My brother-in-law heard about these in Garbage Warriors, too. That's what led to the post-graduation roadtrip.
I would definitely like to see the design alterations for Earthships built in other climates and microclimates. St. Louis, for example, gets more rain, is much more humid, is irregularly sunny and isn't terribly windy. Still, many homes in St. Louis use basements, so perhaps parts of this design could be adapted...maybe even retrofitted?
The practicality of an Earthship in the West is spot on. It's a water-miser in a part of the country where water is scarce, improperly used (golf courses and Vegas), and reduced snowmelt from the mountains is a concern. It's off-the-grid where bringing out grid ties, being at the mercy of power utilities when lines go down, and energy produced isn't terribly sustainable. And, as I said before, the passive temperature control is fantastic, practical, and $-saving in the long run.
A couple quirks I did notice:
1) The vent boxes in the roof did NOT have any mesh to keep out insects. I had an abundance of moths attacking the LED TV screen the first night. The next day I noticed ants and a couple beetles in the hallway along the plant cells (coming from small cracks in the seals at the front door.
2) The water pump that sends greywater through the planter cells is a little loud, and was inconveniently placed next to the master bedroom. Every time someone took a shower or whatever, I knew about it. It could be muffled or placed down the hall just a hair.
Has anyone seen Earthships elsewhere? Looks like the late Dennis Weaver built one in
Colorado.