For those of you who have toiled with the idea of “off the grid” living or are in search for a simpler life or there is a special tree house community functioning in the rainforest of Costa Rica which might be right up your alley. Finca Bellavista: A Sustainable Rainforest Community is what it’s called and according to inhabitat.com, “was created with the sole purpose of preserving 300 acres of local rainforest by offering a unique opportunity for ecologically minded property owners to live sustainably in and steward a managed rainforest environment.”
The guidelines include that all tree houses must be low-impact, stilt-built or arboreal dwellings that run on hydroelectric and solar power. All of the water is provided by a rainwater catch system and residents have virtually no electricity bills. However, residents do have access to the community center which has “a high-speed WIFI zone, parking area, a community center with a bath house, kitchen and dining area, and game room, a stone-lined, river-fed swimming pool (under construction), the start of the SkyTrail network, and numerous gardens.”
How much will this cost you, you ask? Everything is all for the low low price of $50,000US. If that’s not simple living, I don’t know what is.
Sustainability Ninja – Laura Gosselin
Mocambique not only has some of the world’s most beautiful trees, it has a resource able to sustain it’s population well into the future. But not any more as the income generating charcoal making threatens the forests and the sustainability of the population going into the future.
Someone should contact Neil Young and tell him to stop making albums about electric cars and start writing songs about the Amazon. While I write this in jest, the boringness of someone pulling your ear about the devastation of deforestation should still be as important as talking about topics such as the duel between San Francisco and Portland for electric car supremacy.
The facts are plain and simple. Deforestation accounts for 20%-25% of worldwide carbon emissions, whereas the global transportation sector currently accounts for the same amount if not less (15-20%). The Amazon Rainforest is one of the largest forests in the world, and arguably the most important. Nowhere else in the world is there more biodiversity among plants and animals. Did you know that approximately one in every 10 known species in the world lives in the Amazon? It also provides the world with 20% of its oxygen, and contains 20% of the world’s freshwater. If that’s not enough, 25% of all modern pharmaceutical drugs are derived from rainforest plants, and yet only about 1% have been studied, including those that might help fight cancer.
Since the Amazon Rainforest is so important, we must ask ourselves: “Why have we (or at least the media) become so bored of discussing the Amazon and deforestation?” Read the full story
The ultimate in rainwater harvesting. Ecopreneur, biologist, Willie Smits, by piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans — and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems. Be prepared to be inspired by this TED video.
There's never been a better time to start a business with limited money. Climate change will ensure South Africans will be saddled with water shortages and high energy costs. We have 2 green business opportunities. The first is Water Rhapsody green business opportunity in rainwater harvesting and water conservation. The second launches mid August 2010 in Solar and renewable energy.
is a special tree house community functioning in the rainforest of Costa Rica which might be right up your alley. Finca Bellavista: A Sustainable Rainforest Community is what it’s called and according to inhabitat.com, “was created with the sole purpose of preserving 300 acres of local rainforest by offering a unique opportunity for ecologically minded property owners to live sustainably in and steward a managed rainforest environment.”
While I write this in jest, the boringness of someone pulling your ear about the devastation of deforestation should still be as important as talking about topics such as the duel between San Francisco and Portland 
