Heath Ledger

https://denverearthship.com
https://Article https://section from http://www.confluence-denver.com/features/wird_earthships_042215.aspx 
Hip-hop artist and activist Mike Wird sees earthships as the perfect antidote to Denver's housing crunch. The green structures might just be a perfect fit for the city, and in more ways than one.
How to address the environmental cost of growth in a boom time, like the one Denver is experiencing? Mike Wird, a 33-year old Colorado-born writer, rapper, educator and environmental activist, has an idea: Build earthships -- alternative housing structures that are off the grid and of the moment.

"Earthships give us a whole new way to think about and use energy," says Wird. "I see it as a first step to starting to wean off of a complete dependency on fossil fuels. As a human species, we have to start on this path, or we simply won't exist." 

Wird envisions a future city where urban dwellings are made from natural, recycled and found materials: Frames made of dirt-stuffed used tires instead of aluminum or steel; insulation from old soda bottles and beer cans rather than foam or fiberglass. Powered by solar energy, flowing with reclaimed and captured water and filled with plants and light, earthships combine indigenous building techniques with a modern approach to holistic system design. Made from round objects, they're curvy, curious structures -- half kiva, half greenhouse, both high and low tech.

"Earthships apply ecological design techniques to living situations," says Wird, who recently traded his trademark afro for a springtime buzzcut. "They use natural forces without a lot of inputs. There are no wires coming in from a power plant. There are no sewer lines coming in and out.

"It's a matter of looking at what's available now and putting it to use," he continues. "Like, old tires? You can find those anywhere. Let's make good use of them. Trees are really useful for other things like oxygenating the planet and offsetting our carbon footprint, so let's maybe not chop them down for houses."

The goal is to slowly raise awareness about the viability of earthships -- which are estimated to cost between $150 to $250 per square foot, plus the cost of land -- and to chip away at barriers to their construction. From zoning to building codes and permitting, it'll be a long slog before earthships get the green light in metro Denver. Wird and Eden are encouraged by recent developments in Marin County, California, and Portland, Oregon, where updates to city building codes have made it easier to build alternative housing.
"It's a movement, and it's inching along, at a turtle's pace. But the idea is here. It's only a matter of time before there is a critical mass. But that's the whole suspense of our time: Will we reach that critical mass? Is the damage that we've done to our world irreversible?"
Environmental sustainability and social justice are themes of Wird's work as an emcee and hip-hop artist; as a member of the Soul Pros, he performs with the leaders of Denver's thriving community of rappers, spoken word artists and activists who use art to elevate consciousness about the root causes of issues like poverty and racial inequity. As an instructor with Youth On Record, a nonprofit that deploys musicians and artists to bolster the creative education of the most vulnerable young people in Denver, Wird teaches about earthships to demonstrate that there is, indeed, hope for a future that sometimes looks bleak.
"It'll take a few years for it to slowly sink in with all of these students, but I want to wet their whistle, for them to know that we're not just doomed," says Wird. "There are cool ideas that make life fun again. For me, that's earthships. They just make life more fun."


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Heath Ledger

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