Self Sustaining Prisons Survive : Future Fast Forward

Apparently, in the future, when everything else has crumbled, self-sustaining prisons will stand like isolated kingdoms on their hills. What was once unescapable from the inside will become unapproachable from without. These tiny feifdoms will proliferate in a hostile environment not by spreading horizontally, but vertically, downward. Like long term spaceship planning, they contain bees, gardens, generate their own power, recycle water, and convert old shoes to playground matting.

This summer, because of a water shortage, inmates converted 50-gallon pickle barrels into small cisterns that capture rainwater. ”We try to model prosocial behavior,” said Vern Rowan, business manager for the Oregon Department of Corrections. Being sustainable ”is something that everybody should be doing, regardless of where they’re at.”

For further resources on the model, future fast forward to the AP article.