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"The old Indian teaching was that is is wrong to tear loose from its place on the earth anything that may be growing there. It may be cut off, but it should not be uprooted. The trees and the grass have spirits. Whatever one of such growth may be destroyed by some good Indian, his act is done in sadness and with a prayer for forgiveness because of his necessities. - Wooden Leg, Cheyenne |
| Viridian Design Movement |
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Alternative Housing
A. I. Domes - Geodesic Dome Homes Advanced Housing Technology - Housing technology has changed very little since framing replaced the log cabin. Modifications that have been made to improve the efficiency and strength, also increased cost. We applied some American Ingenuity to the "geodesic dome home", designed an all new component building system utilizing advanced kit home construction technology and developed a superior modular home plan without increasing the kit homes prices.Cob Building with Groundworks - Cob is best described as mud daubing. Earth, sand, and straw are mixed together and massaged onto the foundation, creating thick, long lasting, load bearing walls. It's like hand building a giant pot to live in. Furniture, alcoves, fireplaces, and shelves can be sculpted in as you build.
Cob Cottage Company - Cob has been used for millennia even in the harsh climates of coastal Britain, at the latitude of the Aleutians. Thousands of comfortable and picturesque cob homes in England have been continuously occupied for many centuries and now command very high market values. With recent rises in the price of lumber and increasing interest in natural and environmentally safe building practices, cob is enjoying a renaissance. This ancient technology doesn't contribute to deforestation, pollution or mining nor depend on manufactured materials or power tools. Earth is non-toxic and completely recyclable. In this age of environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, and chemical toxins hidden in our homes, doesn't it make sense to return to nature's most abundant, cheap and healthy building material?
DomeSpace International - Throughout time humankind has used circular architecture to construct places to live, work and worship. From igloos to African huts, the dome is one form of architecture that humanity has used over and over again. We can observe this same pattern in nature herself who has utilized the circular shape to create the shell of the sea urchin, the globe on which we all live, and the other planets of the galaxy. Because of its affinity to natural forms, the Domespace integrates perfectly with the earth and appeals to people around the world.
Earthship Biotecture - The Earthship is a completely independent globally oriented dwelling unit made from materials that are indigenous to the entire planet. The major structural building component of the Earthship is recycled automobile tires filled with compacted earth to form a rammed earth brick encased in steel belted rubber. This brick and the resulting bearing walls it forms is virtually indestructible.
New Energy Works/Timber Framing
Passive Cooling in Tropical Climate
Sustainable Architecture, Building and Culture
Terrain: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments
Vernacular Architecture Internet Sites
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Energy
Crest Center for Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Education & Discussion
Solar Power Generator (How To Make)
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Sustainability - General
Abundant EarthCenter for a New American Dream
Secret Design - New Tribal Tools
Sustainability in a Nutshell - by Starhawk
Tao of the Dumpster - A Short Story
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Sustainable Farming
Permaculture.org.au - Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. It is also the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.The Permaculture Research Institute (PRI), headed by Geoff Lawton, is a non-profit organisation involved in global networking and practical training of environmental activists. It offers solutions to local and global ecological problems, and has an innovative farm design in progress. The Institute is also involved in design and consultancy work, and actively supports several aid projects around the world.
Fukuoka Farming - Masanobu Fukuoka was born in 1914 in a small farming village on the island of Shikoku in Southern Japan. He was educated in microbiology and worked as a soil scientist specializing in plant pathology, but at the age of twenty-five he began to have doubts about the "wonders of modern agriculture science."
While recovering from a severe attack of pneumonia, Fukuoka experienced a moment of satori or personal enlightenment. He had a vision in which something one might call true nature was revealed to him. He saw that all the "accomplishments" of human civilization are meaningless before the totality of nature. He saw that humans had become separated from nature and that our attempts to control or even understand all the complexities of life were not only futile, they were self-destructive. From that moment on, he has spent his life trying to return to the state of being one with nature.
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Sustainable Materials and Technology
American Bamboo SocietyRed Jellyfish - We believe that businesses are changing the world, and in addition to leading by example we strive to bring together other companies that are working for positive change. Therefore we researched thousands of companies, and put together a Green shopping mall filled with links to merchants who have healthy, environmentally friendly products, none of which have been tested on animals, all available to you in one easy to use format.
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Tools
Cumberland General StoreFalcon-Wood: Your Source for Old Woodworking Tools
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Viridian Design Movement
ViridianDesign.org