extremegreenvillage.com

Google had a contest called Project 10 to the 100th. I applied for it.  

 

The reason I’m putting it here is because I must admit the questions they asked were really thought provoking and when I filled out the application, it caused me to rethink my project all over again with new eyes. Maybe these applications can give you a better idea of what I’m trying to do.

 

Google wrote:

 

Please select a category that best describes your idea.

Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?

Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?

Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?

Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?

Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?

Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?

Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?

Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don’t fit into any category at all.

How could I answer that? If Google would have a box that said all of the above I would have been much better off.

Farther down in the application,

Google asked:

What problem or issue does your idea address? (maximum 150 words)

I used these words to cover my problem with the multiple choice question above.

 

This project is a holistic village approach that helps answer the problems in each category listed above.

COMMUNITY: Because it’s a Coop and people work in groups as a condition of living there, everyone gets to trust and rely on each other.

OPPORTUNITY: New businesses will form on the property. And the Coop work will provide new work experiences.

ENERGY: The Green housing will save 70-90% of the energy. High MPG Coop vehicles saving 70-90%. Solar and Bio Mass will generate energy.

ENVIRONMENT: Water recycling. Trash recycling. Bio-intensive gardening.

HEALTH: Coop work is healthy purposeful exercise. Fresh organic food. Good friends and neighbors.

EDUCATION: Coop work for children and adults are a test when they start taking on new responsibilities.

SHELTER: Low cost, in the long run this housing will be 1/3 to a 1/10 the cost of comparable housing. Green, Sustainable housing. Need I say more?  

 

Google asked:

What one sentence best describes your idea? (maximum 150 characters)

Extreme Green Villages worldwide, where 1000+ committed Green Coop Members, start Green businesses and live Sustainably together at the lowest cost. SYNERGY!

Describe your idea in more depth. (maximum 300 words)

The idea is to build Sustainable Green Villages as low cost as possible. Using local inexpensive building materials. Using sweat equity as much as possible in a barn-raising format. This is important. To make the work so much fun, people who aren’t going to live there are going to want to help and learn. To make the children’s play area so much fun that they beg to come again. To give everyone positive life experiences.

The idea is to build Sustainable and Green. We in America use more than our fair share of resources. Many people are working separately, doing what they can to live Green, and they should be proud of their contribution. But Green by its nature is Cooperative. What will happen when 1000+ Green people work together, still raising their quality of life but lowering their use of resources to at least a tenth of what they use now? Not roof rainwater collection, entire village rainwater collection and recycling. Urine divergent compost toilets. Coop owned high MPG and electric vehicles. Buying in bulk from local farms to promote Sustainable Organic farming. A shopping service that will save at least 500,000 miles of driving a year. 4-7 one-story townhouses per acre. That’s an acceptable population density of 10+ people per acre. More than 6 billion people could live in a thousand mile by thousand mile area!

Imagine! All roofs will be high-walled private gardens, greenhouses or grass. With a private roof yard and a private high-walled back yard. Even though there is an increase in density of population versus urban sprawl, there is an increase of private space for each individual! Pedestrian centric design with meandering arbor covered walkways. Bio intensive gardening, capable of providing all the food for the project.

All to raise the worldwide quality of life! 

If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how? (maximum 150 words)

Besides the obvious Environmental benefits, who would benefit from Sustainable, Extreme Green Villages? Because of the stressing of SUSTAINABILITY, they will be a support for the surrounding community. In times of disasters, you have over 1000+ people in each Extreme Green Village experienced in working together. What emergency couldn’t use them? The more villages in a Community, the more help. Imagine if 30%+ of a countries population lived in Extreme Green Villages? That is 30%+ of the population of a country, all experienced in working together. See the impact?

And that doesn’t consider: The innovation in new Green businesses. The safety and stability with the resurrection of neighborhoods. The focus on the value of work and effort. And the focus on creating new and better ways to improve the quality of life for everyone.  

What are the initial steps required to get this idea off the ground? (maximum 150 words)

1.      Build a small demonstation project. (12-20 acres) This would be like creating a Model Home (but more extensive) for people to tour to see if they would like to help build the full scale project. And to provide a meeting place to help new Green projects. Also to work out the details of construction work on the project. To experiment how to make work fun and fullfilling for everyone. To build summer shade structures. Giving free temporary housing to people who are retired or have jobs to build the Demo Project on the weekends.

2.      Buy the 120+ acres of land for the full scale project and do site prep etc. Red Tape. Build the project.

3.      While the full scale project is being built, promote for subsequent projects. As each new project starts, connect each village together. Add bulk buying power and connect developing Green businesses.

Describe the optimal outcome should your idea be selected and successfully implemented. How would you measure it? (maximum 150 words)

Imagine 30% of the earth’s population living in different versions of Extreme Green Villages around the world. All treading lightly on the earth but without sacrifice and with hope. Where each person has their own private space. Open to the sky. A safe place to grow up, to be productive and to grow old and be appreciated.

All with low cost Green housing that will eventually lower from a third to even a tenth of local similar rentals! How? It is a Coop. The original cost for a unit doesn’t have to go up as the years go by. When the cost of living goes down for food, housing and transportation, that percentage enriches a World. The increase in disposable income will go to local business, education, helping others.

Additionally, if the economy of any area goes bad, these Villages will be a strong stabilizing force. PICK ME!  

 

American Express had a contest, I just missed applying for it.

 

My Project

What will happen when 1000 committed Green Coop Members, work and live Sustainability, together in a small Extremely Green Village? SYNERGY! This is a plan to create a large scale, low cost and Extremely Green Cooperative Housing Idea Project.  http://extremegreenvillage.com

It is designed to be a sweat equity demonstration project that tests how 1000 Extremely Green people can create the Greenest possible existence at the lowest possible cost. Each new Extreme Green Village will always be ready to change and improve to take advantage of differing conditions and new or different sustainable technologies.

 

The Problems I am addressing.

Green and Sustainability is Cooperative by its nature. Working alone is to be admired but together, we can do so much more. http://extremegreenvillage.com

Think of all the Green issues and how they can be made sustainable for generations.

Water and Sewage. We can do whole site water collection and 100% recycling? There are battles for water all over the nation that don’t need to be fought. And there are large hidden energy costs in moving our water and sewage long distances.

Energy. We will experiment with different forms of Solar and Wind energy.

Green Housing and Food. Designed like a small Green energy efficient and 100% trash recycling Village with pedestrian centric meandering walk and bike paths all shaded by edible green arbors. Every roof will be covered with biointensive gardens, greenhouses or grass. An extensive Town Center designed as a gathering point and loaded with ultra low cost Green businesses for the Coop Members and profit generating for visitors.

Transportation. Ultra high mileage and electric vehicles shared and Coop owned. Public transportation.

Economic and Food Supply Linkages between Extreme Green Villages. The Sustainability loop is closed!

 

The Impact My Project Will Have.

The biggest impact is creating places where 1000+ Committed Green people can live and work together. What Green inventions will they create? What Green businesses will they form? And when one Extreme Village links to another Green Village then it becomes multiple 1000s of Committed Green people working Sustainably together. In bad times these Sustainable developments will not falter. They will help the surrounding Communities to rebuild and 1000s will not need the extra food water and shelter that would be best used for the less fortunate.

Also, once the first Extreme Green Village is completed, all the costs for every aspect of the building and how it was done will be made public. This will help other Green developers worldwide to nudge their customers farther toward low cost Extreme Green and Sustainable Housing! 

 

My Inspiration.

A long time ago I lobbied for returnable containers. I volunteered to work with special needs children and adults. I volunteered to work in a Drug and Crisis Center. I protested for civil rights. I volunteered to work in organizations to end world hunger. I interviewed 300 battered women and developed a plan for a large scale, secure, self help facility.

All my life I’ve contributed to something bigger than myself. In creating Extreme Green Villages, what better way to gather 1000s of those kind of people together and see what we can all create, bigger than ourselves. Together!