Ideas for sustainable, housing components?

Hi!

I lived in a fully sustainable house in central Victoria (Australia) a few years ago - that was one of many which I've had the pleasure of helping to create.

The last place had the works. Everything you've mentioned plus a few - greywater reticulation (reusing greywater for non-essential tasks) and renewal via a system of reed beds and gravel / sand combo; a small windmill to get the water from a well to a 1000l tank for the organic permaculture garden; 3 X 15 000l rainwater tanks (we were miles from "town" water); full solar setup (including a suntracker - a device which allows the panels to follow the sun's path across the sky thereby gaining the maximum efficiency); composting toilet (they DO NOT smell at all!); mudbrick and local stone construction and passive solar design (allows the sun to heat a mass of concrete in winter mornings; the heat is released in the cooler afternoon - as well as being located to take full advantage of the weaker winter sun and protected from the harsh summer weather)....

There are stacks of websites devoted to each facet of a sustainable house design...the trick is to find local suppliers. That way you're not contributing to climate change by unneccessary transportation.

The whole shooting match is a pretty expensive proposition, but then you're only paying once. All your energy, water and food requirements are taken care of for the long haul, if you plan things right.

As a first step, I'd suggest getting a copy of "The Permaculture Designer's Manual" by Bill Mollison. It's an encyclopaedic reference for all the ways to get into a permaculture frame of mind, including sustainable house design. There's also the Biodynamic principle to consider - Rudolph Steiner developed the system and it's a whole-of-lifestyle approach to sustainability....

Finally, it doesn't matter where on the earth you reside - from the countryside of Victoria to a New York loft apartment - all these design concepts are viable. It is a "systems thinking" approach which allows you to adopt these technologies to your location....

Hope this helps. Email me if you want any more details too...

Love and Light,

Jarrah

tricky step. look into at yahoo and bing. just that could actually help!

underground homes.