ACES

An introduction to our sister company ACES, the
Arizona Center for Environmental Sustainability.

“Combining the wisdom of the past with the technology of the future.”

Our Mission Statement:

The Arizona Center for Environmental Sustainability (ACES) is an organization whose mission is to strengthen humanities freedom, self-reliance and gratitude toward life be encouraging a consortium of environmental organizations in their exploration of ancient and modern sustainable living skills. Our goal is to seek out and bring to life simple living technologies from the past, present and future to educate people of diverse ages and backgrounds to understand, thrive in, and enhance our world community and environment. We hope to inspire people to do more with less while preserving and enhancing native flora and fauna. By combining the wisdom of the past with the technology of the future, we provide an enduring example of what can be done to live comfortably yet sustainably in an arid land environment.

At ALSS, we realize that true self-sufficiency runs much deeper that learning and practicing outdoor skills. We also realize that in order to make a positive, lasting impact on the planet, we must do more than offer a cool outdoor experience with metaphors for living lighter on the land. The vast majority of the population doesn't give a damn about making fire with sticks or being able to signal for rescue with a can lid. They do however, care about being more comfortable, saving money, and gaining greater self-confidence and independence during troubled times.

At the heart of all self-reliant thought is the concept of doing more with less. Doing more with less doesn't mean you have to poop in a hole, eat worms, and sleep in the dirt in a vain effort to “be prepared” yet lessen your environmental footprint on the planet. It simply involves an intelligent and intuitive assessment of your overall situation in regards to how it interacts with the natural world, and what you wish to accomplish.

Our home (top photo) is a passive solar earth home made from parabolic arches of rebar that was sprayed with "gunite" (similar to shot crete). It's built into the southern face of a hill in a landscape that regularly records seasonal extremes of single digit to below zero temperatures during the winter, to sizzling, triple digit temperatures during the summer. By using design characteristics of proper orientation, thermal mass, insulation, glazing, and ventilation, the home keeps a constant temperature of 60 to 75 degrees with no external means of heating or cooling! In short, we have no heating or cooling bill, nor do we burn wood or do anything other than enjoy a temperate indoor climate all year-round. In fact, the background to your left under the main navigational buttons for this web site is a photo of our flagstone floor. The stone was harvested locally and during the winter, absorbs the heat of the sun during the day. At night, when the temperature drops, the stored heat within the floor radiates out to keep the house warm. Our home features a gravity feed water system, natural lighting via special paint and mirror mosaics, and on demand ventilation, all completely free from any external power source.

According to Tony Brown, founder and director of the Ecosa Institute, more than 30% of America 's energy bill is devoted to “running the home,” namely heating and cooling. In a modern wilderness survival scenario, your first concern is to regulate body temperature. In modern America, due to poor design, subsidies, and dependence on foreign energy sources, we dedicate nearly one third of our entire energy budget to regulating room temperature.

In the Future:

In the coming months, we will offer courses and workshops in urban self-sufficiency skills throughout the year including lecture, demonstration and hands-on opportunities for all age groups. We hope to build our teaching infrastructure using as much green technology and local materials as possible. Eventually, the ACES grounds themselves will become somewhat of a “living garden,” incorporating alternative design and energy sources, dry and low water gardening systems, indigenous edible and medicinal plants, native grassland restoration, composting toilets, passive solar design, rain harvesting, hydroponic gardening, aquaculture and more.

Our Vision:

At ACES, our vision is to become a clearing house of ecological wisdom regarding ancient and modern self-reliant technologies, focused primarily on arid land environments. We will invite instructors and specialists from around the world to share their particular expertise in doing more with less. We hope to keep alive and perpetuate ancient technologies as well as promote new ones by offering a lifestyle of increased confidence, self-sufficiency and freedom and wish to become a model for ethical environmental practices.

Contact Us:

If you specialize in some of the above skills, or know of organizations or individuals who do, please contact Cody Lundin. Together we can make a difference.

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