Greetings from Mel and Patrick!

Dear family & friends,

As most of you know we moved to Arizona in January 2005 in search of a more peaceful and sustainable existence. Earlier this year we made the decision to purchase land here in North-Eastern Arizona and to begin pursuing our ambitions in earnest. We chose this location because of the wide open spaces, abundant sunshine, and the many dear friends that live here.

In many ways this adventure is a great experiment destined for monumental successes and failures. We're seeking something many of our ancestors took entirely for granted -- a sustainable lifestyle. It's become our conclusion that the basic lifestyle that we were living prior to coming here is simply not sustainable. We consumed more than our share of energy, contributed more than our fair share to pollution and global warming, and sooner or later changes will have to be made.

Look at it this way -- at just under 300 million people the population of the United States represents about 4.6% of the world's total population today. Yet we consume 25 to 30% of the World's energy. We consume more energy than any other country on the planet. We consume more than the #2, #3, #4 and #5 energy consumers combined! And every year our consumption per capita goes up.

We all know this can't go on forever. It's simply not sustainable.

We are seeking a new way... a sustainable way of living. And as we find our way closer to a more sustainable means of living we will document our findings -- failures and successes alike -- on our online journal ByExample.com. It's a collection of articles, photos, and diagrams that we've been working on for many months now. We've already begun to chronicle our experiences with living off the grid, solar hot water, & other alternative energy sources. We're planning to build our own wind generator(s), build our own passive solar home, and find new ways to store collected energy.

The ByExample.com Newsletter will be published each month via email with updates and overviews on the month's latest news & content. We added your email to our newsletter list because we thought you would be interested in hearing more about what we're doing here in Arizona and our site ByExample.com. If that's not the case, please pardon the intrusion. If you'll use the unsubscribe link below you'll be removed from the list immediately.

We promise that we will not share our list with anyone for any reason. Our list is solely for the purpose of distributing our monthly newsletter to those who wish to receive it.

We hope you are well and prospering in your endeavors. Drop us a message and let us know what's new in your life.

In peace,

Mel & Patrick

The First Solar Hot Water Experiment

Our homemade flat panel collector cost less than $200 and provided us with hot water for dish washing and showers. Many of the parts we used were recycled, including an old hot water heater and a window.

Geodesic Dome Completed

In April we began building our portable geodesic dome shelter. We finished in mid May and went off to May Fire in the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada to test out the structure.

We've Found Land

A quick introduction to our new home. Right now its just open land and open sky!! Soon, though, we will be living there. Post your comments to let us know what you think.