Progress in Today’s World
[Guest post by DRJ]
A Yale graduate student discovers life in a box:
Think your apartment is small? Don’t try to tell that to Elizabeth Turnbull.
While studying for her master’s in urban ecology and environmental design, the 24-year-old graduate student at Yale University is living in a truly tiny house.
It measures just 8 1/2 feet wide by 18 1/2 feet long, for a cozy total of 144 square feet.
The goal? Limiting her impact on the environment.
I don’t see this as an advance. She built her mini-apartment using available funds, bartered for supplies, and hosted burger parties to get donated labor. Her apartment is apparently located in the backyard of a friend’s house, which means she is relying on the kindness of friends. (She also uses their bathroom.) Finally, regardless of what she calls it, she’s living in the equivalent of a small mobile home.
Some of these ideas are good but all of them have been around for a while, especially barter which is more common in hard times that see more shadow economies. So while I’m glad these ideas work for her, they aren’t new and they aren’t advances. Instead, it’s a way to take us back in time.
– DRJ

