Brad Kittel from Pure Salvage Living.com and Tiny Texas Houses just blew me away with what was to me, beyond doubt, the best video from the 2017 Tiny House Summit. The hour long video actually gave me goose bumps. As I was watching I kept saying things like “slam dunk, slam dunk” as Brad eloquently explained his salvage tiny house solution to solve the web of problems facing our world today -– homelessness/ lack of affordable housing, unemployment, lack of decent paying jobs and job training, environmental degradation, lack of community, respect for elders and future generations, health problems from ‘sick housing syndrome’ and more.
General
Man Lives Inside $150 Bicycle ‘Stealth’ Camper
“For years now, Paul Elkins has been traveling the country in his ‘stealth camper’. Unlike many small homes you see, this one is attached to the back of a bicycle and it only cost $150 to make! You won’t believe what the inside looks like.
Tiny House Summit – Day 1 Videos Are Live
“The first day of the 2017 Tiny House Summit is now live, with presentations by Macy Miller, Valerie Cook & Tim Boffe, Becky Elder, Darren Hughes, David & Jeanie Stiles, Jewel Pearson, Laura M. LaVoie, and Jenn Baxter. These videos will be available to watch for free for 24 hours (ending at 12:00 pm US Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, February 21st), at which time they will be replaced by eight more!
Focus on Positive Solutions
Just imagine if the trillions of dollars wasted in Middle East wars had been invested in better ports, airports, highways, high speed rail, cleaning up the environment, reforesting degraded lands and building more sustainable cities and affordable housing. The possibilities are mind boggling. Of course that didn’t happen. The money is gone and now we need to focus on the way forward. We need to stay focused on positive solutions, and this is exactly what our blog is all about.
Resistance to Change
In general, I’ve found that people are very slow to change what they do if they change at all. No matter how many facts, charts and reports you show, many/most people will not heed the advice. This is true with many different things in life. For instance, most smokers, drinkers, criminals and drug addicts won’t kick their habits when faced with facts. Instead they choose to die or go to jail rather than change their ways. Another example is countless millions of people are overweight and unhealthy from not eating correctly. Most of them will not listen to common sense advice about healthy eating.
Hempcrete Update: Greater Availability of Legal Hemp in US
Good news for those interested in building with hempcrete in the US. Recent laws are making it much easier to obtain legal hemp for making hempcrete. Some hempcrete mixes turn almost as hard as stone.