The Japanese have created a model tea house that is heated with compost in the walls with pipes running through it. It is an elegant design that could be replicated in cob houses and other natural building, greenhouses, or other types of buildings. It’s good to see the concept is spreading. We have seen several working compost showers. How could you capture the heat in your compost pile?
The link below has more information on the tea house.
Mark Anielski, a cutting edge economist, has devised a way to make economic statistics reflect what people most want – quality of life.
“This work was inspired by the words of Robert Kennedy who said that the Gross National Product — the primary measure of economic progress– may measure the money flowing in an economy but fails to measure most of the things that make life worth living. This included the quality of our water and land and air, the way we spent our time, and our sense of trust and belonging to a community.”
“This is what the Genuine Wealth assessment delivers: a system of well-being measurement that is the basis of local governance and decision-making.”
This system for measuring quality of life is based on what citizens themselves feel that represents.
I appreciate the similarities between Mark’s flower graph and David’ Holmgren’s Permaculture Flower.