Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.

Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.

Mission:

To evolve the way humans live on this planet by evolving existing methods of living, home by home.

To make small, believable steps toward slowing down and ultimately reversing the negative impact of human development as it relates to the Earth’s ability to continue to support life.

To present these steps in a way that affords easy understanding and inspires people to act.

To empower people to make positive changes in their own lives to reduce their personal effect on global warming.

To specifically design and build homes that...

Who We Are and What We Do

Earthship Biotecture is a global company offering proven, totally sustainable design and construction services worldwide. Our company is lead by Michael Reynolds, the principle biotect and creator of the Earthship Concept.

Design / Construction Services: (worldwide)
Single family residence, Residential developments, Commercial Structures, Demonstration and Disaster Relief Projects.

Earthship Biotecture
PO Box 1041
Taos, NM 87571
575-751-0462 (questions)
1-(800)-841-9249 (store) 02079934859 (europe)
biotecture@earthship.com
www.earthship.com

Earthship Design Principles:

• Thermal/Solar Heating & Cooling
• Solar & Wind Electricity
• Contained Sewage Treatment
• Building with Natural &
  Recycled Materials
• Water Harvesting
• Food Production

The Earthship is a completely independent globally oriented dwelling unit.

The Eartship is made from materials that are indigenous to the entire planet.

The Earthship has been designed to reduce our impact on the planet and increase our connection to it

The Earthship utilizes recycled and low embodied energy materials, passive solar heating and cooling, photovoltaic power system, catchwater, solar hot water, gray water and black water treatment systems.

"self contained dwellings that will sail on the seas of tomorrow"

". . . the Earthship is probably the model of a sustainable home unrivaled in the modern world."

". . . the Earthship is the epitome of sustainable design and construction. No part of sustainable living has been ignored in this ingenious building."

Carbon Neutral Buildings... NOW.
by Michael Reynolds

Here in the early part of the twenty first century we find ourselves trying to react appropriately to the changing climate of the earth. We attribute part of this changing climate to the activities of humans, specifically relating to the CO2 emissions from these human activities. We have also observed that these changes are happening faster than we expected from previous observations and that between 30% and 50% of the CO2 emissions are directly related to and coming from buildings. There is, in fact, at this point, a certain urgency relative to just how and when we react.

Our legislative system does allow evolution of laws, codes and building regulations but the time it takes to go through the process of evolving and changing legislation is tedious and time consuming. Nevertheless many have embarked on this process and some changes in legislation are slowly beginning to emerge. The real problem, however, is that these evolutions are simply not happening fast enough to keep up with the climate change and projections indicate that we are slipping further and further behind, the ultimate result being crisis levels of climate change are upon us.

There is a significant “Green” movement in place on may levels but at this point it is mostly education and rhetoric and that is not enough to have any immediate effect on the situation. We are in need of carbon neutral buildings both in terms of new construction and the retrofit of existing buildings. There is a great deal of technology in place that can achieve this now but the permitting of this technology takes longer than conventional building techniques; so much so, that the carbon neutral technology is inhibited, slowed up and rendered ineffective. This is unfortunate because if these existing technologies were enabled and permitted on a “fast track” basis, they could have an immediate effect on the situation.

The issue here is recognizing and declaring the urgency of the situation. Carbon neutral construction and retrofit needs to be going on now.

Carbon neutral buildings are defined as...

• Buildings that require no municipal utilities
• Use no fossil fuels in any way;
• Do not take water from aquifers;
• Contain and treat their own sewage on site and;
• Use a significant percentage of recycled materials.

More detailed definitions can be provided. Permitting of these types of buildings should be “fast tracked” yielding permits in a matter of days, not months or years as is the case presently.

There is, already in place, a mechanism to allow this - MARTIAL LAW. The definitions of MARTIAL LAW relate to a “state of emergency”. The urgent need for carbon neutral construction and retrofit here in the early part of the twenty-first century is clearly an emergency. It is recognized that not all carbon neutral attempts will be fully successful without years of analysis and scrutinizing, however, in that we do not have the luxury of this amount of time; the potential successes to be found and illustrated far outweigh the potential minimal short comings resulting from “fast tracking” of carbon neutral projects.

These are times when risks will need to be taken to achieve what is necessary for human survival to prevail without serious loss. The decision lies in accepting these minor risks in an effort to avoid major catastrophic potentials. If these risks are not taken and living methods go on as they are without curbing the CO2 effect of conventional building and living methods we face certain human loss. We therefore ask for “fast track” permitting of all carbon neutral construction projects that illustrate a minimum of 80% carbon neutral living in new construction and 50% in retrofit construction.

Please consider this approach as a viable and necessary step to take toward the curbing of climate change due the effects of human activities.

Thank you for your attention,
Michael Reynolds