This article at Grist features many people who have discovered more happiness and a different attitude toward possessions after moving into tiny houses, as small as 100 square feet. Here's a short article I wrote in 2007 describing houses as small as 40 square feet.
At the recent Doha climate talks, Philippine climate change commissioner, Naderev M. Sano, appealed to his fellow negotiators at a session deciding the contours of the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The context is as follows:
“Please let Doha be remembered as the place where we found the political will to turn things around,” he said as he choked back tears. Just days before, Typhoon Bopha had hit the Philippines, killing hundreds of people. The typhoon, having been both unusually forceful and out of season, was deemed — like Hurricane Sandy — to be an extreme weather event, exacerbated by climate change.This is an extremely powerful moment. It plays into my frustration with those around me, and my frustration with myself. With a few extraordinary exceptions, Americans rolling along, not treating the use of fossil fuels as a weapon. We are all going to need to take this problem seriously, and I'm afraid deep down, that we won't, and millions of people by the sea (and many of those far from the sea) are going to suffer horribly, and we will all take the result as "natural disasters." I don't mean to sound preachy. I'm about to get on a plane with my family and burn lots of fossil fuel to travel to see relatives during the Christmas holiday. If I were serious, I would not get on that plane, right? I'd make a statement by not traveling. All of that bicycle riding I do for commuting is for naught with one pleasure trip during the holidays. Further, I don't know how most of us will face down the temptation to exploit the earth unsustainably when this exhaustion of resources described in detail by Geoffrey Miller is intimately tied to our sense of self-worth and our craving to display our worthiness to those around us. My mood was captured by James Taylor in a haunting song from his 1997 Hourglass album, a song titled "Gaia": The sky was light and the land all dark The sun rose up over Central Park I was walking home from work GAIA The petal sky and the rosy dawn The world turning on the burning sun Sacred wet green one we live on GAIA Run run run run said the automobile and we ran Run for your life take to your heels Foolish school of fish on wheels GAIA Turn away from your animal kind Try to leave your body just to live in your mind Leave your cold cruel mother earth behind GAIA As if you were your own creation As if you were the chosen nation And the world around you just a rude and Dangerous invasion GAIA Someone`s got to stop us now Save us from us Gaia No one`s gonna stop us now We thought we ought to walk awhile So we left that town in a single file Up and up and up mile after mile after mile We reached the tree line and I dropped my pack Sat down on my haunches and I looked back down Over the mountain Helpless and speechless and breathless GAIA Pray for the forest pray to the tree Pray for the fish in the deep blue sea Pray for yourself and for God`s sake Say one for me Poor wretched unbeliever Someone`s got to stop us now Save us from us Gaia No one`s gonna stop us now
Tonight I was taught how to get serious about sustainability. Most people I know merely talk the talk, and they would rarely, if ever, consider making significant voluntary changes to their life styles in order to preserve the planet. Solar panels on the roof? It might offend the neighbors. Take public transportation? Outside of a handful of American cities, it is considered beneath one's dignity to the extent that one can afford to own a car. Refrain from taking a pleasure trip across the world? Why would anyone do that? Car pool? Are you crazy? Ride a bicycle to work? I can't because I might get sweaty. Eat only local food? I need more variety! 
Tonight I listened to Tony Sirna describe Dancing Rabbit, a community of people truly dedicated to shrinking their ecological footprint. He discussed his community, sustainable living options, and what the future holds for all of us. The following is from the introductory literature to the presentation:
Dancing Rabbit Eco-village in Northern Missouri has been at the fore since 1997 and its members are living one vision of a sustainable future right now. Over the last 15 years Dancing Rabbit has built over 25 energy-efficient homes using reclaimed lumber and natural building methods such as strawbale and cob. By reducing electricity use to less than 10% of the American norm, the village is now a net exporter of renewable energy. Three vehicles are shared among the 75 residents, who drive only 7% of the US average. Food production is integrated into the design of the pedestrian-scale village. Cooperation, a strong gift economy, and a vibrant alternative currency support the economic stability of the community. Natural ecosystems are preserved and restored on the community's 280-acre land trust. Sustainability is not just a dream. The residents of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage are living it right now.I learned that the 75 residents of Dancing Rabbit use only 10% of the energy of the average American. They do this through the power of cooperation--a strongly interconnected community that strongly encourages each other. This is not a religious community. It is not a group that shares it's income (every individual controls his or her own wealth).
The residents have erected a small village of homes, mostly built of clay, sand and straw. These are small houses by modern standards--about 1/3 the size of new houses in the U.S., but this is the size of a typical house from the 1950s. The community compact forbids the private ownership of cars. Three community vehicles are shared among the 75 residents. Ride sharing is strongly encouraged, and almost no one drives alone.
Water use is only about 12 gallons per day per person, compared to 135 gallons for the typical American. They accomplish this through composting toilets, cisterns for rain and constructive wetlands. They are getting fairly close to having zero carbon buildings. The aim is to be entirely free of fossil fuel. They grow much of the food they eat.
The residents include many college educated people, many of whom work jobs from the isolated village up in Scotland County, Missouri. Some of the residents run a B&B in the village. The original residents were transplants from Stanford University; that was 15 years ago. Sirna indicates that it is an extremely fulfilling lifestyle, where residents live life by their values, among those who share their values. The current plan is to recruit more residents in order to expand the eco-village to 500 residents.
Annie Leonard ("The Story of Stuff") urges us to stay home on Black Friday, offering us some stunning images in this one-minute video: What else is there to do? Fifty years ago, people would have thought you were an idiot to even ask this question. Although I have NEVER shopped on Black Friday, I signed Annie Leonard's Pledge.
Would you like to help preserve an ecologically pristine corner of the world? Here's a project you will appreciate: The Children's Eternal Rainforest. I'm personally involved with this organization, having conducted the interviews in this video and I composed the music. Take a look and you'll see that this Costa Rican Rainforest is an extraordinary treasure that can and should be preserved.