is living off the grid in the desert really that hard?
USA Today has an article on those trying to live off the grid in the desert in Arizona:
For some, survival requires Alternative Energy
I think solar cells are just part of the solution. You can't rely on a photovoltaic solar system to cool a house in Arizona. That's probably why earthship homes work so well -- they use earth mass to temper the extremes.
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthship.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9jdIm7grCY
When I lived in Colorado, I saw plenty of earthships. The late actor, Dennis Weaver, owned an earthship near Ridgway.
