Hannah Ashley Dr.

Erin Dietel McLaughlin Multimedia Writing and Rhetoric October 23, 2012

In this research paper I plan to research eco-villages and other sustainable communities as a solution to increasing dependence on energy. Not only are humans more dependent on energy than before, but also included with this increase in dependence on technology, people are also physically and psychologically suffering from long days sitting in a chair and isolation experienced from dependence on technology. In this paper, I plan to argue that eco-villages are a solution for living sustainably. Not only do ecovillages benefit ecosystems, they benefit human health too. Due to the layout and emphasis on community, eco-villages enforce social interactions over tasks that help improve the village. Due to the fact that cars are kept to a minimum, and people are encouraged to help with farming, physical activity is increased. Social interactions and physical fitness lead to a healthy, happy life. I hope to argue from these different angles that eco-villages are a viable option, not just for the sake of the ecosystem, but also for the sake of human health. I have always found sustainable living an important topic. I suppose I have always been one that likes to go green. However, as I see more subdivisions and building being built that are not sustainable, I wonder how we are able to support this with a finite resource. Ive also always been interested in how a lifestyle would look like if it were centered on being ecological. These points all fascinate me, and

I think that they should be a concern for everyone who is dependent on finite energy. Eventually it will all run out, and then what will humans do? My intended audience is going to be the upper and middle class of America and Europe. Mainly, well to do people who are dependent on energy and who could potentially make the switch to an eco-village because they have the means to. I think of all of the people who drive big SUVs and live in a nice, energy dependent home. I would like to persuade them to at least take a look at their own lifestyles, and how they are contributing to climate change and their own health. I hope to lay out facts about an ecovillage in a very direct, yet relevant way, so that it can appeal to families and that people can see themselves living there. I choose to focus on the well to do versus the poor because I mainly want to focus on the kinetics and issues of an eco-village. I do not want to delve into giving the poor the means to do this, although it would be very interesting. Perhaps another paper! I found several books on eco-villages. I found a few about sustainable living in a more broad sense, and then others about specific eco-villages. I found a book that talks about a specific eco-village (in Ithaca, New York), and I have also the GEN (Global Ecovillage Network) site to give me a broad view of what is happening in eco-villages across the globe. I still want to find more books and/or journal articles that are more specific as so how eco-villages work. So far, most of my research has been broad in this subject matter. As far as concerns that I will experience in this paper, my main and only concern is that will be putting too much information into this paper. Im afraid I will overload it

with information, and therefore my point will not be understood. Even after I finished my concept map, I kept thinking of new ideas and points that would be relevant to my question. I was thinking of approaching the usefulness of eco-villages in human psychological health and human physical health, but Im concerned that I will not have room to talk about the ecological importance of an eco-village if I mainly focus on the human and community aspect of it. I would like to at least briefly touch on environmental benefits, but Im afraid that would be overloading the paper. Im a little concerned that I do not quite know where to draw the line as to what to put in and what to leave out.