1. Introduction
SOLVIVA
Better Ways to Live, at Less Cost
Heating, Cooling, Electricity, Food, Wastewater, Transportation
without Fossil Fuels, Grid Electricity, Toxins or Nitrogen Pollution
Welcome to Solviva
The purpose of this website is to show that it is now possible for us to live in ways that do not require any fossil fuels or grid electricity, and do not cause pollution or suffering, and that also reduce our cost of living. It seems that we have come to the point that we are pretty much forced to do this if we want a chance to survive.
Many still think that the only way this can be done is by giving up our cars, comforts and conveniences, meat and dairy, and even our flush toilets.
But I will show that none of that is required, because the solutions are here and available right now - we don't have to wait for new miracle technologies.
Of course, everything will also continue to evolve - advancing at warp speed, competing to make the best PV panels, batteries and electric cars, etc, etc, that cause the least pollution, use the least amount of rare metals, does the most recycling, and pays fair wages - and all this at the best price.
Amen - Hallelujah! That is surely something that everyone can cheer for!
But we don't have to wait for these new technologies to come to market, because right now, today, we have all that is required to make the switch - because, with enough PV panels and batteries, and enough solar heating and mass to store the heat, we can produce and store enough energy, right on site - enough to keep everything running even through extended periods of cloudy weather.
This is what I plan to do with my own home in town. I will not be leasing a PV system, because my research and calculations show that buying my own system is far more profitable. It will result in savings from day one, and then I will save more and more as the cost of gasoline, heating fuel and grid electricity keep rising.
Not only will this result in immense savings, but it will also reduce my CO2 emissions by an astounding 30 tons annually - and it will make me energy selfsufficient! I will never again need to plug into the grid! When the grid goes down, I'll still have all the energy I need for everything! I'll be Home Free and Secure!
I will show how we can transform our own high school from a building that consumes roughly 1,300,000 kWh of grid electricity + 2,600,000 kWh equiv. for heating + 1,300,000 kWh equiv. for the school buses, thus consuming the energy equiv. 5,200,000 kWh annually. Costing $252,000 for the electricity, $233,000 for the heating, and $153,000 for the school buses - for a total annual cost of $638,000. And emitting roughly 1500 tons of CO2 into our atmosphere, annually.
I will show how we can transform our highschool, including all-electric school buses, into a 100% solar-powered, energy self-sufficient highschool campus. Stay tuned.
All this is possible because we human Beings have finally learned what Plants have known since their beginning - how to harvest, use and store the reliable solar energy that comes streaming in every day, from 95 million miles away, delivered for free right to our doorstep.
I will also show how to stop the nitrogen pollution from our septic systems by simply filtering the effluent through woodchips, fungi and plants before it drains into the groundwater - at 60-80% less cost than what the State is requiring!
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And I will show how to produce immense amounts of highest quality food year-round, locally, right in our own communities - without the use of any fossil fuels or grid electricity or pesticides, providing perpetual local, energy selfsufficient food security, including salad and cooking greens, herbs, eggs, meat and dairy, without the animals suffering fear or pain.
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I know these are facts, because of what I have done and proven ever since I started Solviva, in 1978. That's when I first got on the path to develop better ways to live, and started coming up with new designs and methods that nobody thought would be possible, but that actually proved to work way beyond even my own highest hopes and expectations, including:
- A Solar Roof that provides heating, cooling and hot water, without causing overheating;
- A cold-climate Greenhouse producing immense yields of highest quality organic food year-
round, without any heating fuels, cooling fans, grid electricity, or pesticides;
- Chickens within the Greenhouse for heating, CO2, animal manure compost and eggs;
- A regular toilet that flushes into a woodchip filter, which prevents nitrogen pollution;
- A Waterless Compost Toilet - no-see, no-touch, no-yuck, no odor - without exhaust fan.
- A high-efficiency, low-cost woodchip filter to prevent nitrogen pollution from septic systems;
- Ready-to-eat mixed salad greens - in 1984, Solviva Salad was the first to market what was
then a brand-new product. This soon inspired others to do the same, and within just a few
years, many different brands of ready-to-eat salad mixes came out and are now available
everywhere.
- Edible flowers!
- Indoor Garden fully integrated with the home, without causing overheating, mold or insect
infestations, with a splash-all-you-want deep old bathtub/shower in the middle of it all.
- And, last but actually first: Urine as an extraordinary fertilizer!
At that time, all of this was considered impossible to do -
but Solviva proved it is all totally possible, and is indeed deeply advantageous.
The purpose of this website is to show what I did, and how it all worked out,
and what I therefore know is possible for us to do, and what I can therefore recommend.
I invite you to cruise through the posts below, and I hope this information will inspire you
to proceed down your own path toward living better at less cost.
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"The beauty of Anna Edey's work opens up people's hearts and minds to many alternatives which they have not previously considered or even imagined possible." - Robert Sardinsky, Rising Sun Enterprises
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"Solviva design fascinates people because it's both economically and ecologically efficient. This combinations renders pointless and obsolete the traditional battle pitting economic development against ecologic preservation. Solviva designs works, whatever criteria used to evaluate it." - Andrew Rodwin
Anna's Books
SOLVIVA (1998), and Green Light at the End of the Tunnel (2014) are both available.
1-2 copies of either book is: $35 each, and shipping is free.
Discount Rates for Green Light:
3-6 copies: 20%. Whole box of 12 copies: 40% Further discounts may be available.
Shipping charge for more than 2 copies is according to weight and distance.
(Copies of SOLVIVA are running low - therefore no discount for SOLVIVA. Sorry.)
For International shipping please contact us.
To order, please email, and we'll send an invoice: solvivagreen@gmail.com
To pay with check, please mail to Solviva, 100 Skiff Ave, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568