Eco Fables

I have encountered a couple of stories in the last two days that help simplify and support some of the Eco ideas we have been working with.

“A dog lies in the shade in the summer time. He lies in the sun during winter.”
unknown author

Our Great Pyrenees, Rudigger lying in the sun...

This one seems so simple and obvious. It is the concept of Passive Solar Heating. Passive because no technology or outside energy is needed to accomplish it. In your home, this is done using south-facing windows to allow sun heat in. The amount of sunlight/heat input is controlled with shades and overhangs. The heat retention in the house can be enhanced by placing “solar masses” like wood, concrete, water, tile in the way of the sunlight to absorb more heat.

Like the dog, in the summer we shade the sun out of our houses. In the winter, we let in as much as we can.

The second fable is a story from Michael Reynolds, the founder of the Earthships movement originating in Taos, NM. (www.Earthships.org) He tells a story of being a buffalo in a vast herd of buffalo. The herd is stampeding wildly towards a cliff. He is one of the few buffalo that sees the cliff and is trying to swerve away, but they are all swept together towards the cliff. What the greater herd decides, the entire herd has to abide by.

This is Mr. Reynolds’ way of simplifying the Eco movement. His view is that it is not enough that he personally live on the earth with zero impact. If every one else lives wildly and ruins the planet, he also loses.

But the key that makes him different, is that he is not pounding his fist telling you to magically and instantly change your life. He is actually showing people how they can minimize their impact without drastically changing their lifestyle! Or in other words, how to live better without being looked at as a crazy hippie or turning into a hermit.

A Taos, NM Earthship

So there are two very simple concepts presented simply. It’s a slow process, but maybe we can get more buffalo turned in the right direction.