So Inspiring

Mother Earth News has a great photo slideshow of the "Path To Freedom" house. If you're not familiar with it, it's a 1/5th acre suburban lot that has been turned into a mega-eco, food-producing paradise. THIS is what can be achieved in a suburban backyard, with some planning and effort: http://cu.motherearthnews.com/pages/gallery.php?gallery=295841

Amazing, isn't it?

Maybe I'm really getting into the life changes we're making these days, maybe I'm worried about peak oil or food shortages, I don't know. But I'm finding that everywhere I look lately, I see patches of land that could be growing something useful. When I think about just how many edible, medicinal or otherwise useful plants could fill up the landscaped space around my office building, it's just staggering. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that there are lawns, flowers, trees and shrubs - they're certainly better than concrete, metal and glass - but I keep thinking that we could be doing more with all this space.