eco-concious road trip-need help!

[hannah heinrich]

hello, I am planning to travel accross the country in the middle of january to to a photo-documentary on alternative energy sources around the US. The problem is I only know of a few communities around. Does anyone have any tips? I'm looking for anything that has to do with consevation in the US. Solar power facilities, anything. Has anyone found a park or education center or even a alternative energy community that they feel is making a difference in the feild of consevation? Also, I am taking a friend along with me for support, but I'm a virgin to the open road. I want to avoid bad weather as much as possible. I was thinking about route 80? Does anyone have any route suggestions? I'm going from NY to CA. This must sound silly to some of you professionals out there. I'm open for discussion. This trip is about listening to everyones ideas of the future of our country from an evironmental aspect. Thanks in advance- hannah

[Mark Sedenquist]

You are planning to drive I-80 in January and "want to avoid bad weather"? I-80 in January is the one road I would choose if I was looking for nasty winter weather. There are ample threads on on this forum dealing with the better road choices for winter travel -- my personal choice is I-70, knowing you will hit winter storms, but also knowing the varying expertise of the highway departments along I-70.

In Grand Juction, CO I can hook you up with woman who is probably the most knowledgeable with respect to sustainable engergy sources on the western slope.

I don't have any personal knowledge of that sort of thing around here (New England...unless you count Niagra Falls hydroelectric!), but here's some places to start:

You could try over at www.TDIclub.com...there's often discussion of biodiesel there, and where to get it. They should be able to point you in the right direction.

Also, try www.homepower.com, which is a magazine dedicated to renewables, solar, etc. Many times they feature wind farms, solar farms, and the like; this should point you in the right direction (which, with solar, isn't the Northeast!).

[imported_Phil]

I-70 is a better choice than I-80 but keep in mind that I-70 in January can often be closed due to snows in Kansas and Colorado. I'm originally from the KC area and remember hearing about closings quite often in parts of KS. If you want to avoid snow and stay on interstates, you might want to look at getting to I-44 to go through anything west of Missouri.

[Boston Wrangler]

Drive a solar-powered car :)

We have two locations in AZ that have experimented with sustainable, environmentally sound living. First, there is Biosphere (near Oracle, AZ, which is in turn, near Tucson). Biosphere was a not-entirely successful experiment in contained living -- a community in a sealed bubble. However, I believe it is still open to the public and you can see what they learned about the process -- what worked and what didn't work.

Second, Paolo Soleri built a community near Cordes Junction (about 65 miles north of Phoenix along I-17) that incorporates experimental ideas in ecologically-sound living. It is a living and learning community and demonstrates Soleri's and residents' ideas about how human-kind could adapt city life in the future. Bob

[Mark Sedenquist]

&gt; I don't have any personal knowledge of that sort <BR>
&gt; of thing around here (New England...unless you <BR>
&gt; count Niagra Falls hydroelectric!), but here's <BR>
&gt; some places to start:<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; You could try over at <BR>
&gt; www.TDIclub.com...there's often discussion of <BR>
&gt; biodiesel there, and where to get it. They should <BR>
&gt; be able to point you in the right <BR>
&gt; direction.<BR>
&gt; <BR>
&gt; Also, try www.homepower.com, which <BR>
&gt; is a magazine dedicated to renewables, solar, <BR>
&gt; etc. Many times they feature wind farms, solar <BR>
&gt; farms, and the like; this should point you in the <BR>
&gt; right direction (which, with solar, isn't the <BR>
&gt; Northeast!). <BR>
<BR>

[Mark Sedenquist]

I have an off-forum guestion for you. Please e-mail me at mark@roadtripamerica.com

Thanks

[HJ]

This sounds great. My daughter and I are going from NYC to Sequim WA via Mexico next Fall. We are looking for eco sites as well. When and where will your photo-documentary be available? Are you going by car or RV or other mode?

[HJ]

Thanks for the post, Bob. I had forgotten about Arcosanti (sp?). I've always wanted to see it personally. Now I may get the chance, thanks to your nudge to my memory.