Author is a natural speaker

Anna Edey, activist, lecturer and author of a book titled "Solviva: How to Grow $500,000 on one Acre and Peace on Earth," spoke at the Collins Living Learning Center last weekend. Friday night she presented the contents of her book, and she gave lectures on self-sustainable living Saturday and Sunday. \nIn her presentation Friday, Edey explained simple, cost-effective means for maintaining self-sustainable, ecologically friendly living environments. \nEdey's own discoveries began in 1976 on Martha's Vineyard, where she still resides. After working as a successful craftswoman, she became increasingly unhappy with the irresponsibility she said she believes our society holds when generating power, food, transportation and other such environmental issues. \nShe first experimented with her backyard garden, discovering that human urine was a marvelous fertilizer because of the high nitrogen content. Soon Edey had discovered natural ways to heat her water, manage her waste and generate heat and energy. Her house runs on solar panels and uses natural ventilation for cooling. An alternative to a septic tank was an insulated box with compost and earthworms. \nGreenhouses were built and maintained, using only the body heat of chickens and rabbits, an occasional heated tank of water and solar energy. \n"Living this way creates up to a 90 percent reduction of waste, sometimes more," Edey said. \nHer presentation displayed the results of a 20-year history of success. Little upkeep is needed, and the result is a number of self-sustainable, ecological environments. \n"What she's doing is very important, because it's creative and new and it opens up people's minds," said junior John Whitman, who had brunch with Edey Sunday. \nOn a single acre of land she was able to generate more than a year's worth of food, without the use of pesticides. Pictures of her house revealed a microcosm of a natural ecological system, with large vegetables growing year round and dangling from the rafters of rooms open to sunlight. Even the bathroom looked as though it came right from a Massachusetts forest. \n"Miss Edey combines a practical wisdom with the boldness to do what that wisdom needs to be accomplished," said graduate student Chris Donovan. "Her genius is not in her theories, but in her willingness to take the action which those theories require." \nAlthough she had no formal training in the subjects she has worked in, Edey contends this fact has served far more good than might \nbe thought. \n"My mind was never cluttered with this or that being impossible," Edey said. \nHer innovative methods have garnered her much praise, including recognition from the United Nations, lectures around the world and appearances in magazines, newspapers and on National Public Radio. She said her hope is that her methods can be brought to the public, which she illustrated with hand-drawn pictures of possible schools, restaurants and even cities. \n"This isn't impossible or difficult," Edey said. "Nothing new has to be invented." \nEdey said business is the biggest deterrent to these dreams becoming realities. The status quo essentially cripples healthier alternatives to present lifestyles from being implemented on a large scale. \nThere was urgency in her voice when she spoke about the immediate future, as most of the resources we rely on, such as oil, are quickly being used up. \n"This isn't about our planet dying," Edey said. "Our planet will not die. This is about saving ourselves." \nFor more information on Anna Edey and her work, visit www.solviva.com.