An ideal home would be made from recycled materials, maintain a comfortable climate, generate sustainable power from renewable sources, treat its sewage, and provide clean potable water, as well as food, for its inhabitants. He built his first ‘Earthship’ in 1972 almost entirely from empty soda and beer cans and rammed earth. Now he is the prophet of a movement that advocates “radical sustainability.” Today, a 634-acre subdivision near Taos, New Mexico, dubbed the ‘Greater World Community,’ is dotted with off-grid homes based on his designs.