carbon Living

What a radical vision of the future it must have been to imagine a main street without the smell of horses, or the creak of wagon wheels. It must have been equally unimaginable to think of highways carrying cars and trucks piloted by individuals and navigating across the USA in a mere few days. Gaslights along the main streets and houses heated with coal were the norm.

The internal combustion engine was a quantum leap forward in transportation back when it was originally invented. Its existence impacted industry, transportation, agriculture, medicine, education, and the environment. Nothing was ever the same.

Many industries had to adapt or they were history. We are currently faced with the need for the same type of radical change. Global Climate Change will be affecting our environment on earth adversely and dramatically within the next few generations. It could become a catastrophe for our grandchildren, if we do nothing to change our habits of non-renewable consumption and waste.

In addition to the progress that was made with the internal combustion engine, many technological advances were made manipulating chemicals to ‘improve’ our standard of living. We now reap the vast benefits and detriments from a largely irresponsible and rapid expansion of these technologies right up to this very day.

If not for certain courageous, knowledgeable, and creative people, we would still have DDT being sprayed on our neighborhoods. Toxic sludge would be spewing and wreaking havoc on our waterways and aquifers. We were able to repair some of the damage done and prevent or deter further damage in many areas of the US, but there is still widespread raping of the environment, such as mountain top removal. But other countries around the world don’t have many of the laws and standards that we have employed herein the US through ongoing struggles between corporate interests and the interests of individuals who fight to preserve our habitat.

Earth is a finite resource. Once we have destroyed the ecosystem beyond its ability to sustain human life, there is much suffering that will occur, followed by certain extinction. If we could look at the impact we as individuals have on the environment and try to work toward living in a fully sustainable way, we could possibly repair the damage we have done to the earth so far, or at least stop any further damage. Gandhi said; “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” That is the commitment we should all have when thinking about our daily lives.

What can we as individuals do to be that change? When the internal combustion engine began rolling across America, no one could have possibly conceived of the radical change to the landscape that would occur. That type of radical change is what needs to happen now with the home building industry. We as individuals can begin abating the damage to this earth by reinventing the homes we live in and the way we live in them. Serious consideration needs to be paid to what we use in our daily lives and how we use it, everything from home heating, to water use and delivery, to the food we prepare and eat.

Is it enough to simply caulk and insulate a stick built home? Or does another approach have to be taken, another angle toward a sea change in home building design, products, and building codes. A change to the landscape of America needs to be as radical now as it was when the automobile became affordable for every person in the country.

Starting with local building codes and aesthetics, our vision for the zero carbon future needs to be complete and completely embraced by all those living on this planet that understand the dire environmental circumstances we are now living under. A vision of the future with localized building codes and resources, products specifically designed for each climate zone. Localized design and building techniques unique to each climate zone taught and utilized in all markets around the country. Businesses and industries will have a market rich with consumers, eager to use these new ideas to better their own lives and the lives of everyone around the world.

These changes need to become the convention across the board -- now. There is no need to cling to old ideas of architecture and building forms, no need to utilize out-dated machines to bring warmth or lighting into your home. These new technologies exist today, and many are being suppressed in order to keep up the status quo and the profits established infrastructure bring. But the status quo is a road to self-destruction.

Rewards need to be given to innovative businesses and experimental endeavors that contribute in a positive way towards the preservation of this planet we live on. Companies who reach toward progress in the areas of environmental sustainability, renewable resource usage, conservation, storage, and generation should be lavishly rewarded through government grants and easement of building codes and restrictions.

It is now illegal in many areas to build so-called “experimental” dwellings. There are codes enforced by townships and cities that continue the use of out-dated, energy wasting, materials and techniques. Strict restrictions and guidelines should govern the development of new residential areas and should strive to achieve zero carbon levels in the use of home systems and the production of the materials from which the building is constructed, in addition to utilizing sustainable water practices at any and all costs.

This is an attainable goal. These technologies exist and should be implemented. But there is a push back from businesses that can’t afford to innovate due to a lack of incentives from consumers and the government. With the right promotion and education, this can change.

The beauty of a new crop of houses springing up on a nearby farm field could be a common site in the future. Wind generators spinning, solar collection and distribution technologies, water desalination technologies, and waste control and management through composting and sustainable life styles. This is the future, or there is no future.

reception

a palm
that waves
high
above

a cloud
that drifts
afloat
some

atmosphere
of acceptance
in a biosphere
of repentance

love
a homecoming
though never
really that far
away

from the palm
that waves
good bye
hello