If you're not familiar with the Earthship concept, it's a pretty arresting idea: Structures built using recycled materials, heating and cooling themselves through solar/thermal dynamics, collecting power from wind and sun, harvesting water from rain and snow, producing food inside and out. Living in an Earthship means living largely without the monthly cost of sustaining a home, living without a day-to-day drain on natural resources.

And beyond being an arresting idea, it's an arresting reality: Architect Michael Reynolds developed the Earthship design, and at the Earthship Biotecture World Headquarters in Taos, N.M., folks can see a premiere example of functioning, sustainable off-grid living in an Earthship.