Pitch
What simple modifications can we make to lower usage in utilities and possibly render a few common products and processes unneeded?
Description
Summary
I'm going to be informal here in the beginning. Please jump in!
Grass:
Why are we spending time on a mostly aesthetic lawn? Sure, it helps with erosion, but so do gardens, fruiting trees, etc. Lawnmowers use fossil fuels and break down. Grass doesn't feed us and cutting it is a "fruitless" chore. (Fruiting land could cut out transportation of foods).
Water:
Why is water catchment not an automatic piece of properties? I envision collecting from gutter systems and useing the gravity of falling watter to power turbines on it's way to the gardens / house / storage.
Insulation:
Many in the southwest are creating "earth ships" by using the earth on their properties to build effective insulated homes (with other reclaimed materials). It is a movement in materials that exist on the property (avoiding removal of dirt and importing brick and insulation). I envision a profession that incorporates designers, architects and landscape architects to design a more effective system.
Category of the action
Building efficiency, Social Action