I think he's doing a lot of things right. I'd recommend big improvements in his clothing scenario though. Sounds like he's wearing his clothes more than once before washing but he should try not buying any brand new clothes at all. I haven't bought anything 'new' (except underwear, socks and shoes) in a bit over six years that wasn't reused or upcycled from charity shops. Mass produced textiles are environmentally horrible in almost all their forms, reducing the use of textile anything can make significant impacts on an individual's environmental and carbon footprint. Clearly he ignores the embodied energy when he ships clothes from China. And the cheap prices? Who does he think really pays? It may not be him but somebody is losing out on pay and conditions every time he gets a 'bargain' from China...
jules - 9 years ago
I think he's doing a lot of things right. I'd recommend big improvements in his clothing scenario though. Sounds like he's wearing his clothes more than once before washing but he should try not buying any brand new clothes at all. I haven't bought anything 'new' (except underwear, socks and shoes) in a bit over six years that wasn't reused or upcycled from charity shops. Mass produced are environmentally horrible in almost all their forms, reducing the use of textile anything can make significant impacts on an individual's environmental and carbon footprint. Clearly he ignores the embodied energy when he ships clothes from China. And the cheap prices? Who does he think really pays? It may not be him but somebody is losing out on pay and conditions every time he gets a 'bargain' from China...
Jungle unplugged - 9 years ago
This works for me: after living on a boat, then in a yurt (4 years each)...I have refined my sheltering to be as Rob describes.
After rethinking the dollar trade-offs in past choices, the joy/health/planet balance sheet...my current habitat is 70% repurposed materials with 30% going to concrete and rebar. My wooded jungle lot is at the far end of the busline. The shelter mimics my former boat hull in concrete, half submerged/subsumed into the jungle's natural insulating rock-based ground.
The breezes are captured and drawn into the single room by a windsurf mast and adjustable sail. Roofdeck hatches bring in natural light. Kitchens have always felt like a money/energy/maintenance/time thief. I have been altering my food choices to be nutrition-based and support local farmers for produce not requiring traditional cooling/refrigeration. The condensation cooling method of rain-soaked sand insulating doubled clay pots keeps greens for three days. Rainwater heated by passive solar roofponds is the gravity powered outdoor shower near a compost toilet, housed adjacently and inner garden/private.
Walking the area with my fitbit encourages neighbor networks, local news updates and bartering for cold beer or fresh bread. Books insulate one wall and bounced sunlight is adjustable with aluminum clad pivot walls which also allow optimizing breezes. The rub comes from giving any concern for comments from those who still pay for electric and tv-cable-phone connections. Those dollars are in my "pocket" for the day's choices. That Choicefreedom is the most valuable asset. Every day is a new set of options.
Connie Pender - 9 years ago
What he describes in this interview is a life lived by rural poor people minus the luxury of Uber and custom made clothing. Some of these people live without indoor plumbing and electricity. Many feed themselves off the land. Go to some small town and see what I mean. Coleman, FL comes to mind.
I think he's doing a lot of things right. I'd recommend big improvements in his clothing scenario though. Sounds like he's wearing his clothes more than once before washing but he should try not buying any brand new clothes at all. I haven't bought anything 'new' (except underwear, socks and shoes) in a bit over six years that wasn't reused or upcycled from charity shops. Mass produced textiles are environmentally horrible in almost all their forms, reducing the use of textile anything can make significant impacts on an individual's environmental and carbon footprint. Clearly he ignores the embodied energy when he ships clothes from China. And the cheap prices? Who does he think really pays? It may not be him but somebody is losing out on pay and conditions every time he gets a 'bargain' from China...
I think he's doing a lot of things right. I'd recommend big improvements in his clothing scenario though. Sounds like he's wearing his clothes more than once before washing but he should try not buying any brand new clothes at all. I haven't bought anything 'new' (except underwear, socks and shoes) in a bit over six years that wasn't reused or upcycled from charity shops. Mass produced are environmentally horrible in almost all their forms, reducing the use of textile anything can make significant impacts on an individual's environmental and carbon footprint. Clearly he ignores the embodied energy when he ships clothes from China. And the cheap prices? Who does he think really pays? It may not be him but somebody is losing out on pay and conditions every time he gets a 'bargain' from China...
This works for me: after living on a boat, then in a yurt (4 years each)...I have refined my sheltering to be as Rob describes.
After rethinking the dollar trade-offs in past choices, the joy/health/planet balance sheet...my current habitat is 70% repurposed materials with 30% going to concrete and rebar. My wooded jungle lot is at the far end of the busline. The shelter mimics my former boat hull in concrete, half submerged/subsumed into the jungle's natural insulating rock-based ground.
The breezes are captured and drawn into the single room by a windsurf mast and adjustable sail. Roofdeck hatches bring in natural light. Kitchens have always felt like a money/energy/maintenance/time thief. I have been altering my food choices to be nutrition-based and support local farmers for produce not requiring traditional cooling/refrigeration. The condensation cooling method of rain-soaked sand insulating doubled clay pots keeps greens for three days. Rainwater heated by passive solar roofponds is the gravity powered outdoor shower near a compost toilet, housed adjacently and inner garden/private.
Walking the area with my fitbit encourages neighbor networks, local news updates and bartering for cold beer or fresh bread. Books insulate one wall and bounced sunlight is adjustable with aluminum clad pivot walls which also allow optimizing breezes. The rub comes from giving any concern for comments from those who still pay for electric and tv-cable-phone connections. Those dollars are in my "pocket" for the day's choices. That Choicefreedom is the most valuable asset. Every day is a new set of options.
What he describes in this interview is a life lived by rural poor people minus the luxury of Uber and custom made clothing. Some of these people live without indoor plumbing and electricity. Many feed themselves off the land. Go to some small town and see what I mean. Coleman, FL comes to mind.