Half buried in the dry, red earth of New Mexico, are a series of buildings, unconventional in appearance and radical in design. They’re Earthships — sustainable, self-sufficient homes — and the 50 or so that are scattered outside the New Mexico town of Taos constitute the Earthship world community.

Earthships are the brainchild of Michael Reynolds, a motorcycle-riding son of the counter-culture movement of the 1960s and 1970’s. Having trained as an architect in Cincinnati he moved to New Mexico to experiment with his designs, ride motorcycles and avoid the Vietnam War.

From building houses using aluminum cans in the 1970’s to the state-of-the-art Earthships currently being built around the world, Reynolds has devoted his life to building self-sufficient homes. It’s been an evolutionary process.

Steel and aluminum cans, tires and other reclaimed materials are all used in Earthships, but they are far from primitive frontier cabins. Rather they are self-sufficient, off-grid homes that provide their own water, power and heating.

Long time residents of Taos, Tony Marvin and his partner Katy Grabel are recent converts to Earthships, which seem to be a way or life as much as a place to live.

“Having been here for more than 18 months now, it really has exceeded all our expectations. It really is quite an art form, and we’re not roughing it by any means. Reports are that it is the best functioning Earthship to date utilizing all the latest technology,” says Marvin.

Self-sufficiency at heart

All Earthships are built around a few core concepts.

Water is collected from rain or snowfall and stored in large underground cisterns. It is then used a number of times, first for bathing or washing. It is then recycled into “gray” water, which is used to flush toilets before being taken out of the internal water system as “black” water. It is then treated and used to water the Earthship’s plants.

As Michael Reynolds says: “If water is falling from the sky, and it is on the majority of the plant, it’s crazy not to catch it.”

Power is supplied by solar panels and wind turbines and even in areas where sunlight is more likely to be caught through overcast skies, modern photovoltaic technology means that they can still be effective enough to make any Earthship anywhere in the world self-sufficient.

“It sounds sophisticated and it is, but really it is the profound simplicity of Earthships that means it really doesn’t take much for an average person to figure out how to work it and even build it themselves,” says Marvin.

“I’d known Michael Reynolds for a long time. I’d seen his early examples and was unsure of them at first, but a few years ago when we were in process of retooling our lives and looking for a new place to live, we saw this Earthship and were completely blown away by it.

“There really was nothing as beautiful in Taos at this price. We also really chose to live here to participate in the concept of Earthships — to live off-grid and be self-sufficient.

“It’s like in the olden days of the 1960’s — the drop out, hippie thing of not wanting to be dependent on huge energy companies. That ethos is still there, but now it’s also about conservation. And it’s not just a worthy project. People with lots of money are looking at buying them,” says Marvin.

Experiments and obstacles

If Earthships are now finding favor among people who wouldn’t normally adhere to a conservation or alternative lifestyle ethos, they haven’t had a smooth ride.

Reynolds’ architecture license was revoked in the early days of his experiments building Earthship — radical ideas of running sewage through the front room fell foul of the authorities — and he recently battled for three years to pass a law in New Mexico that allows more research into sustainable building projects.

At it’s most basic, Earthships can be simple shelters with their own water supply. Basic but essential, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters, where Reynolds has built Earthships on the Andaman Islands after the Tsunami in 2004 and New Orleans after the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina.

Kirsten Jacobsen has spent 14 years working with Reynolds and says that a completed system is possible within six weeks. With new Earthships planned across the world, a 16-unit project is scheduled to be built in Brighton, England, the hope is that whole towns are built from Earthships.

“As much as idealism there really is a pragmatism to Earthships. Even people working within the energy industry acknowledge that we have to adapt and need to look at decentralized systems in the future,” said Jacobsen.

“It’s been an evolutionary process. The systems used in Earthships are now more exacting and more reliable than ever before, so more energy can be put into creating beautiful interiors. I’d say were at the apex of what Michael’s been working towards,” says Marvin.

By Dean Irvine

http://edition1.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/08/29/skewed.earthships/index.html#cnnSTCText

Ray Anderson built his $1 billion Georgia-based carpet business by, as he describes it, plundering the earth: using lots of fossil fuels and water, and creating mountains of carpet scraps in landfills.

Now he’s got Interface Inc.’s 4,000 employees climbing Mount Sustainability and working on Misson Zero, a multi-faceted goal to make the company environmentally neutral by 2020. Time International magazine recently named Anderson one of its “Heroes of the Environment.”

He and former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart also are co-chairing a committee that advises the University of Coloroda-Denver-based Presidential Climate Action Project, an organization of academic, political and business leaders coming up with 300 ways the next president can combat global warming.

Chief among them is a recommendation to shift federal subsidies from fossil-fuel-using industries to small businesses that are developing renewable forms of energy and other environmentally friendly technologies.

Robert Reiss, radio host of the CEO Show, recently called Anderson the global corporate leader in pushing businesses to become more environmentally responsible. Interface last year started a consulting business to market its practices to other companies.

The company says 20 percent of the materials it uses to produce carpets is either from recycled goods or is from renewable resources, and Anderson says he’d like to push that to 100 percent. The company is also trying to reduce pollution and waste in other ways, using solar power at a factory in southern California, for example.

Anderson began taking his company in a new direction, a mid-course correction as he calls it, in 1994, when he was 60 years old.

He was already an innovator. He’d started Interface in 1973 after seeing carpet tiles in England. He brought the concept to this country, where he revolutionized floor coverings for offices, airports and schools.

Interface tiles are about 20 inches by 20 inches. They can be mailed to customers in a box for do-it-yourself installation. If there’s a spill or the tiles are stained for other reasons, it’s an easier fix than replacing an entire carpet. Just pull up the tile and wash it off in the sink. If that doesn’t work, replace the piece.

“I fell in love with the idea. It just made so much sense,” said Anderson, now 73.

For the last five years, Interface has been slicing into the $11 billion U.S. residential carpet market. The hip product is popular among condo dwellers, and receives high marks from environmentalists because it can be recycled. And Flor recently teamed up with the Martha Stewart brand to reach an even wider audience.

The company’s first showroom opened in 2004 in Midtown Atlanta at Spring and 5th Streets near Georgia Tech, Anderson’s alma mater. The West Point, Ga., native arrived at Tech in 1952 with a football scholarship and graduated with a degree in industrial engineering. He got his start in textiles at Callaway Mills in West Georgia.

Anderson recently spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the transformation taking place at the company’s LaGrange factory, where most of the Flor carpet tiles are made for the residential market.

A long wall in the building’s administrative offices tells the story through photos and milestones since Anderson’s “epiphany” in 1994 when he read The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

Q: How did the book change you?

A: It was like a spear in the chest — thunk. I had never given a single thought to what we were taking from the Earth. . . I was convicted as a plunderer of the Earth, and I’ve spent the last 13 years as a recovering plunderer.

Q: How motivated are you by concerns over global warming?

A: Climate change is a real problem. … If we do business as usual. . . by the year 2030 we will hit the [amount of greenhouse gas emissions] that scientists say is the threshold of catastrophic climate change. . . which means we have to get going now.

Q: Have any of the presidential candidates responded to your group’s climate action report published earlier this month?

A: They’re all playing it close to the vest. We don’t know who’s going to pick it up yet. … We want [climate change] to be an issue. We want voters to ask who will be the most effective about fixing this thing?

Q: Have you spoken to Georgia’s political leaders about what the state can do?

A: No. You don’t waste your time.

Q: Other carpet makers are also touting themselves as green companies and using recycled materials. What sets Interface apart?

A: We didn’t stop [with recycling materials]. We’re on to restoration. Let’s put back more than we take. Let’s do more good than harm. …. I’m quite sure we’ve moved the entire industry.

Q: Can you make a business case for your environmentalism?

A: Our cost is down, not up. [The company has saved more than $350 million since 1994 largely by reducing carpet scrap waste]. Our products are the best they’ve ever been. … Our people are just galvanized around the shared higher purpose. It’s attractive to the best people. And the good will of the marketplace has enhanced the company’s profile. We couldn’t have bought it with all the advertising dollars in the world.

Q: What does sustainability mean?

A: At Interface, it means operating our petroleum-intensive company in such a way as to take nothing from the earth that’s not naturally and rapidly renewable and do no harm to the biosphere. On the equity side, it means treating people fairly.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/12/28/anderson_1230.htmlBy STACY SHELTON

KETTERING, Ohio–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ClimateMaster, Inc., a leading manufacturer of water-source and geothermal heating and cooling systems, today endorsed the GEOSmart Loan program offered through a partnership between GE Money & the Electric & Gas Industries Association (EGIA) at the Energy Efficiency Global Forum in Washington, D.C.

The GEOSmart Loan program, sponsored by EGIA and funded by GE Money’s Sales Finance unit, provides both installment and revolving financing options and is available through EGIA-approved contractors to assist consumers looking to purchase a ClimateMaster geothermal heating, cooling and water heating system for their home. “The level of long-term financing provided through the GEOSmart Loan program is something that has long been needed in the geothermal heat pump (GHP) market,” said Daniel Ellis, president of ClimateMaster. “GEOSmart financing makes these systems more affordable for consumers retrofitting existing homes.”

“GHP technology harnesses energy stored near the surface of the earth to provide heating and cooling,” says John Bailey, senior vice president of sales for ClimateMaster. “This stable underground temperature reservoir is maintained by solar energy and is a clean and renewable resource available in all 50 states. GHPs tap into this reserve to reach 400 to 600 percent energy efficiency, in terms of energy delivered versus energy drawn from the grid to operate the system.” According to the Environmental Protection Agency, geothermal heat pumps are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective space-conditioning system for most locations in the U.S.

“With buildings accounting for nearly 40 percent of all U.S. energy consumption and heating, cooling and water heating being the largest contributors, GHPs are one of the best ways to reduce your energy bills and your footprint on the environment,” said Ellis. “And they are a proven technology, with hundreds of thousands installed nationwide since their introduction in the late 1970s.”

“ClimateMaster’s line of geothermal heating and cooling systems are an excellent choice for providing and utilizing sustainable, affordable energy,” said Bruce Matulich, executive director of EGIA, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions. “We are pleased to be able to promote both ClimateMaster’s products and the GEOSmart program to distributors, contractors and our utility partners across the U.S.”

Due to significant consumer energy savings, the positive impact on utility peak load conditions and the substantial environmental benefits, a growing number of utility companies are supportive of GHP technology and are offering rebates and other financial incentives to encourage consumer installation of GHP systems. The GEOSmart loan program is already being integrated into leading utility and state sponsored energy efficiency programs, providing homeowners with a comprehensive financing solution that makes it easy for consumers to invest in energy efficient home improvements.

“At GE, we’ve made a commitment to continue investing in and providing products and services that are eco-friendly,” said Bruce Christensen, vice president and general manager, Home Improvement industry, GE Money – Sales Finance. “We’re proud to partner with EGIA and are excited that ClimateMaster has chosen to endorse the GEOSmart program.”

About ClimateMaster, Inc.

ClimateMaster, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of water-source and geothermal heat pumps, which are widely considered to be the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of heating and cooling available on the market today. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, ClimateMaster, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of LSB Industries, Inc. whose common stock is traded over the American Stock Exchange under the symbol LXU. For more information, visit www.climatemaster.com.

About Electric & Gas Industries Association

The Electric & Gas Industries Association (EGIA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions through a nationwide network of contractors, distributors, manufacturers and utility companies. EGIA is a leading provider of resource efficiency services and energy efficiency program administration for utility companies and water agencies. EGIA also provides the home improvement industry with comprehensive consumer energy efficiency and solar financing solutions and has administered some of the nation’s largest utility and state sponsored energy efficiency financing programs. For more information, visit www.egia.org.

About GE Money

With more than $190 billion in assets, GE Money, a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), is a leading provider of credit services to consumers, retailers and auto dealers in more than 55 countries around the world. GE Money, based in Stamford, Conn., offers a range of financial products, including private label credit cards, personal loans, bank cards, auto loans and leases, mortgages, corporate travel and purchasing cards, debt consolidation and home equity loans, and credit insurance. More information can be found at www.gemoney.com. GE Money’s Sales Finance unit, based in Kettering, Ohio, provides private label credit card programs, marketing, installment lending and financial services for national and regional retailers, dealers, manufacturers and service providers in more than 20 industries including: outdoor power equipment, home improvement, sporting goods, powersports, automotive, recreational vehicles, consumer electronics and appliances, furniture, floor covering, marine, music, jewelry, and health care.

GE is Imagination at Work — a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world’s toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ge.com.

©2007 General Electric Company, All rights reserved.

BY KATIE MERX

Passion and innovation have been the keys to Steve Kopitz’s success in the retail sporting goods business.

And he’s counting on a dedication to those qualities to overcome the effects of global warming and a sluggish economy on his newest venture, the realization of a lifelong dream: running his own ski shop.

A skiing fanatic since age 6 and successful sporting goods retailer for the past 17 years, Kopitz couldn’t resist when the 54-year-old Don Thomas Sporthaus became available three years ago. But Kopitz, who now owns 11 sporting goods stores and seven Web sites through his Summit Sports enterprise, also realized quickly that his goal of building a premier retail ski business didn’t fit with the layout of the Sporthaus’ 40-year-old location in Bloomfield Hills.

“It was on three levels,” Kopitz said. “The lighting was poor, the layout was poor. We needed to move.”

And as long as he was moving, he wanted to do it right.

Downtown Birmingham was the obvious choice for relocation, he said. That’s where the largest number of the store’s 13,000 registered customers live.

The first challenge was finding a location with adequate parking. But he was patient, and eventually, a location with parking opened up on South Old Woodward across from the landmark 555 building.

The next challenge was building a store that didn’t worsen the global warming that threatens not only the environment, but also the sport of skiing.

“Skiing and global warming don’t go together,” Kopitz said. So when the store opened in its new location at 690 S. Old Woodward on Sept. 1, it showcased both a more modern retail layout and several environmentally conscious appointments.

Kopitz focused on using recyclable, renewable, natural, local, durable and energy-efficient materials when building the store.

Among other things, the Don Thomas Sporthaus buys energy from green sources, such as windmills and solar panels. It uses tiles and carpet produced with recycled materials and processes that emit fewer toxins than traditional systems and LED lighting fixtures, which Kopitz said use 80% less electricity than neon lights.

Some of the green features will pay for themselves, some won’t, Kopitz said, but the upscale retail environment combined with his purchase of www.skis.com should help the store attract the business it needs to be a successful member of his Summit Sports enterprise.

Despite the changing retail market for sporting goods, Kopitz said his business “has grown virtually every year for 17 years.”

And the business’s growth has come “entirely from internal profits,” he added.

Kopitz pegged revenue growth of his enterprises at about 40% year over year. He declined to share recent revenue figures, but he told Crain’s Detroit Business in 2001 that he expected to record $9 million in sales that year.

In addition, he said, he has hired people in each of his stores — Summit Sports employs about 150 people — who are passionate about the sports they serve.

Soon, Kopitz plans to integrate some of the elements from skis.com into the Don Thomas Sporthaus, allowing customers to view side-by-side ski comparisons and on-the-slopes video reviews of equipment on in-store computers with wireless Internet.

“If you’re standing here trying to decide between two or three skis, we can roll the computer kiosk over and pull up the comparisons,” Kopitz said.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/green-awareness-can-depend-on-life-factors/2007/08/29/1188067188444.html

By Leon Gettler

HOW green is your consumer? According to research from BP, people’s response to environmental issues and business depends on their age and family circumstances.

BP analysis reveals that people aged 18-29 want to be seen to be doing the right thing but are less likely to do much more than recycling.

Those aged 30-44 are generally less aware of the issue, but feel guilty. Often, their children prompt them into action.

People aged 45-54 are scared and worried about the future. They are concerned about what could happen to the next generation, but feel that environmental issues are out of their hands.

The findings, which could be relevant for businesses targeting sectors of the new green market, from automotive companies to home builders, also revealed that, while there had been a big increase in environmental awareness over the past 12-18 months, most people were only willing to do something about it if it did not cost too much time or money.

The research also found a big take-up of green purchasing activity and environmentally aware behaviour in such areas as using reusable shopping bags and buying environmentally friendly detergents and household cleaners.

The biggest change was in people buying “green” electricity for their homes. This had increased 45 per cent since 2005.

More people were installing solar energy (up 41.7 per cent) and buying low-energy white goods (up 34.9 per cent) over the same period. The number of people switching to environmentally friendly detergents had risen to 33.9 per cent.

More people were also using reusable shopping bags, taking shorter showers and refusing plastic bags. Slightly more people were reusing the blank sides of paper and throwing paper, plastic and glass into recycle bins.

BP Australia brand manager Peri Hunter said BP Australia was targeting the 30-44 age group, as this took in families.

“If you can create opportunities for families that are cost neutral, they will act,” Ms Hunter said.

“Our research shows that the children are the key influencers with their parents. They are also future consumers and they are the future earth keepers.”

Over the next year, BP plans to become Australia’s biggest marketer of biofuels.

A BP Citibank Mastercard will allow drivers to pay $2.25 a month to offset emissions from their vehicles.

BP Solar, Australia’s only producer of solar cells, has moved into profitability. BP Australia is also involved in the Federal-Government-backed Solar City project in Blacktown, NSW.