We won’t kill again, promises National Grid

National Grid shut off power to a New Hampshire woman who needed oxygen. She died and an investigation continues. The company changed its policy on disconnections after learning that it faced possible criminal charges

Relationship (Part 1)

In a post TEOTWAWKI or SHTF world, having a loving partner will make live much more enjoyable as well as safer. You know the old…

Killed by the Grid

National Grid escape charges after woman has power cut off to her home oxygen supply. She died

Man Maketh the Clothes

Make your own clothes - Book review of Through the Eye of a Needle by John-Paul Flintoff, about a middle class guy who makes his own Y-fronts to prove he has not been infantilised by consumer society

Greek Islands for sale

The world is waking up to the potential sales of thousands of tiny Greek islands as bug-out locations or even permanent residences. Off-Grid.net first reported…

Photos win prize

A collection of photos we reviewed in May has won a prestigious prize. The photos of Maine off-gridders by Keliy Anderson-Staley won the Griffin Award…

Gas Attack

Gas drilling threatens to damage the US environment as much as oil drilling

Let’s go Boondock

If you are in an RV, Boondocking is the only way to go—it’s cheap, eco-friendly, and adventurous. And remember, an RV does not have to…

No Math Island

Denise de la Cerda lives off the grid out of choice. I visited her during my research trip writing Off the Grid: Inside the Movement…

Spooky Cambridge eco-homes

For the next two  weekends a few private households in the ancient University town of Cambridge will be creaking open their doors for an eco-home…

LandBuddy

[landbuddy] 200W Portable Power Station, Powkey 120Wh/33,000mAh Power Bank with AC Outlet, 110V 6 Outputs Solar Generator External Battery Pack with LED Light for Home…
Shoulder to shoulder

Men need Garden Sheds

The Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA), has been beavering away for some years now, trying to help depressed, lonely males. They call themselves Shed Men…

Solar Hydrogen building

A zero-emission and self-powering building to be driven by solar-powered hydrogen energy is planned for Griffith University in Australia. Deputy vice-chancellor Professor Ned Pankhurst described the  $33…

Poland Off the Grid

Dear readers of Off-Grid.net, My name is Krzysztof Lis, I live in Poland, and since 2005 I am interested in off-grid living. My off-grid journey…
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Can advertising save the world?

Advertising is arguably responsible for more damage to our planet than any other human activity. More than manufacturing. More even than oil and coal extraction.…
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Plenitude

Many, including writer Juliet Schor,question the underlying assumptions of the consumerist mentality. She has just written a new book about it – Plenitude: The New…

Christians Unplugged

Summer Lake, Oregon (CNN) Looking at this beautiful lake in the western U.S. state of Oregon is to understand the meaning of the phrase “God’s…

Renewable Energy training

Here is a listing of some of the best Renewable Energy training courses around the United States. For a more thorough list, visit the Renewable…
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India’s off-grid whiz-kids

Off-Grid ideas are flowing from the classrooms of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford and Virginia University into commercial products in rural India. Here’s…

Green Tories

With a couple of hundred new members of Parliament in the British House of Commons, the work has started to identify which of them are…

Giant UK Green Investment Bank

The UK Government plans to launch a £1,000 billion ($1.44 Trillion) Green Investment Bank today. The Queen’s Speech, setting out the legislation for the next…

Urban Bushcraft

A new book, How to predict the weather with a cup of coffee: And other techniques for surviving the 9-5 jungle, takes the survival tips…

On board the Plastiki

Two of the world’s leading environmental campaigners have passed the halfway point on their voyage across the Pacific in a boat made from plastic bottles.…

Daryl’s Travels

Daryl Hannah is on a world tour raising awareness of The Green Wave and the loss of biodiversity in the International Year of Biodiversity. First…

Solar lanterns for Africa

NAIROBI, May 18 (Reuters) * Africa spends $10 bln per year on kerosene * Cost of solar alternatives declining steadily * Some 700 mln Africans…

Piggy power (aka Anaerobic digesters)

Anaerobic Digestion could transform the economics of livestock production and save energy, according to a packed workshop at the 2010 British Pig & Poultry Fair.Across Europe there are more than 4,000 anaerobic digester plants, but only 25 in the UK.

Carrizales, no cloacas

Este artículo fue traducido del original por Nicola y Jaime a www.pisaligeramente.es Melvyn Rutter es Consultor de Calidad del Agua y Tecnologías de Filtración Carrizal.…

Sydney to move off-grid

Sydney, Australia wants to end its dependence on centrally generated electricity for public buildings - it has started planning six tri-generation power plants with more to come

Smart Grid doubts grow

Smart Grid not living up to its name - costly upgrade will likely increase profits of Utilities without saving customers money or energy

UK elects first Green MP

Caroline Lucas the UK's new Green MP -- her performance in the next parliament will be crucial to the wider acceptance of Green politicians.

Low-tech medical revolution

Vinegar, a salad spinner and a toilet plunger are some of the everyday materials being used in a low-tech medical revolution that is transformomg healthcare…
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Off-grid play is global hit

Success of smash hit play Jersualem has focused minds on off-grid themes in a way no other medium could. now it transfers from London to Broadway

Green home loans

SAN FRANCISCO — Locals will use home loans to finance green improvements now San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a new financing program, Green…

solar panels- group buying

After 20 years without electricity, I have off-grid solar electric power system up and running for a year-and- a–half. Want to add to my solar…
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Oil to peak in 2011 – official

When considering Peak Oil, the US Department of Energy usually stands among the most optimistic sources regarding the depletion of world oil reserves. Now its senior…

DIY-Loom knitting

Round loom knitting, have you heard of it? This is a type of knitting that uses a loom instead of using knitting needles. I never…

Solar heating your home

A sunspace can make a dark room into a bright living space. It is also a source of solar heating for your home and a…

Community Power in the UK

The UK government has issued a draft policy document empowering town halls to  bring in decentralised energy schemes. A 12-week consultation exercise on revised planning…

Alone in the Wilderness

Dick Proenneke is the star of Alone in the Wilderness, a grainy super-8 film he shot himself. It chronicles his life in the wilderness and…

Peak Oil back in the news

The world’s oil reserves have been exaggerated by about  33%, according to Sir David King, the UK Government’s former chief scientist, who warns of shortages…

From soft porn to Disney doc

A former soft porn writer and her film director husband have developed “a passion for living off-grid after three years in the middle of the…

Better Off

If you cannot wait until Earth Hour on 27 March to switch off power in your house, try making this weekend your  Power Off Weekend. …

Off-grid real estate, Phoenix

On March 13, 2010, bidders will have a rare chance to acquire Vulture Ranch, a sprawling 80 acre compound, and “an absolute jewel among Arizona…

Beware of 1BOG

The company recently raised $5m, a step forward  in its aim to become a major corporate player in the solar panel  market.  But this tiny…

Time to buy an island

The Greek government is being urged to sell its uninhabited islands to bail itself out of bankruptcy, and the UK is likely to find itself…

Off-grid Olympians

American Olympic snowboarder Hannah Teter has returned to Vermont — to live in her yurt. “Mom has a huge garden and fruit trees,” she told…

Real Estate, Cincinnati

Talks are afoot in Hamilton County about building what could be the first subdivision in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky that is completely off the grid.…

Fox buys John Twelve Hawks

Is there really a John Twelve Hawks? The author of a bestselling sci-fi series called the Fourth Realm Trilogy lives off the grid, according to…
Powell: Hypemaster-General

Bloom energy box enables off-grid living

More details of the Bloom Box have been revealed at a carefully managed press conference in California.  The much-hyped off-grid source of cheap electricity  will not lead…

Class of its own

The first off-grid classroom with a revolutionary solar-powered rainwater harvesting and filtration system, has been opened.  Exclusive Benenden School in the UK, a girls-only boarding…

Boom time for Bloom Box

A new but still unseen fuel cell technology that its creator claims can be an off-grid source of cheap energy, and clean power,  is about…
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V2G will sustain microgrid

Micro-grids could operate reliably without the need for a national grid backup if they tapped the vast amounts of power stored in the batteries of…

Rocker who lives in a shed

Tim Barry has been rockognised. The singer songwriter from Richmond VA lives back of his girlfriend’s house in a shed with a busted kerosene heater…

Where have all the engineers gone?

A common theme  running through  many if not most  if the current  crop of discussion threads  dealing with alternative lifestyle and off-grid living is a…

Truck as a generator?

Over at diesel-generators.org, opinion is divided over whether to use a giant old diesel truck as a generator. Assuming you get the truck for next…

Here comes the sun

Because we live off the grid, people seem to think we live in a shack without modern conveniences. Totally not true, but we do have to…

Smart Grid – the pain begins

Only the rich will be able to afford energy for heating/cooling when the Smart Grid goes nationwide. At least, that is the logical conclusion to…

Take a walk on the wild side….

…..Lou Reed sang the song; now he has gone back to the wilderness. The archteypal  New York heroin rocker,Reed,together with his wife, performance artist Laurie…

Robin hood tax pressure grows

Ewan McGregor, Radiohead and Bill Nighy are the latest to join the campaign for a Robin Hood Tax on the financial sector. McGregor and Radiohead…
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More cash for Big Power

At  last – the UK energy regulators have woken up to what everyone else has been saying for months – Britain’s energy infrastructure is crumbling…

UK low carbon winners

M2 Presswire – LONDON – Twelve communities from across the UK are today celebrating after winning up to GBP500,000 each to help install new green…

Haiti rebuild starts

Off-grid technologies, such as lights and cookers has been a major feature of the Haitian relief effort. And as the international aid effort is finally…

Lori Ryker speaks

Lori Ryker, architecture professor and author of two books about Off The Grid living, will speak at Louisiana state University college of art & design,…

Off-Grid art show in Dehli

The Anant gallery in Dehli had a group show last month called Living off the Grid. It was about ways to escape the many grids…

Fight to stop the new Super-Grid

Actor and broadcaster, Griff Rhys Jones has joined the battle against the Grid. He opposes the new electricity towers,or “Super pylons,” which are supposedly needed…

Haiti may rescue Venezuela

At the same time as the Venezuela government introduces measures to ration electricity, President Hugo Chavez accuses the US government of deliberately engineering the Haitian…
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Off-Grid HQ in UK

If you want to go off the grid in the UK, Pembrokeshire is where its at. It now has recognised over 50 off-grid homes. Officials…

Vegetable factory in a box

The world’s first portable, containerised vegetable garden is set to be delivered in April. The scientifically developed  “vegetable factory”, from Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. is…
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Up in the Air

George Clooney’s starring role in “Up in the Air” is a movie about a special class of off-gridder – the business traveller – living in…
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Reedbeds, not sewers

Reedbed Filtration is a natural approach to human waste water treatment. International environmental scientist, MELVYN RUTTER is a born-again reed-bed enthusiast. Here he describes his…

Soccer’s swampy bugs out

MANCHESTER United defender Gary Neville is building an earth sheltered eco home that promises to become one of Britain’s leading environmental showcases. 200W Portable Power…

Greed is US

For years we have been taught to measure the quality of our lives according to how much we can consume – bigger house, grander cars,…

Living for free

27-year-old Katharine Hibbert is a nice middle class girl. She writes book reviews for the Times Literary Supplement, and volunteers for the Food not Bombs…

Solar for Haiti

Solar-powered equipment for water, lighting, and communications is being sent to Haiti as part of the reconstruction efforts following last week’s devastating earthquake. Solar manufacturer…

Medical self-reliance

by Susan France Bonner, Author of Opening a Registered Nurse’s Eyes: A Life Altering Journey Across North America. The health care debate in the United…

New wind power for ships

The world’s first cargo ship to be powered with high altitude kite-like sails tethered on lines 100 metres in the air was “Theseus,” last year.…

Land prices set to collapse

Be prepared for the next phase of the recession and keep watching land prices – if you are nimble, there will be an affordable moment…

Saved by the neighbours

An off-grid equestrian and her family had their Christmas dinner delivered by a Welsh police mountain rescue helicopter today. The family was stranded for two…

Cabin Fever

By Tia Meer My dream home is an oddball. It doesn’t quite fit it. It’s unlike anything in the surrounding neighborhood. It is, in fact,…

Cool Tools

This site does not talk enough about the great new gadgets and technologies which make off-grid living ever more comfortable.  Here are two – your…

Bloomington preppers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Dec. 21 — The city of Bloomington issued a press release fully endorsing a report into post-peak oil scenarios. December, 2009, “the Bloomington…

Survivalism vs the media

Cody Lundin, the survivalist author, spent two years spent living in a brush shelter in the woods where he slept on pine needles and cooked…

Slow spread of 1BoG

Anyone considering solar power probably has a green outlook. If the deal you do is good for the planet yet not so good for your…

Bankers nixed Copenhagen

It was obvious from the start that the Copenhagen climate conference was doomed. World leaders were trying to square an impossible circle. They had to…

Eco-villages now in 70 countries

In 1991, Robert and Diane Gilman co-authored a seminal study called “Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities” for Gaia Trust. Today, there are ecovillages in over 70…

Lo-energy xmas

The outside of your home may be a shining example of the Christmas season but there are ways to be energy efficient and still light…

Electric filling station

New York’s first solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging station is open for business. It is the first in New York State and one of few…

Nick Rosen on CNN

Off-Grid founder Nick Rosen is interviewed on CNN today. The article puts Off-Grid living into the context of Copenhagen.  In the interview given at the…

Humanure – sawdust toilets

Sit, flush and forget, that’s what most of us do, multiple times a day. Composting toilets are the answer. We use perfectly good, drinkable water…

Off-Grid update

What a great early Christmas gift, I know that to those who get snow every winter, it’s not that exciting, but for those of us…
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Portable battery chargers

Battery charging is an important part of off-grid life. Some of the devices I rely on when I’m on the road are ones that basically…

Copenhagen’s off-grid tree

With international climate change talks less than a week away, the host city has taken its Christmas tree off-grid with a rack of bicycles powering…

How Big Power will keep control

The man who runs one of the largest Energy retailers in America (and Britain) has signalled the death of the traditional utility company. He is…

Off-Grid questions

Every now and again, I get an email with some great questions, this evening I received such an email from a new ‘net friend, Marcy.…

Foreclosed? Move to Rio Rancho

Architecturally, the dwellings run the gamut — railroad cars, travel trailers, plywood shacks, doublewides and two-story ranch-style homes. Here in Rio Rancho outside Albuquerque, residents are beyond the reach of power lines and piped water. A few have solar panels or small wind turbines. For others, like a shanty built by Liz Owens, 57, the cost of renewable power sources and drilling a water well is prohibitive. Generators and plastic water tanks are common yard features. The local County is concerned about the proliferation of informal development. Sandoval County's long-term planner said home styles in the area range from railroad cars to travel trailers, plywood shacks and ranch-type homes.
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A few stocking fillers

SO much pointless stuff gets passed around at Christmas. We've tried to suggest a handful of gifts which are both useful and unlikely to be things you have seen before.
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Wish we thought of that!

The rainbeers are coming! An Atlanta Brewery which was making beer from rainwater has been told to stop gathering  the water by city officials.  Probably…

Senators back mini-nuke

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 — The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee issued the following news release: Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mark…

Australian Eco gifts

Here are a few ideas that will help, or at least not hinder the Australian environment Oregon Scientific Solar Weather Clock $139.99 THIS tidy unit…

$35,000 gets free energy for life

By investing $80,000, and getting back $45,000 in subsidies and tax credits, a Massachusetts family has reduced its energy bill by $3500 a year. That means they will payback the investment within ten years (less if energy prices rise).

Grid fails in Brazil

Massive power cuts in several Latin American countries highlight the dangers of relying on centralised power production

2012 and the age of stupid

2012 is perhaps one of the stupidest movies ever made - it has no basis whatsoever- its just an experiment in computer graphics with a few false assumptions about the Universe

Getting canned

No, I’m not talking about your last job… I’m talking about canning. It’s all but becoming a lost art. But it doesn’t have to be…

A Freegan Feast for 500

Freegan Mark Boyle is marking Buy Nothing Day with a lunch for 500 that will cost him and his guests absolutely nothing.

Peak Oil is now says IEA

THE world will have to find four Saudi Arabias by 2030 if it wants to maintain its oil consumption habit, says the International Energy Agency’s chief economist, Dr Fatih Birol.

States’ resources beat Fed grid

A new study by the Institute for Local Self reliance finds that most states could be energy self sufficient tomorrow if they had the political will. Thereport analyses 7 different forms of renewable energy state by state

My Off-grid plan

Treetop Jen has returned home to the UK, and now she is wondering how to reshape her life. Aim: to live off-grid in the back…