Architecture

This building heats, cools, lights and shades itself by the use of algae biomass. How cool is that? I want to go to there!

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Denis Hayes, co-founder of Earth Day, is working to make buildings more sustainable in every possible way through the work of his organization the Bullitt Foundation. As a model for what the foundation hopes to accomplish they are revealing The Bullitt Center. The building has large solar panels, passive solar design and a rain water catchment system installed in the basement. Check it out!

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The Arcosanti organization and town was created by an architect who promoted and practiced 'Arcology' (ecology and architecture).

It seems like this town is a pretty interesting place. I would love to visit someday.

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Here's a great article about what an eco-paradise could look like (provided by a new and dear friend) please read!

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120503-sustainable-cities-on-the-rise/2

I can't help but get a little skeptical of when I read these type of eco-future articles. As many of you know, I am forever trying to be an optimist but these types of stories play with my imagination and ultimately my emotions. I feel used up after I read them because I don't believe they can a practical real thing. The question is not "Why don't we all just move into eco-cities?" The question is: How real is this solution to the global ecological crisis? Personally, I don't think its a viable solution at all. Again, I would like it to be. I would love it! Who wouldn't want to live in an eco-city? It sounds awesome. However, that's not the point. If we are to take sustainability seriously (and serious we should be given the consequences if we don't) I feel that we need to be little less dreamer, a little more pragmatist. Notice please, that our journalist friend, Gaia Vince did not mention anything about the cost in cash or resources that are needed to build these gargantuan structures. (Sidenote: do you think she changed her name to Gaia after she got the enviro journalist gig? Just wondering...)

I have no idea how much this type of project is but I don't imagine it is cheap. Building entire new cities is not really the solution I think of when I think of solutions to the crisis. What about the broken and polluted cities that we already have? Shouldn't we try to fix those first before building new ones? Instead of forming entire new communities, why don't we repair the ones that we already have?

Renewable energy and its technology has the potential to transform our lives to more self-sufficient and just world. But it also holds the potential to oppress under a new source of energy. Technology alone will not save us.