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Sustainability – Green Housing the Foundation of Change
By Cindy Lou Johnson

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As our population ages and employment becomes more competitive, the downward pressure on income threatens our ability to sustain life’s necessities – food, clothing and shelter. Life feels ever more precarious as we watch disasters around the world destroying people’s lives. Our sense of security is increasingly tied to the concept of sustainability. The dream of North American acquisition must be scaled to what the planet can withstand. As Chinese, Indian, and Asian economies ramp up their activity, we are forced to look at our choices within the context of the planet’s ability to furnish everyone with capitalism’s dream of independence. As individuals, what can we do to support the earth in a more sustainable way of living? The foundation of this shift to green living begins with the basic concept of shelter – our idea of home.

Dome homes offer a new blueprint for sustainable housing. Built of rebar, road mesh, lathe and concrete and insulated with polyurethane foam, these home are superior to conventional building in a number of ways. A dome, by nature, offers the most amount of floor for the least amount of wall. It takes less material to create and its shape attains more than double the stability of a regular box home A dome will stand for literally hundreds of years, a significant shift from the “build-it-tear-it-down” mentality. With its low maintenance exterior and superior energy efficiency, a dome offers sustainable living for generations.

The threat of wildfires in Canada’s Okanagan Valley is what inspired the design of the sculptural dome. Built from an engineered blueprint this dome uses rebar and lathe as a form. When finished it has 6 inch thick concrete walls covered with 4 inches of polyurethane foam This dome is designed.to meet the exacting standards and numerous requirements that must be met to attain a building permit. Research reveals that conventional dome building (i.e. the air-form monolithic dome) or the exacting math of Fuller’s geodesic dome can be inordinately expensive to build and dubiously permit-able. Created through a collaboration with a sculptor, architect and engineer the sculptural dome blueprint is engineered to pass the scrutiny of local districts.

A dome plan can be as individual as you are. The first sculptural monolithic dome is a 38′ diameter structure designed with a 5-sided bathroom and pantry at its center. With 1100 sq. ft. on the main floor and 750 sq. ft. on the second floor, there is ample room to create a floor plan that meets your needs. If you require a bigger home, simply increase the diameter or build interconnecting domes. However you choose to build your dome, consider these properties: A dome is impervious to wind, can withstand substantial quakes, is fireproof, and considerably more watertight than wooden structures. Couple that with the dome’s natural energy efficiency, low to no maintenance, and extraordinary longevity, and you have a home that saves you money while lowering your carbon footprint.

To learn more about dome homes,self-sufficiency and sustainability visit http://www.DomeDiva.com,

Cindy Johnson lives in a dome on a ten acre property in Canada’s Okanagan valley and is currently drafting a program for HGTV called ‘Homes of the Future. Committed to sustainable living Johnson writes articles and blogs on self-sufficient alternatives in healing, gardening, preserving and green building.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cindy_Lou_Johnson

Reason #6 Build a dome because it will house your family for many generations.

cool in summer, warm in winter

6 Responses to “#6 Sustainabiliy is our Future!”