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Author Topic: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT  (Read 4567 times)

Eco-Author

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You actually go against your own advice and observation when you say we need CO2 reduction most of all.  The obvious counter to this is we are clearly experiencing weather well beyond that which is sustainable right now and any REALISTIC effort to draw down CO2 to realistic levels is likely decades if not centuries away!  THUS, to not be arguing that we FIRST need to dig in on high ground so that "WE LAST LONG ENOUGH TO DO WHAT YOU PROPOSE" is negligent!  Those who give us five / ten years to live and argue for a carbon tax???  Hmmmm?!!!! 

Furthermore, if you are going to survive some 2,000 nuclear meltdowns and fires, Mercury releases and every tanker ship, rail car, and storage tank leaking out after a collapse, you might as well forget running off to your secret homestead as that will not work!  For all the effort you claim is needed to survive climate change, could have been used to actually ADRESS all chance disasters at the same time! 

OF all the abilities listed in the photos below, which ones do you plan to cross off and still survive a collapse/endless meltdowns?!
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2018, 10:43:29 PM »
Apart from living on high ground in structures able to withstand super storms, ULTRA-Self-Sufficiency is the absolute key to coping with nearly any type of disaster, war, pandemic or economic collapse you can think of.  By having LARGE multi-family homes with substantial wood and metal shops capitalizing on CNC, 3d Printing, and 3rd gen super computers we essentially insulate ourselves from the need to travel (thus disasters and adding 10% more free time to our lives) we also insulate ourselves from the spread of pandemics!  Gas shortages?  not a problem... Even something as complicated as a helicopter can be manufactured in 50 small shops the size of a garage not to mention the most efficient GE turbo props that went from 855 parts to 12... 1/3rd of which are 3D printable!  You have two centuries of technology that can establish self-sufficiency beyond the homesteads of old, yet modern home design has yet to incorporate them and reflect these changes!
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2018, 10:04:19 PM »
Cities are the most vulnerable part of society - Relics of the past and every one either along the coast or along a river waiting to be flooded out.  Since we will be forced to reinvent society with a clean sheet approach (wise to do even without fear of GW), what would a start from scratch scenario look like? 

Here we see a critical way to avoid the pitfalls of putting so many eggs in one basket... You start by finding the key roads in a nation that actually go somewhere vs. just serving a single location.  Instead of 6,000 miles of road in New York City for example.  Build your new communities RIGHT ALONG side of the roads that are the most important, say, ones that go from coast to coast! Instead of 15 million people all in one location... spread out along 400 miles of roads in such a way gain the benefits of a city let spread them out so not all is at risk at the same time.  In such a planned scenario, the most expensive hard to maintain and un-safest aspects of roadways such as bridges and intersections are completely eliminated.  Not a single red light or stop sign or bridge is needed in such a layout and EVERYONE is within 1/4 mile of a major highway... speeding up the effectiveness of public transit, police and fire response!  This eliminates traffic jams, backs up major roads with backup parallel roads and essentially serves as one big production line where massive Terraforming machines can be made and shipped right down the line.  It is also known as a DISPERSAL STRATEGY in which military and industrial abilities are spread out... Overall, this insulates us from disasters and since we all can work within our own homes or right down the block from a major industry, we are insulated form the effects of pandemics...
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

TerryM

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2018, 11:05:38 PM »
Eco
Your last sounds similar to the "strip cities" that emerged alongside the freeways in Southern California. They're generally considered to be part of the problem, rather than emblematic of successful urban design.
Building up, not out has been a green slogan here in Ontario & is seen as a way to circumvent "urban sprawl".
Terry

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2018, 01:47:32 AM »
Building up, not out has been a green slogan here in Ontario & is seen as a way to circumvent "urban sprawl".
Terry


As per the first post, I definitely do call for taller buildings at the very least 7-14 maybe even 19 floors!  Anytime you see a 'supposed' green community with buildings only one level you know they are not doing all the can such as earthships etc. because the greatest way to be the most efficient is larger buildings with simple efficient shapes (circles have 15% more internal volume per outside surface area vs even a basic rectangle - not to mension large LONG apartment/townhouse complex-types that even make it worse with so many broken roof lines and staggered garages!  Building up is the best way to reduce outside surface area exposed to the heat of summer or cold of winter. 

As a published disaster planner, I do firmly believe in a limit to the overall height of a building!  Not only is there fire to worry about but you run the risk of say a chemical accident that puts far too many people at risk.  Any building much beyond the reach of a fire truck ladder is ruled out. 

Cities are widely known that being more efficient than suburbia, but so much in one location (San Francisco has 76,000 miles of underground water, sewer, power, gas and communications) is a risk to chance disasters... thus you NEED to spread out, yet while you do you build up to gain the natural benefits of a city-type layout... without the snarled traffic and endless backroads... These roads basically all go somewhere, not just winding through a development or a city's back streets. 

The trick to a what I guess is called a strip type layout, is you build BETWEEN the two directions of a main road thus need NO BRIDGES or intersections... Bet Cali doesn't have that???!!  Hidden/not shown in these basic paint drawings are the main rail lines so that is the primary transportation method... Roads are shown as they are the more complex system - yet still needed for backups as well as for fire trucks and local transit.  The above example of a line layout is old... I have newer ones less complex that aren't as finished... 
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2018, 03:44:16 AM »
Terry, when faced with all we have to deal with, a bit more 'sprawl' compared to an Ultra-condensed city is actually what you want for several reasons.  It has been long known since the dawn of ICBMs that DISPERSAL of industry and military units away from vulnerable fixed locations is the only way to survive a first strike!  This is why a 'degree' of panic should set in these days when you hear of militaries on exercise as that 'can be' an indication of a pending attack since no military in their right mind would want to be caught flat-footed at their base... thus they mobilize.  Furthermore, in the age of missiles, drones and submunissions, it is imperative that these Fielded forces actually have remote places to hunker down in - not exposed to an age of guided munitions in what has long been seen as an age called the closed battlefield.

MASS LUMPING of industries at key centers (Microsoft, silicon valley, Everett WA where all Boeing aircraft are made and so on) is exceedingly vulnerable too... Thus, industires are also seen as needing dispersed for these same reasons!

Then you have factors like Pandemics where airliners landing at all major hubs are likely to be ground zero for the rapid spread of major pandemics.

Cities are relics of the past for these reasons and more (such as 76,000 miles of underground utilities in San Fransisco alone) and thus, we need to spread these centers out, yet do it in such a way that still captures the land concious and efficiency we see in cities!  Which itself can be greatly improved with 'from scratch' approaches!  EVERYTHING has to be rebuilt anyway away from rivers and coasts so this is our last final chance to do it right.  The EARTH could not sustain even one more incantation of modern society as it is which is so poorly built, it all has to be replaced no more than every 100 years and that's without disasters along the way!
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

TerryM

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2018, 06:44:57 AM »
Eco
I'm not much concerned with surviving a "first strike".
I'm very concerned about experiencing a "first strike"


This ain't baseball, one strike and we're all out of here. >:(
Terry

etienne

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2018, 10:37:59 AM »
Like I said in another topic in the Walking the walk part of the forum, I'm not worried about collapse or apocalypse, but about decay of our nature and society. it’s also the way peak oil works, it’s not that we will wake up one day without oil, but oil will get always more expensive until efficiency gains and consumption cuts make it affordable again, until prices climb again.
Climate change is similar, there will be good years and bad years, just that the bad ones will become more frequent.

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2018, 07:19:25 PM »
Nuclear war has been threatened sometimes once a week for the last two years... IF we can address it with the same measures that it would take to address climate change and pandemics, how is this not a wway to draw together all those so called survivalists that think of nothing but.  are you willing to ignor all of these just focusing on very specific colutions for just one of the many problems we face:

All the OTHER Stuff we need to worry about:
 
A San Andreas M8.2 earthquake is now geologically considered over a hundred years past due.
 
The U.S./Cascadia North West subduction-fault expected to generate a M9.4 and mega/ocean-wide tsunamis is considered likely “at any time.”
The central U.S. New Madrid fault system capable of back-to-back M8.0’s is geologically approaching its window of activity with less than 100 years to go...
 
A triple-junction fault exists under DOWNTOWN Tokyo where a M7.3-M8.0 is expected at any time and is a fault now known to be 10km shallower than the city was designed for.
 
A newly discovered LOCKED subduction fault right along the coast of the North Island of New Zealand is expected to generate an M8.2-8.4 quake and tsunami when it finally ruptures.
 
Istanbul, Turkey--a city of 20 million--is over the last remaining section of a fault-line yet to rupture and is expected to generate up to an 8.0 quake at any time.
 
On the Canary Islands, the La Palma’s shield volcano, which could create (and historically does) a mega/ocean-wide tsunamis next time it erupts, is now in its average window of activity.

A similar volcanically-induced Tsunamis is also possible in the Western Pacific where Iwo Jima--whose summit has grown 20m since 1945 due to a building magma chamber--could potentially cause a tsunami wiping out Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo... some of the most populated cities on Earth.
 
The entire southern flank of the big island of Hawaii is slumping and threatening a 100-foot ocean-wide tsunami along every pacific shoreline. Seventy such past landslide events have happened in the Hawaiian chain in the last 20 million years.
 
The western-Atlantic coastal-shelf off the eastern-seaboard of the U.S. has a long history of landslide events and there are cracks along the edge which also threatening an ocean-wide tsunami.
 
The Yellowstone Super Volcano is within it’s own 600K time-frame window of eruptions and presently stirring with quake swarms.
 
Italy’s Campi Flegrei smaller Super Volcano--said to have likely wiped out the Neanderthal--on the boarder of Naples and as densely populated as Hong Kong--is not only stirring but modeled to be on the doorstep of a degassing eruption event at any time. Mt. Vesuvius--directly South of Naples is also decades past due for an eruption.
 
The Apoyeque volcano in Nicaragua typically produces some of the largest explosions on Earth every 2,000 years and has just entered its average window of possible activity.
 
Literally dozens of other possible smaller volcanic eruptions are possibly and easily capable of periodic year-long global winters and blackout conditions greatly reducing the effectiveness of solar. Iceland is now said to be entering its own 150-year cycle of increased activity with potentially devastating effects on Europe.
 
Looming in the background of possible events as we all know are killer asteroids impacts to consider with a near repeat of the 1907 Tunguska event happening again almost exactly 100 years later also in Siberia, Russia. Even asteroids just 30m in diameter can super-heat and explode in the atmosphere with the strength to wipe out the largest cities, not to mention the tsunamis they’d generate if one were to hit an ocean.
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

oren

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2018, 03:40:37 AM »
Eco-author, I could never quite figure out what construction solution it is that you are touting here, but is your solution going to relocate Tokyo? Shanghai? Istanbul?
If not, why are all these imminent geologic catastrophies relevant?

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2018, 04:42:30 AM »
Eco-author, I could never quite figure out what construction solution it is that you are touting here, but is your solution going to relocate Tokyo? Shanghai? Istanbul?
If not, why are all these imminent geologic catastrophies relevant?


The keys are:
1) super-low surface area designs (save heat and AC by having 1/50th the amount of surface area per volume such as what tall Cylinders or Octagons offer) that are...
2) large enough to have substantial sub-industrial scale industries right in their basements and work levels (such as found in large 14 story towers 50-meters wide with shops 50 meters long which are actually able to hold all the CNC and 3D printing to just about build a helicopter from scratch - which allows us to work entirely from out own home thus insulating us from impact on the environment, increasing our free time by 10%, and completely insulating us from pandemics since we don't have to interact with the outsider world in quarenteen situations)...
3) all on high ground away from as many common disasters you can with the high plains of central Canada being the most ideal as far as I can see...
4) Build a point-blank society right along your must vital, non-
flooding highways so that you need 80% less roads and utility
connections and spread out a large city over 50 miles
5) Using the newest high-tech industrial concrete that even can bend, build the most robust/hardened buildings able to withstand debris-filled F5s / Tomorrow's super-storms / quakes... even most gunfire...  figure 2' thick concrete walls are all you'd need or less which when you consider the homes of old Europe had 5' thick stone walls is quite a modest amount.

Those are your basics intended to survive all we face.  How soon you get started and the degree of MONUMENTAL EFFORT you put in is the more you can save.  Not my fault things were built so shotty on unstable ground right in harm's way!  I've been calling for these measures since my published paper in Law Enforcement Technolgoy in 2004 and given to the DHS by sen. kennedy himself. 

Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2018, 04:52:12 AM »
Law Enforcement Technology Journal was renamed (Police Chief?~) and only available to Law enforcement to begin with so it's not found on the net but this is the full - LONG article detailing mainly super massive emergency centers such as this photo 75m wide 12-story tower.  The full article: https://www.facebook.com/notes/chris-eldridge/emergency-services-preparing-for-a-super-disaster/10156624844749420/
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2018, 05:03:03 AM »
This was the other level published in the article - both of which generated interest from a DC architect whom made off with probably one of the highest performance building designs ever... notice the protected inner core consistent on all levels.  Top center are two full semi-rigs and tailers for size reference:
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #13 on: October 20, 2018, 02:46:06 AM »
BIG buildings not only benefit from 50X lower surface area per volume - thus are 50 X more efficient with less heat escaping or being absorbed in summer - the economy-of-scale (a fundamental design principle) also means more internal volume can be dedicated to work areas and much more robust commercial quality appliances and systems can be afforded that are themselves far more efficient than 100's of smaller individual sized units bought on the cheep and that don't last.  One satellite dish, one commercial AC/Heat system....  You can also afford to finally have elevators in a home and the structure itself can be far more robust!  These are fundamental design principles that few talk about


Everyone wants gov and big business to change but few focus on how wasteful and disorganized the general populous is as if they are saying "no change needed here" when in fact it is the HOME itself that is the largest part of any society and where even minor changes can be magnified by 100's-of-millions. 
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2018, 02:49:30 PM »
Do we realize that independent 'castle strongholds' were made obsolete, NOT by the cannon, but by the Elite rulling class that did not want such independent islands as part of their empire?!  WWII German flak towers proved impervious to even the largest Soviet WWII 203mm artilary and that's hardly counting the industrial concrete of today that even bends...  10X stronger than the strongest of 1990 at least. 
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #15 on: March 03, 2019, 05:40:10 PM »
I AM SOOOOOO Done with the ABSOLUTE LACK of COMMITMENT of 'Climate Scientists' whose supposed "EXPERTICE" borders on OUTRIGHT NEGLIGENCE in regard to even the most basic fundamental principles of design... This write up is based on a thirty year old concept that takes advantage of economy of scale in not only 80% more efficient designs, but ones that--if done right--can allow a productive group of people to work right from home thus avoiding the impact, expense and dangers of having to drive to work: thus attaining the ALL-IMPORTANT levels of SELF-SUFFICIENCY that is itself so vital to nearly any types of disasters you can think of. In my largest designs from 15 years ago, I achieved a 98.5% reduction in outer surface area and 98% less land use than all the dreamy/pitiful contemporary homes thought so 'modern' and wonderful in this world... Overall... when combined with a SOLID/HARDENED/ULTRA-EFFICIENT structure, work-at-home productively in sub-industrial scale shops (with CNC/3D-Printing) that can make a racing engine block from scratch, and a societal layout as talked about time-and-again with one-way roads with no bridges or stop signs/red-light/intersections, I'm able to achieve a 58,000% increase in performance over your SO-CALLED "MODERN" society! LOL....!
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #16 on: March 03, 2019, 06:00:15 PM »
about 20 years ago I chose to go with Octagonal designs... I had to make this call over circular designs. Even though Octagons lose about 3% in efficiency compared to circular designs, I felt--and still do--that Octagons can be more accurately built and have a slightly more efficient layout inside that is easier to furnish and work with which might make them just about equal?! To me it was a coin toss and Octagons might even be a bit stronger given that only with Equal PRESSURE on ALLL SIDES will a circle achieve the strength it is so highly touted for!
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #17 on: March 03, 2019, 07:17:46 PM »
As some of you are familiar, this is now a 10 year project that has been posted about probably no less that several hundred times. It is an ideal backup highway/road layout that is all one directional without the need for ANY bridges (the most expensive/least survivable aspect of our roads) NOR ANY stop signs, intersections, or red lights - Not a SINGLE ONE!
As a one way system free of the expense of bridges and at Autobaun speeds with the safety of all one directional travel we gain many advantages. We set up our communities to be BETWEEN the EAST and West bound directions (shown in the first photo as blue and red accordingly) so that we are never more than .6 miles from a three-lane highway on-ramp. All exits are at ground level much like when you come to a rest stop along/parallel to the main road. everything branches off from there as shown. Such a fast Point Blank (direct) system means that all emergency services (ambulance, transport, and police) are seconds away and so efficient we don't even need our own vehicles (which...since we work in industrial shops right on the bottom floors of our homes or a block away at most aren't needed for work travel anyway). The inner rectangle is likely all internal/interconnected and likely at least four stories tall with the eight circles representing eight octagonal 14-story apartment towers. Other living accommodations will be among this in smaller five and six story buildings so if larger groups aren't your thing (or it is more effective to separate drives and ground/road crews out into their own buildings etc.) there are options. This is much like a modern Castle and Bailey scenario that is entirely self sufficient with CNC machines in this one town numbering probably 100+.
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #18 on: March 09, 2019, 11:54:17 AM »
See above for details: Lower surface area reduces the amount of heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer!
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: The critical IMPORTANCE of the right HOME DESIGN and SOCIETAL LAYOUT
« Reply #19 on: March 18, 2019, 02:26:52 PM »
Sadly, people are far know virtually every performance fact about their favorite car or sports team yet only apply the façade of aesthetics as the value they see in their own homes.  R-values and the type of power/heating are but the smallest aspects of the true performance that can be gained in the proper 'layout' of a home!  100K of damage was done to the two end units of my townhome just because the sprinker systems froze and broke... In a true high performance/low surface area design, you have all of your most valueable plumbing and appliances in the center of the home where even a 100 watt lightbulb would be enough  to heat it. 
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!