December 1, 2011
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Public hearing to detail the precise crimes committed by the worst bank in New York…
The preparedness marketplace is full of canny salespeople – These are some of them…
This December will be 4 years for us living 100% off-grid, I can tell you it’s been quite the adventure, my only regret is that we didn’t do this earlier. Let me recap what we have been doing these 4 years…
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In 2010 Off-Grid.net estimated there were 100,000 living off the grid in the UK. We think it has increased since then to 200,000, mainly due to the increase in mobile off-grid living – in vans, boats cars and buses. But also due to a growth in the number of off-grid communities and the increasing size of each of those off-grid communities.
There are many reasons for living off-grid – the most common is wanting to live an ecological life – reducing your carbon footprint- – but there are also survivalists and preppers who think they are protecting themselves against the coming social collapse. Then there are those who live this way because they have no choice – they are living off-grid to save money. Even if that is not the primary motive you are likely to save money when you cut out Utility bills and remembering that off-grid properties are likely to be cheaper to buy or rent than connected properties. The environment will supply you with energy, heat, water, and food.
It may seem daunting as you contemplate setting out on your off-grid life – but remember: over a billion people already live off the grid around the world. And their challenges are probably far greater than your own.
But let’s not underestimate the problems.
In the UK we tend to say “off-grid”. In the USA they prefer to say “off the grid” except when talking about technical energy infrastructure arrangements.
It makes a huge difference where you choose to go off-grid – every part of the planet is different and UK off-grid living is vastly easier than, say, off-grid living in Alaska where the extreme cold magnifies the problems. There is an initial cost of setting up and it is greater in the UK than for example going off-grid in India. And it is hard work – in general, the less you pay, the harder the work. But if you intend to live off the grid in the UK, there are no insurmountable obstacles.
You will be adding to your workload when you run your own power supply, water supply, and deal with your own waste. You may miss the urban support systems – but in exchange, you will be spending more of your time in nature than you did before stepping outside the system. You find you feel closer to nature, as the weather on any given day will affect your life much more directly, in terms of your renewable energy production as well as the temperature.
You may also decide to produce your own food – but that is not necessary, and can add an extra back-breaking load to an …
As the movement spreads it needs a unifying theme – nothing less than the return of the banks’ money by the executives who looted the assets, ably assisted by their lawyers and auditors…
Off-Grid.net has been going five years and in that time has helped build the global off-grid community and provided a valuable information service. We need to keep on developing a range of services for off-grid people, and those who are thinking about changing their lives to a more sustainable form of existence.
We are looking for a committed all-rounder who shares our values, and can take us to the next level and stay with us, developing the site for years to come (paid of course).…
Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel has made his second donation to the Seasteading Institute which is setting up libertarian countries on artificial islands. How Hurriacane Irene would affect such country if it were to be established is hard to predict.
Off-Grid first reported on this story in 2008 – https://off-grid.net/2008/05/21/reinventing-the-nation-state/ –
Thiel, who gets seasick and does not like boats. plans to develop the solar and wind-powered micro-economy suitable for up to 300 people off the coast of California.…
Homesteading, it’s a buzzword that means different things to different people, back in the day, it meant getting land for free as long as you lived on it and improved it for x number of years. It was a way to get people to move west (in the USA), back when travel was slow and painful, even dangerous.…
Going fridgless, to most people would be paramount to going topless, many people couldn’t imagine living their lives without having a 19+/- cubic foot energy eating, leftover storing, inefficient cold box sitting in their kitchen. Now days refrigerators do so much, in my old life, I worked for a big box electronics store, the one with the blue shirts and the little yellow price tag, they were starting to put computers in the door, not just electronics, but a real computer screen that could access the internet and help you with your shopping and let you watch TV on your fridge.…
As Tent Cities spring up across America, this kind of picture is becoming commonplace. And its just the beginning.
Residents of the 150-person Tent City near Lake Wood, Ocean County New Jersey are mainly former householders with decent employment records. They are not derelicts, substance abusers or criminals.
Tens of thousands of law-abiding foreclosure victims would like to live this way. But States will not let them – citing petty health and safety objections – as if being homeless is not the ultimate health and safety issue.
Nina Rogala, left, has been living in Lakewood’s tent city for about three years. Mark Mroczek, right, has been there about eight months.…
It’s funny how your perspectives change as you grow. When I was a kid, I used to be embarrassed because my mom hung our laundry out on the line to dry. I hated the smell of line dried clothes, sheets and towels, to me that meant we were poor, we couldn’t afford a dryer. All of my classmates had soft, fabric softener fresh smelling clothes, our clothes, towels and sheets were stiffer and to me were just second rate.
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