Designs for the Future seem to come from the Past

Today in seminar we watched a video called Inventing the Future but the most dynamic and inclusive ideas are more than 50 years old!  Early in the video they said that in the early part of the last century Architecture was driven by Industry and now we are striving to have it be driven by Nature and Ecology.  There needs to be an integration of Nature, Technology, and Humanity.  The most talked about individual in the video was Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller and in the late 1940's-through the 50's came up with many interesting and valid designs such as the now popular geodesic dome and the Dymaxion House and Car.  He was seen a a bit radical because as a society we are so short sighted, he was dreaming up ways to fix what we were breaking by consuming too much energy and resources.  Now that we have dug ourselves into a hole, his ideas, teachings, and creations aren't looking so wacky.
The video talked much more about eco-villages and living machines and all the ways we can reduce energy consumption and start giving back what we have been taking from the earth.  It was very touching for me to see how simple it all can be and it angers me to know society in general, myself included is not doing their part to change the way we consume at a fast enough rate.
I wanted to know more about specifically 2 places we talked about in class today: the Rocky Mountain Institute and Dancing Rabbit EcoVillage.

The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) has something on their website that caught my eye "Reinventing Fire"
It's about how they have 30 years of research to support how we can live without dependence on Oil, Coal, or Nuclear Energy.
http://www.rmi.org/ReinventingFire

I just think it is mind blowing that we as a nation are not living from this example!

The other example is the Dancing Rabbit EcoVillage in Rutledge, Mo.  It is a steadily growing intentional community of people wanting to leave the earth better than they found it.  They are building their own homes, living a life that isn't dependent on the car, setting examples of green design by utilizing a LEED building, and spreading the word by giving tours and telling people how this can be done and proving it works.  

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/

These are actual success stories and living classrooms.  I have said it before but these examples are the key to change.  They let the public know what can be done and how to do it for themselves.