Decentralizing the Future: From Cryptos to Earthships
The future is moving towards decentralization. Why? Because doing so will improve the resiliency of our entire society.
We've seen excitement brewing in the world of cryptos and distributed ledgers with their promise of revolutionizing banking and government, removing the trusted third party (upon which we have relied for thousands of years), freedom from censorship, returning the power to the individual, and so much more.
The availability of information and free flow of communication has added a dimension of resiliency to our society that is hard to overstate. But just as we’re realizing the grand possibilities of the internet, we’re also realizing that certain elements need to remain decentralized.
The internet isn’t the only thing that could use some decentralizing; energy production, food production, water treatment, and sewage treatment are only a few specific examples.
These examples are addressed in a new ‘technology’ called an “Earthship”.
An Earthship is a self-sufficient, off-grid, high-efficiency, eco-home developed over the last 50 years by architect, Mike Reynolds.
Earthships are residential homes that produce their own energy and food, thereby eliminating the need for two massively centralized dinosaur technologies; power plants and monoculture farms.
Since the buildings use a fraction of the energy of a typical home, solar and wind energy actually work in these buildings. The homes also have a greenhouse built right into them, which not only allows you to grow your own food, but also serve other functions within the home as well.
They also collect and store rainwater for all on-site needs, and do so with miniscule energy costs. The water is used and reused four times before exiting as sewage and treated using basic biology. Together, these features eliminate the need for inefficient centralized city water treatment and distribution plants.
Not to mention the fact that Earthships are built out of 40% waste materials, cost nothing to heat and cool, are hurricane resistant, use many free building materials, can function almost anywhere in the world, and deliver all of the comforts of modern living (wifi, flat screens, toilets, refrigerators, etc).
Now to be sure, centralization has had its merits, like efficiency through economies of scale for example. But these merits are short-term in nature; in fact, most of our current systems focus on immediate gains and efficiencies without factoring in long-term stability or viability. Centralized systems are also relatively delicate and inflexible.
Given the examples outlined in this article, it’s easy to see how much is to be gained through decentralization. We are in the midst of a huge shift away from the extremes of centralization towards a healthier, wealthier, cleaner, freer, and more resilient future.
About the Author:
Wes is a songwriter and music producer, crypto and Earthship enthusiast, farmer and investor; amongst other things.
He is currently spearheading the Bayfield County Earthship project and is taking cryptocurrency donations to help fund it. The project would simultaneously function as a rental property and educational tool in order to spread the word about earthships, cryptos, and decentralization.
Follow at www.facebook.com/earthshipwisconsin/