Moving On : Better Homes and Habitats EarleBarnhart2015

In“ThisChangesEverything”,NaomiKleinsuggeststhatasurvivableendgameforoursociety

dependson“...arealizable,ifdistant,vision"ofabetterandmoresustainablefuture."Thismeans

layingoutavisionoftheworldthatcompetesdirectlywithtoday'svision,onethatresonateswith

themajorityofpeopleontheplanetbecauseitistrue:thatwearenotapartfromnaturebutofit."

"Thisisavisionofthefuturethatgoesbeyondjustsurvivingorenduringclimatechange,beyond

'mitigating'and'adapting'toit...Itisavisioninwhichwecollectivelyusethecrisistoleap

somewherethatseems,frankly,betterthanwherewearerightnow."[2]

Tostabilizetheclimatebysharinglowgreenhousegasemissionsequallyamongallpeopleonearth,

Americanswillhavetoreducetheiremissionsbyabout90%.Mostlife-supportsystemsand

servicesinoursocietyarenowpoweredbyfossilfuelandwillhavetobeabandoned,andnewones

developedthatoperateonrenewableenergy.Therenewableenergiesofchoice–renewablesolar

andwindenergy-aredecentralized.Newsustainablesystemswillalsohavetobedecentralized.

Growingfoodlocallyandpoweringhomeswithlocalenergywillresultinthegreatestenergy

efficiencyintransportingfood,nutrients,andpeople.

OldChina,NewAlchemyThemostpromisingpathtosustainabilityofbasichumanneedsoffood,waterandshelteristo

combinetraditionalchinesepermaculture,bioshelterarchitecture,andadvancednutrientrecycling.

1)traditionalchineseagricultureAgricultureinChinaevolvedover6000yearsfromthecollectiveexperienceofseveralhundred

generationsoffarmers.Themethodstheydevelopedproducethehighestpossiblefoodyields,

higherperlandareathanmodernindustrialagriculture,whileusingnofossilfuelsorchemical

fertilizers.Theirkeytechniquesincludedgrowingmixedcropsinpolyculture,usingallrainfalland

watermostefficiently,recyclingallorganicwastenutrientsbackintoagricultureandemploying

human-poweredtransportrequiringminimumtechnology.

2)agriculturalbiosheltersBiosheltersarefood-producinggreenhouses

heatedprimarilywithpassivesolarenergyand

containingdiverseplants,ponds,insectsandsoil

life–anagriculturalecosysteminagreenhouse.

Intemperateclimateswithsunnywinters,

agriculturalbioshelterscanproducefoodyear-

roundwithoutfossilfuelsforheating.Fish

pondsinsideproduceediblefishwhilealso

storingsolarheatforgreenhouseheating.When

biosheltersarecombinedwithoutdoor

agriculture(bygrowingwinterfoodandspring

seedlings),freshfoodcanbeprovidedyear-

round.

3)residentialbiosheltersResidentialbiosheltersarebiosheltersthatalso

providehousingforpeople,poweredprimarily

bysolarenergy.Aresidentialbiosheltercan

producesustainableservicesofhousing,food,

andwatersupply,whilegreatlyreducingtheuse

ofenergyforagricultureandtransport.

Residentialbioshelterscanbemodularand

mass-producedforrapidimplementation,and

canbeengineeredtoconnectintonetworksto

createecological

neighborhoods.

4)nutrientrecyclingEcologicalsolutionshavebeendevelopedfor

food,water,andshelter.Thelastfrontierof

sustainabilityistherecoveryandrecyclingof

humanwastenutrients.Continuousrecycling

ofnutrientsisabasicecologicalprocessfound

inallofnature,butitismissinginoursociety

andinmodernagriculture.Technologyto

safelyrecyclehumanwastenutrientsis

simple,low-techandenergy-efficient.

Recyclingofwastenutrientsbackto

agricultureiscrucialforthecontinued

survivalofafuturepopulationof10billion

peopleontheearth.

FoodFirstIntensiveproductionoffood,closetowhereitisconsumed,withlittleornotransportfromfieldtotable,

resultsintheultimateenergyefficiencyandfoodquality.Chineseraisedbedtechniques,growingdense

mixturesoffoodcropsyearroundwithrecyclednutrients,producethehighestpossiblecontinuousyields.

FreshFoodinWinter

fromAgriculturalBioshelters

Inclimateswithmildwintersandsunnyweather,an

agriculturalbiosheltercangrowfoodcropsandedible

fishyear-round.Hydroponiccrops,vinecrops,andtree

cropscanbegrowntogethertomaximizefood

productioninanindoorcontainedecosystem.

Aquacultureand

Hydroponics

Aquacultureandhydroponics

ResidentialBioshelters

HalfHouse,HalfGreenhouse

Anintegratedhouseandgreenhousecan

providelight,heat,foodandahealthy,pleasant

environmentforitsresidents.Bycombining

solarelectricity,solarhotwater,raincollection

andoutdoorfoodgardens,manybasichuman

needscanbeproducedusinglocalresources.

TeachYourChildrenWell

"Inabetterworld,architectswouldnotonlylaunchtheir

buildingsintothefuture,they'dtrainthecrewstosailthem."

MalcolmWells

NetworksofAdvancedBioshelters

"...topographicallyandregionallyetched,...thecreationsofathousandminds."JohnTodd

Linear,modularbiosheltersconnectedintonetworkscanprovidehousing,food,

watersupplyandefficienttransportofgoodsandservices.

AdvancedBioshelters

forEco-Services

Specializedbiosheltersdesignedfor

agriculture,aquaculture,housing,

watersupplyandpurification,and

nutrientrecoveryandrecycling.

"Abioshelterisamythicconstructaswellasapractical,ecologicalone.Itisaportalintothe

mindofGaia,ariteofidentificationwiththeprocessesofEarth,asymbolofhowwemaylearn

tothink,notjustaboutaplanet,butasaplanet.”

DavidSpangler

Biologically,abioshelteris:

--acontainedenvironmentinsideapermeablemembrane,likeacell

--anenclosurewiththermalstability,likeawarm-bloodedorganism

--anassociationofinteractingspecies,likeanecosystem

--anewformofhabitatforhumans

("habitat"-anareathatsurroundsapopulationandprovidesitsneeds)

Architecturally,abioshelteris:

--apassivesolarbuildingandagreenhouse

--ahomeandafoodgarden

--foodproductionandnutrientcycling

"Amongourmajortasksisthecreationofecologicallyderivedhumansupportsystems-renewableenergy,agriculture,aquaculture,housingandlandscapes.Thestrategiesweresearchemphasizea

minimalrelianceonfossilfuelsandoperateonascaleaccessibletoindividuals,families,andsmall

groups.Itisourbeliefthatecologicalandsocialtransformationsmusttakeplaceatthelowestfunctional

levelsofsocietyifhumankindistodirectitscoursetowardsagreener,sanerworld

"Ourprogramsaregearedtoproducenotriches,butrichandstablelives,independentofworldfashion

andthevagariesofinternationaleconomics.TheNewAlchemistsworkatthelowestfunctionallevelof

societyonthepremisethatsociety,liketheplanetitself,canbenohealthierthanthecomponentsof

whichitisconstructed.Theurgencyofoureffortsisbasedonourbeliefthattheindustrialsocieties

whichnowdominatetheworldareintheprocessofdestroyingit."

Fall1970BulletinoftheNewAlchemists

References

[1]TheNewAlchemyInstitute.1971-1991.TheNewAlchemyInstituteconductedresearchand

educationonbehalfoftheplanet:

see website – www.greencenter.net see website - www.capecodecotoiletcenter.com

[2]NaomiKlein.2014."ThisChangesEverything:Capitalismvs.theClimate" [3]TraditionalChinesePermaculturecanbefoundin:

1911.F.H.King."FarmersofFortyCenturies"

1937.RudolfP.Hommel."ChinaatWork"

1984.FrancescaBray."ScienceandCivilizationinChina–Volume6,PartII–Agriculture'

2010.FrankDikotter."Mao’sGreatFamine"

1987.Wittwer,Yu,Sun,Wan."FeedingaBillion:FrontiersofChineseAgriculture"

1985.PeterChan."BetterVegetableGardenstheChineseWay"

ThesesourcesdescribethetoolsandmethodsoftraditionalChinesepermacultureanddetailed

lessonslearnedfrom6000yearsofexperience.Togethertheyprovideabaselinestrategyfor

sustainablelocalfoodproduction.

[4]EarleBarnhartandHildeMaingay.Environmentaleducators,ecologicallandscapedesigners,

andfoodgardeners.TheyliveatAlchemyFarm,Falmouth,Massachussetts,aco-housing

community.Theyliveinanenergy-efficientresidentialbioshelterwithsolarelectricity,

solardomestichotwaterandheating,eco-toilets,andwinterfoodproduction.Nutrientsfromthe

greenhouse,gardens,kitchen,eco-toilets,chickensandfisharerecycledintheirpermaculture

landscape.Theirprofessionalworkisecologicaleducation,designandconstructionoflandscapes,

andbioshelterresearch.