> This isn't an efficient use of resources, especially when you scale it to millions of people.

I'd have to think about this more to decide whether or not it's true, my life is more sustainable than it ever has been before. In pure watt hour accounting, I wager I'm energy-cheaper than most city people who deeply care about things like that.

You're mistaken about wells requiring filtration.

> If anything in your janky setup breaks and you can't fix it in a few days, you will find yourself at a motel and fully back "on the grid".

This, like much of your reply, is rather presumptuous and ungenerous. There are some good discussion points in your reply. Unfortunately you've also stated as incontrovertible fact several things that are simply incorrect. I don't see much room for an actual conversation in your choice of words.

You'd be interested in how cheap silicate bricks are then. Spoiler: very cheap. Plaster-cardboard, very cheap too, or HIPS board. Actual plaster, base paint, base fiberglass or rock wool for heat. (Or sacrifice space for insulation.) As is concrete and even the know how and material design tools are not that expensive. Wiring is cheap, hydraulics are more expensive sure to amount of metal involved, unless you out in for plastics.

(AutoCAD with modules for stress analysis and building design libs would cost you $20k or so, but it can probably be rented as cloud license.)

Rigging can be rented, even work clothes and power tools. Even then the tools are not super expensive anyway.

The expensive parts are rental of lifter, crane and mixer machines as well as good operator. Barring that, more people to set up the building and much more wood and metal rigging.

Building is cheap compared to prime land and marketing or sales markup, as well as paying off credit. (Most buildings are built with financial leverage.)