just a pounding away at this thing.

Problems to Solutions

Part 3

   

     Sometimes when I go off on these rants or about the environment and other forms of society or a society I think I would be envious of or have a desire to possibly live in a situation like I describe, I tend to lose readers. If I tell everyone I screwed up or said the wrong thing and apologize on my blog I am amazed at all the visitors who suddenly come out of the woodwork to view my train wreck. Doesn’t make any sense.

      What does make sense is telling and writing down my ideas even if no one ever reads them. At least they will be there to share with the world in the event they ever show any merit or could possibly make someone else’s life easier or in the worst case offer the world a possible solution someone else can take credit for. I could give a shit one way or the other because it will probably never be of use to me in my lifetime. Seeds are needed to plant for things to live and that is what I am doing seeding ideas to become a reality hopefully someday for someone or for all to enjoy.

      I wish I had the money to begin construction of the first couple of units as I would move in the first one and then offer the second up to sell. Just to get things rolling. If I was building for myself I might go a little on the modest side but would hope to eventually finish the inside and landscape as I wanted eventually. And of course instead of a drive would insist on a tunnel instead to a public parking area from my front door step.

    I would in our area select old strip mine land to use as the sites for my first underground houses. Typically old strip mine scars around the edges of the hill in Ohio would lend themselves to underground house construction as the house being pre-fabricated in a plant would be trucked to the site on a carrier and assembled in the open. This would require a sizable cut or excavation which is in some cases is already done in old strip mine lands. Also typically this land is cheap and plentiful. Also when the construction and all the fill is placed around the house and tunnel area it would in effect work towards reclaiming the land where previous coal and mining operations had scarred the earth. Topsoil and landscaping materials would come in and transform these old strip mines into a modern subdivision and this would eventually become part of the city.

    Also another advantage of using the old strip mines beside the reclamation of unusable land is the fact that  if the land was not stripped; it still would be unsuitable for a level field as it is usually hill side where these properties are located. This is important in terms of reducing water runoff. That you have proper drainage on these slopes to slow the rainfall and reduce erosion as well as provide a source of water for irrigation.

     The house would be constructed in the bottom of a pit and then by means of an excavator or dozer buried till the top 20 percent of the house sticks out of the ground. The soil would be placed in lifts and compacted as the fill area grows till one would reach final grade then landscaping mounds and water ponds would be built to recycle on site water. Mindful all the time that your house is directly below you buried for the most part. I would bring in top soil as that is what I do best. I have organics I would blend with natural topsoil and sand till I get this manufactured topsoil that is far superior to anything that was there before.

    I would work on the last house furthest away on the street I intended to develop and then work my way back to the other end. As you finish one section start another. The reason for this is due to logistics as if you are moving pre-fabricated concrete housing sections down a street you need no obstructions to work around so in your best interest to start furthest away and work back to your point of origin.

       Around the base of these houses I would specify that there exists a bed of stone and drainage pipes looped with cleanouts to a drainage system direct to day light or by means of a sump to assure the dryness of the foundation. Also all buried portions of the house be wrapped in a drainage shield and then sealed in with roof coating to assure the prevention of water entering into the living quarters.

     Once the concrete shell of the house is buried and attached to the tunnel then installation of interior plumbing systems could commence as well as installing solar panels and connecting to the power supply. Run wires and plumbing then finish the interior with different floor and wall applications.

     The sewer or waste system would have a different type of toilet designed to use less water. This system would push the slurry under pressure to the processing facility for methane extraction. Other wastes would include shredded paper and garbage which would be liquefied and pumped through the ram pump through a back flow valve into the tunnel underground to the processing facility. It is important to consider only products that are environmentally safe into the housing development to assure compliance with sewer needs.

     You will have to excuse me as I have no typewritten notes and although I edit I tire easily when writing as my work or especially this subject at times can make me yawn also. And it may be the fact it is almost midnight and I may be getting tired. Preferring the latter explanation over the prior, it is in most cases I am doing this ad-lib though trying to be consistent and heading to a point.  But this one still seems a distance away so will have to end her for the day and pick up again tomorrow.

thinking outside the box?

Problems to solutions

Part 2

       I was just reading where the sea level has risen 7. 5 inches since 1975. it doesn’t seem like much but what it really means in 100 years it will increase 2. 5 times that much or close to 2 feet in one century. Accurate readings of sea levels probably don’t exist for the beginning of the 20 th century but I am sure that the industrial revolution and the wide spread burning of coal have helped to increase the global warming.

       To turn back the damage done by widespread fossil fuel burning would require a major shift in thinking and utilizing the earth’s resources that are underused. Geo-thermal and solar are our major options along with wind and river and ocean current we could easily turn the tide  of fossil fuel usage and reduce our energy needs to be filled by fossil fuels as well as nuclear means of producing electricity.

     Above is a cut away view of an underground home as picture it. I will try to be descriptive in the explanation of this diagram. My idea of how we can turn back the usage of external means of heating with fossil fuel products and actually have close to zero loss of energy and yet still have all the lighting and electrical needs are met with a combination of different alternative means of electric generation consisting of both solar and wind while using geothermal and the fact it is earth sheltered to achieve this off the grid house. In fact the only reason one would want to hook up to your local power company is to ell electric.

     The houses are designed by cad computer aided drafting that would specify the various thicknesses of walls partitions and supporting structures to achieve a high level of material input knowledge. Taking into consideration load factors and safety of structure, these houses would also be mandated as being eighty percent earth sheltered to achieve a high level of energy retention and to also use as an ambient source of natural heating to allow the core temperature of the structure to average 55 degrees the core value of earth 4 ft. below grade and is constant for most areas. This means you only have to heat the house up twenty degrees even in mid-winter to heat to a comfortable temperature. This will drastically reduce the dependency on outside heating and cooling sources to maintain adequate heating and cooling. In fact, it would require some heat in the summer to cool the house or warm it as it may be.

       The houses would be pre cast and built under factory settings to assure uniformity of product and then moved in sections to the house site. After the house is built, it is attached to a permanent tunnel network. This tunnel network would accommodate foot traffic and electric golf carts only. These tunnels would then lead to mass transit allowing he owner of the house easy access to one hundred percent sheltered transit. It is important when in the confines of the city that mass transit by rails or subway be the most preferred method of traversing the city due to energy requirements and to reduce air pollution associated with individual car usage. Cars and trucks would still be necessary but only used outside the limits of the city or used in the initial startup construction of the city.

     Having mostly earth sheltered reduces maintenance needs and houses would and could easily be designed for 100 years of usage without much updating except maybe a new interior renovation or landscaping changes outside your house. This house would be designed so that it is weatherproofed and the foundation coated to assure that moisture could be wicked off for some time to come without any maintenance.

       All fill would be compacted and sewer and water be connected to the tunnel which serves as an umbilical to the city providing needed services of supplemental heat and electricity as well serve as a vehicle to move sewage and trash after liquefaction or pulverizing to a central methane processing facility. This would allow the waste to collect in tanks and undergo a fermentation process and then the resulting gas would be used to fire a boiler for both heat and power generation.

      The resulting slurry would then be pumped into spreader trucks and would be added to the forest floor to enhance and supplement the growth of trees . These trees could then be cut and used as a source of fuel later. One hand washes the other and soon you have hundreds and even thousands of people minimalizing their impact or footprint while reducing to a negligible value their energy usage.

      Just building a city of the future would create jobs and commerce as our needs would be met and services started and soon we have a bustling market place with a wide variety of foods some created under roof in earth sheltered greenhouses with a southern exposure. Vegetables normally unattainable in northern regions would now be available due to lower energy costs.

    The communes of the 70’s come to mind when you present this idea to people nowadays and they usually relate it to communism. But the city would and should belong to the people and should be treated as a business. Shops and services would need to be approved and would have to pay rent to be allowed in. these businesses would have to be environmentally efficient and specifically it has to have minimal packaging, be energy friendly (no gas stations), and serve a good purpose in the lives of the residents.

     In order for this community or commune to thrive they need to be connected to the majority of the populace in the commune to enjoy all the services that could be offered to the residents. Low cost housing , buying in bulk , lower cost per item for most commonly used products, employment in services and industry that could be started from a communal need to provide goods. Landscaping, house construction, sawmills, excavation, concrete work, and a variety of needs would be addressed and provided if community on a whole approves.

      This commune or community would be based on latest technological advancements always striving to invent and secure patents for inventions that would arise as a result of future work. Computers would not only allow each individual in the community to access central operations and monitor events but would also allow you to vote on day to day operations of the community as a whole, along with all interested members on day to day topics that require decisions. This makes your vote count now that local officials such as mayors and trustees are eliminated. Smaller government means cheaper overhead and all people share in the wealth equally, as well as the misfortunes. Team leaders would write work reports describing actions needed for the community as a whole, and these actions would be voted on according to the priority they came in and the assigned priority of all members of the commune.

     I am in reality thinking outside the box and bringing back the company store to a degree only the owners of the company store where you live is you the owner of the property. No longer is the excuse that your vote doesn’t count as you are the CEO as well as the neighbor. Now what you do with it is totally up to you. You may only monitor important decision or votes that require all members to agree on. Or you may be interested in keeping up with the day to day activities of the community as a whole. This would allow for complete transparency of the operation as a whole. With all owners sharing responsibility along with that would be the sharing of profits when available.

     The main purpose of the commune or community is to provide all the residents with safe modern living free from hazards of air pollution and water pollution while maintaining the aesthetic beauty of the community and to provide for the welfare of its residents with employment and medical needs as so deemed by the community as a whole.