About
greenspree is the name of another blog of mine, greenspree.ca and also the handle I go by. In real life I am Andy Collier from Prince Edward Island, Canada. I have a college degree in Constructioon Technology and am a Energy Programs Officer for the Province of PEI’s Office of Energy Efficiency. I have worked in construction, architecture and the civil service most of my adult life with 7 years as a contract administrator for an architectural firm. It was there that I became interested in environmentally friendly design and alternative energy. It was also where I met my future wife and learned that we both shared a deep unshakable respect and love of the natural world and it’s rythems.
When we married, and even before hand, we decided that waste, pollution and consumption were going to be kept as far from orur lives as possible. This shaped our decisions on where to live, what kind of house to build, what kind of car to drive, what and how to eat and what our future goals were to be.
I hope that we can be informative and invoke discussion and thought about how people live their lives and use their resources.
Hi Andy
Just thought you’d like to know; I have mentioned you in my book. There is a section on comparing various systems of living:
“With close to 7 billion people on Earth, the kind of subsistence behaviour that supported just a few people thousands of years ago, and still supports pockets of humanity in some areas, doesn’t seem possible – there doesn’t seem to be enough land or wildlife to go round. Surely city dwelling, with its emphasis on high density, high efficiency living is the only way to support even the 4.6 billion people that WWF and the Optimum Population Trust say is sustainable, isn’t it? To answer that question we need to consider how much land a person needs to grow their own food and obtain the other basic requirements for life, such as shelter and clothing.
“On the food side, an interesting analysis was carried out by Andy Collier in 2007 , who estimated that each person would need around 0.5 acres (0.2 ha) to be fully self sufficient on an individual basis. For 7 billion people, this works out as 14 million square kilometres, or 9.5% of the Earth’s land surface. Even if we triple this to allow for building, clothing and heating materials, it is still only 28% of the land surface. However, we do not live off the land, we live largely in a civilized culture.”
Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Keith
Hi Andy
Just thought you’d like to know; I have mentioned you in my book. There is a section on comparing various systems of living:
“With close to 7 billion people on Earth, the kind of subsistence behaviour that supported just a few people thousands of years ago, and still supports pockets of humanity in some areas, doesn’t seem possible – there doesn’t seem to be enough land or wildlife to go round. Surely city dwelling, with its emphasis on high density, high efficiency living is the only way to support even the 4.6 billion people that WWF and the Optimum Population Trust say is sustainable, isn’t it? To answer that question we need to consider how much land a person needs to grow their own food and obtain the other basic requirements for life, such as shelter and clothing.
“On the food side, an interesting analysis was carried out by Andy Collier in 2007 , who estimated that each person would need around 0.5 acres (0.2 ha) to be fully self sufficient on an individual basis. For 7 billion people, this works out as 14 million square kilometres, or 9.5% of the Earth’s land surface. Even if we triple this to allow for building, clothing and heating materials, it is still only 28% of the land surface. However, we do not live off the land, we live largely in a civilized culture.”
Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Keith
Andy:
I very very very want to build a straw bale house myself. I desperatly need your advice.
Could you give me a ring on 902 393 2073
thanks
Walter