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.