As Hurricane Irma bares down on Florida after devastating the Caribbean and the wake of the devastation left in Texas by Harvey and the earthquake in Mexico our prayers go out to those in the midst of the storms and chaos. Losing everything can be devastating and we in no way want to trivialize the experience of those who have survived these major events, however, we do want to take this tragedy and turn it into an opportunity to shift the paradigm. Most of us can agree that if we don’t do something to change our ways we are headed for more natural disasters of epic proportion. People have talked about we need to change, with only a few going beyond talking to action. It’s hard to change when ways of life don’t seem broken, but when people have lost everything maybe this is the time to push change.
Our homes are energy producers not just merely energy consumers unlike the majority of mainstream building. This is a multifaceted benefit, first to the homeowner and then to the environment. As a homeowner over the lifespan of the house you will see a net savings. Whether you are spending money in the summer to cool or money in the winter to keep warm, the likelihood is that you are spending an enormous amount of money keeping the conventional poorly insulated home comfortable. By combining modern insulation with traditional building methods that incorporate thermal mass our homes are designed to greatly reduce the need for additional heating and cooling to be done thereby greatly reducing the energy consumption of the structure itself. This translates to your carbon footprint and an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Our homes can produce and store their own water. Water is a precious resource and a large amount of energy goes into water treatment as well. Our homes help to reduce the waste of water by incorporating a built in gray-water system if using a conventional toilet. We really support the idea of using composting toilets. They have come a long way from the initial outhouse, and don’t require the homeowner to literally be flushing money down the toilet utilizing water.
Together we can use this tragedy to opportunity to start implementing the changes we all agree we need to be made for our children and theirs to have sustainable lifestyles. We will be preparing for a Hurricane fundraiser to get started with EcoSmart homes in disaster hit areas. Change is never easy, but sometimes necessary for survival.