Terestria
Earth's Planetary Base Station
A demonstration site for modern off-grid living
Start Over, Looking forward instead of back
Earthships and Arcosanti are about the most successful attempts so far, but new light transportation networks, housing, restaurants, retail and commerce are about to need a new home, not too far away.
Striping Land to terrace for large copper cables and conduits to distribute power and internet to high density lot subdivisions is outdated.
Modern batteries, solar panels and inverters are becoming commoditized, making possible fully normalized residential life without the need of massive Edisonian electrical, telephone (cable) and fossil fuel distribution wire and pipeline grids born of the industrial age. It is time literally to cut the cord, but without having to be a millionaire to do it. Be house rich, and have extra income for travel and being catered to. (This new massive development is just 7 miles from Terestria. Be assured that every ten million dollars of earthmoving, concrete, asphalt, copper, fiber, pipe and equipment boxes supporting such will be paid for by the new homeowners, for their priveledge to spend even more on them each month.)
The need existed before climate change, but now...
This is a call to Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg and other titans with lofty zero carbon goals, but also to efficiency in living. We need a different type of land development. Centralizing solar fields is a huge waste of natural resources, and perpetuates the need for monopolistic power providers "retailing" the otherwise cheap solar power, and Public Regulation Commissions subject to bypass by powerful political lobbying. Keep solar's source at the need. Mortgage it with the home. Individualized pressure sewer systems provide one model for smaller de-centralized delivery and exchange of utilities. Similarly, a microgrid can balance power needs.
A new context
Ultralight electric vehicles reduce the need for heavy-duty roadway dependence. Conventional roadways are extremely expensive to build and maintain, ultimately adding to the cost of housing. Save the heavy shared auto-driving Tesla's for the high speed public roadway network. Keep low speed neighborhood vehicles (also with the option for auto driving) for the neighborhood. Make true trailside cafe's a quiet and pleasant thing of the future. (Did you know that air rushing out from under tires by cars traveling over 20 mph is the principle source of noise by traffic? And, that won't change with conventional electric vehicles being developed now. )
Independent living...extended.
Using a combination of Land Trust and Condominium land organization, elders can live in a well-appointed casita and have access to on-campus health providers (yes, that do house calls). And those providers participate in their own home ownership and conventional style value appreciation without their market and associated escalating property taxes eating the elder community's lunch. People can stay for the duration, and not shop for "Cruise Ship on Land" super dense, lock-down prone elder apartment style housing, usually stealing wealth and income with high rents. Be a shareholder instead, and bequeath your shares to heirs.
See the Demonstration House. It costs half of an earthship (tm) and 60% of a starter house in a tract subdivision. And No Utility Bills! Use all that extra disposable income for things that matter. Own dividend-paying shares (less expenses) instead of paying nothing but rent, and pass the shares down to heirs.