Instead of paying rent in a traditional apartment month in and month out, Turnbull calculated how much it would cost for her to live in New Haven for the two years she is working on her degree. She then took that money, about $14,000, and invested in her sustainable house. "I wanted to see, well, could I build this thing, a comparable thing, for about what it would cost" to live in a traditional house, she said. It didn't take long, either. She started building last summer and finished in October. The key to keeping costs low was reusing and recycling materials. The floor, the windows, even the ceilings were all donated by contractors and others looking to lend a hand. "It was incredible, I couldn't have built it by myself," Turnbull said. "I kind of put feelers out and was like, 'Hey, I'm building this thing, and if you have cast-off stuff I'd love to use it.' "I ended up having building parties, where we would say, 'Hey! If you want to come and pick up a hammer or paintbrush, awesome, great. We'll have burgers,'" she said. The house is powered by three solar cells that Turnbull adjusts throughout the year to maximize the collection of sunlight. The cells connect to a couple of batteries inside the house, where they provide enough energy for a handful of lights and a heater. She cooks on a small propane stove. The tiny house is missing a bathroom, but just as during the construction of the house, she's still able to rely on the kindness of others. She uses the bathroom of a neighbor who has also allowed her to keep the micro-dwelling based in the backyard.
What's wrong with this picture? OpinionJournal says it better than I ever could:
So it's totally "sustainable" except for the building materials, land and use of a bathroom, for all of which she depends on people who are living normal, environmentally unfriendly lives. She might as well move back in with her parents.
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