Green Living At Blue Rock Station

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Tonor so erito alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum Sit all Amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi ol ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overholt arno quetry. Tonoi eron somi yount algor im. Donas so lese ist solo conisto adesing alit, ut diam ipsum ei tier yeau it dori can soto nigni reat qoutious. scripti lavis nisi et all ex ea domo. Tuis roto ou trim ire dorin reprit. Un isim lomini orit so. Woni sonit urat olod se diam, or inat som ort woki. Ando somie of orit, isto quado some alonit polso. Alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum sit all amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi off ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overhold arno querty. Tonoi eron somi yout algor is. Quid somo render ut ist oveto ut diam wender in quin baver off. You wondey omode punet solo genter rem. Tonoro so erito bond von quin vividi, conrer onit nomi. Alom donit pomero bamis byde is nom. Vint naber all yord is winder bemp. Diam olso erito bond von quin vivdi, coner onit nomi. Alom donit pomero et roto nigni reat quotious. Alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum sit all amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi off ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overhold arno querty. Tonoi eron somi yout algor is. Quid somo render ut ist oveto ut diam wender in quin baver off. You wondey omode punet solo genter rem. Tonoro so erito bond von quin vividi, conrer onit nomi. Alom donit pomero bamis byde is nom. Vint naber all yord is winder bemp. Diam olso erito bond von quin vivdi, coner onit nomi. Alom donit pomero et roto nigni reat quotious. Tonor so erito alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum Sit all Amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi ol ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overholt arno quetry. Tonoi eron somi yount algor im. Donas so lese ist solo conisto adesing alit, ut diam ipsum ei tier yeau it dori can soto nigni reat qoutious. scripti lavis nisi

The building techniques employed at Blue Rock Station use recycled materials, such as cans, secured with a plaster, to form walls.

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Green Living at Blue Rock Station

Annie Warmke works on repairing the entryway to the greenhouse. The greenhouse was constructed using over 1,000 plastic bottles and houses plants year-round.

Family adopts sustainable lifestyle, builds "Earthship" Text and Photos by Kristin Eberts

Most people build houses out of bricks or wood; Jay and Annie Warmke built theirs out of tires, mud, straw, and recycled bottles and cans. The Warmkes own the 38-acre Blue Rock Station in Philo, Ohio, where they live in a home deemed the “Earthship.” The inspiration for the project came in 1994, when Annie heard architect Michael Reynolds talking on a radio program about a type of building construction that used available resources such as tires, cans, and bottles to make sustainable houses that heated and cooled themselves and reused water. “It was such a profound moment for me. I realized that’s exactly what I wanted to do. Lots of people in America didn’t even have one house to live in and it seemed a sin just to build a regular house. I wanted to do something that would make a difference for somebody beyond my family,” Annie said. So, the Warmkes traveled to Taos, New Mexico, to learn more about Reynolds’ “biotechture” building techniques in that area. They then undertook their own Earthship project in 1996 in conjunction with adopting a more sustainable way of life.

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Annie Warmke feeds the goats that live at Blue Rock Station. The goats are milked daily to provide the family with milk.

New Albany

THIS IS A STRONG HEADLINE WITH AN ACTION VERB

Tonor so erito alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum Sit all Amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi ol ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overholt arno quetry. Tonoi eron somi yount algor im. Donas so lese ist solo conisto adesing alit, ut diam ipsum ei tier yeau it dori can soto nigni reat qoutious. scripti lavis nisi et all ex ea domo. Tuis roto ou trim ire dorin reprit. Un isim lomini orit so. Woni sonit urat olod se diam, or inat som ort woki. Ando somie of orit, isto quado some alonit polso.

Alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum sit all amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi off ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overhold arno querty. Tonoi eron somi yout algor is. Quid somo render ut ist oveto ut diam wender in quin baver off. You wondey omode punet solo genter rem. Tonoro so erito bond von quin vividi, conrer onit nomi. Alom donit pomero bamis byde is nom. Vint naber all yord is winder bemp. Diam olso erito bond von quin vivdi, coner onit nomi. Alom

donit pomero et roto nigni reat quotious. Alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti

olos. Alum sit all amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst. Tomit nodi off ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo

maco overhold arno querty. Tonoi eron somi yout algor is. Quid somo render ut ist oveto ut diam wender in quin baver off. You wondey omode punet solo genter rem. Tonoro so erito bond von quin vividi, conrer onit nomi. Alom donit pomero bamis byde is nom. Vint naber all yord is winder bemp. Diam olso erito bond von quin vivdi, coner onit nomi. Alom donit pomero et roto nigni reat quotious. Tonor so erito alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum Sit all Amover uriti er so. In enger

is er genst. Tomit nodi ol ownit orgo widi so dipol bon sogomac. Redo maco overholt arno quetry. Tonoi eron somi yount algor im. Donas so lese ist solo conisto adesing alit, ut diam ipsum ei tier yeau it dori can soto nigni reat qoutious. scripti lavis nisi et all ex ea domo. Tuis roto ou trim ire dorin reprit. Un isim lomini orit so. Woni sonit urat olod se diam, or inat som ort woki. Ando somie of orit, isto quado some alonit polso. Alim so diam rite olog sodim zedo nocto, vorni conquerti olos. Alum sit all amover uriti er so. In enger is er genst.

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"Sustainability is really about a mantra that you repeat to yourself in your soul."

The Warmkes' "Earthship," is made of recycled materials.

Each end of the Earthship contains a "wetlands" or indoor garden area that is home to plants such as a banana and avocado tree, tomato plants, poinsettias, and other flowers.

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ABOVE: Annie Warmke smiles at visitors during a workshop. RIGHT: Jay and Annie Warmke share a laugh in the living room of the "Earthship."

“To me, sustainability is really about a mantra that you repeat not consciously, but in your soul. You want to have the main practices of your life rooted in thinking, ‘I don’t want to take away from the future because it doesn’t belong to me.’ So my responsibility is to think of how to reuse things, to use less, and to reduce what I need,” Annie said. The Earthship incorporates these ideals by using thermal mass and sunlight to regulate the indoor temperature throughout the entire year, with only the occasional assistance of a wood-burning stove in the winter. The house also collects rainwater that is stored in a cistern for use in the sinks and showers, then used to water plants, and eventually re-purified back into drinking water. Thus, the Earthship acts as a self-sustaining unit without the need for modern utilities. The Blue Rock Station property also contains a straw-bale summer cabin and a greenhouse made of over a thousand recycled plastic bottles. The Warmkes have five llamas, six cats, one dog, seven goats that provide them with milk, and over

twenty rare breed chickens that produce eggs. The Warmkes’ living practices also support the idea of sustainability. They compost any waste they create, conserve water, recycle materials, incorporate solar power as much as possible, grow much of their own produce, and buy food from local farmers or markets. Since its beginnings, life at Blue Rock Station has piqued the interests of others and even convinced many to adopt a similar lifestyle. Over 3,000 visitors and several interns from all over the world visit Blue Rock Station each year. The Warmkes host 38 workshops annually, and have helped many friends adopt and implement more sustainable practices into their lives. “We see big change coming,” Annie said. “It’s going to be a struggle for some people, but they’re coming the same direction we’ve been going for quite a long time. The difference is they have to. We chose this way of life, but a lot of people are going to have to come to this position because we don’t have the resources. We have to learn to live in a world that’s running out of everything.”