How to live Off-Grid
harmless_little_f***
Posts: 8,005
'How to Live Off-Grid' by Nick Rosen
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Live-Off-grid-Journeys-Outside/dp/0385611277
I bought this yesterday and it has changed my life. I'm not an expert so excuse me if this sounds a bit sketchy.
Nick Rosen begins by describing how countless national 'grid' systems - all kinds of energy systems (electricity, water, gas, petrol) for example - were at one time built upon lies and misinformation by corporations who began them. It was argued by these corporations that these 'grids' were public services 'for the people'. We were told that we need them, when in fact, many people were arguing at the time that our existing systems were working absolutely fine and had been for centuries. But their arguments were silenced. We were told these systems were built for 'us', when in fact their inception was fuelled by corporate greed - the desire to build billion-pound/dollar business and make it the public's only option. Even the supposedly neutral motorway system was built to aid the growth of these grids - the supermarket system for example, in itself a 'grid' system.
To cut a long story short, this has meant that all over the world, people and their livelihoods are being exploited and our environment is being destroyed.
Nick Rosen tours around Britain and visits people who have chosen to live 'off grid' - avoiding dependency on 'the grid', and in turn making their environment a better place to live. They have - as much as they can - stopped taking from their environment, and are giving something back to it.
Although at this stage of my life, it's a major impracticality to go off-grid entirely, this book has made me want to do a hell of a lot of things very differently. Hats off to you Nick Rosen.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Live-Off-grid-Journeys-Outside/dp/0385611277
I bought this yesterday and it has changed my life. I'm not an expert so excuse me if this sounds a bit sketchy.
Nick Rosen begins by describing how countless national 'grid' systems - all kinds of energy systems (electricity, water, gas, petrol) for example - were at one time built upon lies and misinformation by corporations who began them. It was argued by these corporations that these 'grids' were public services 'for the people'. We were told that we need them, when in fact, many people were arguing at the time that our existing systems were working absolutely fine and had been for centuries. But their arguments were silenced. We were told these systems were built for 'us', when in fact their inception was fuelled by corporate greed - the desire to build billion-pound/dollar business and make it the public's only option. Even the supposedly neutral motorway system was built to aid the growth of these grids - the supermarket system for example, in itself a 'grid' system.
To cut a long story short, this has meant that all over the world, people and their livelihoods are being exploited and our environment is being destroyed.
Nick Rosen tours around Britain and visits people who have chosen to live 'off grid' - avoiding dependency on 'the grid', and in turn making their environment a better place to live. They have - as much as they can - stopped taking from their environment, and are giving something back to it.
Although at this stage of my life, it's a major impracticality to go off-grid entirely, this book has made me want to do a hell of a lot of things very differently. Hats off to you Nick Rosen.
'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
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did he get the book printed by a printing press that runs on electricity and uses oil based ink on paper that was made from cut down trees? Is the book available from all good supermarkets and book stockists?
hmmmmmmmm
Very good point m'lad... the irony is that you often have to use the system to get people off it.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Like TV programs airing reports about why you shouldn't watch tv. I love seeing people on tv telling us to turn it off. I'm easily amused, so it makes me laugh.
Back to the book: I'm a city girl, but every so often I enjoy daydreaming about how I could live an off-grid life.
I'll add this book to my amazon wishlist as a 'book I need to read' reminder.
Thanks, harmless.
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"We've laid the groundwork. It's like planting the seeds. And next year, it's spring." - Nader
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Prepare for tending to your garden, America.
How so, exactly? What are you going to do different from this book you bought & read yesterday?
You want a definitive list of all the things I'm looking into doing differently?
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
I'd love to hear about your experiences if you wanted to share.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
That's not really necessary. The gist would probably satisfy my curiousity.
OK. I'm inspired to look into the following questions:
* How many products are available fair-trade (clothes, particularly) and is it possible to buy *everything* fair trade? Methinks, probably.
* Can I use as little artificial heating as possible? In fact, can I avoid having to use it completely? It would mean buying lots of jumpers/sweaters and maybe a few hot water bottles.
* Can I learn to grow a whole bunch of fruit and vegetables? I'm sure as hell gonna try. And when I can't, I'm going to try to buy organic and fair trade wherever possible.
* Can I totally avoid all clothing and fast food chains which exploit people's ignorance and damage the environment? Of course I can.
* Can I stop needlessly buying shit? For example, the book which inspired all of this? I hope it'll be the last book I buy. I can use the library, and when I want new fiction, I can write my own. Do I need to buy music? No, I can learn to play my own music - and then there's the internet.
I'll add to/take away from this checklist as and when I've properly researched the viability of these things. I am also interested in the concept of creating a private bore-hole for water in your own home, rather than using a corporate water company. Apparently you need no planning permission to do so and it's relatively inexpensive. Maybe someone else can throw some light on that.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
i give it 10-14 days max.
Oh come on, at least give me three or four months to find out if I can grow a chilli pepper.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/82-hating-corporations/
Stuff White People Like
#82 Hating Corporations
March 5, 2008 by clander
One of the more popular white person activities of the past fifteen years is attempting to educate others on the evils of multi-national corporations. White people love nothing more than explaining to you how Wal*Mart, McDonalds, Microsoft, Halliburton are destroying the Earth’s culture and resources.
While the growth of multi-national corporations can be attributed to a number of complex social, economic and political factors, many white people prefer to take the word of two trusted sources: No Logo and AdBusters.
Published in 2000, No Logo has been responsible for more white person “enlightenment” than any book since the burning of the library at Alexandria. By reading this one magic book, white people are able to get a full grasp on the evils of multi-national corporations and then regurgitate it to friends and family.
Advanced white people will supplement No Logo with a subscription to AdBusters, where they will learn how to subvert corporate culture and return it to the masses. Specifically, this means taking ads and redoing them to give a negative message about a product. Apparently the belief is that when other people see this ad, they will be hit with an epiphany that their entire existence has been a Matrix-style manufactured universe.
If you plan to engage in lengthy conversations or get high with white people it is recommended that you read No Logo or one issue of AdBusters. Failing that, it is acceptable to buy a copy to leave on your coffee table. When white people see it, they will recognize you as someone who can see through the advertising and has a proper perspective on life.
When engaging in a conversation about corporate evils it is important to NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as the companies mentioned earlier. White people prefer to hate corporations that don’t make stuff that they like.
Following these simple steps can help you gain the trust and respect of white people in a relatively short period of time.
I don't get it. This article has not made any attempt at debunking anything that No Logo (which I haven't read) said, and it certainly hasn't sought to prove that these corporations are not based on exploitation and greed.. If it has any other purpose than to laugh about an apparent fault with white people (wanting to contribute to looking after our planet), then I'd like to know what it is..
And please, if you have any evidence against any of the stuff I read in How to Live Off-Grid, I'd be very interested in debating with you. I am, admittedly, new at this stuff.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
think about it though
you cant use national grid electricty to power up your Sony Viao laptop that uses the Microsoft software to run.... so no internet... if you're not going to buy cd's or books and use the internet to listen to music then the internet quite literally uses the grid.
it seems like too much of a hassle to me... why spend 16 weeks growing 300 carrots that all need plucked from the ground at the same time? what do you eat for the next 4 weeks... carrots? suppose at least when you throw up after trying to get drunk on your own home brew it will explain the myriad of carrots plastered to your face whilst you lie crying in your hemp pyjamas about how wooden cars are the shit
http://www.smartplanet.com/news/fashion/10000190/new-cheeky-lingerie-from-enamore.htm
Wembley 18/06/07
If there was a reason, it was you.
O2 Arena 18/09/09
The internet allows me to communicate with my friends and earn some money.. which I will soon be doing self-employed.
Of course I'll be using supermarkets, but when I go there I *hope* I'll be able to find organic and fresh products as much as possible.
I'm quite clearly not treating it as an all or nothing thing. You can call that 'picking and choosing' but the fact is, I can't practically do the whole lot. But I am looking at how much I can do realistically. The fact is, if everyone in our country/the world did just a tiny bit of this stuff each, we'd be making quite an impact.. no?
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
There you go--its not about decrying modern civilization and trying to do the impossible--its about awareness and consderation to do what we can. Thats a better ticket.
:eek:
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
London, Copenhagen 07
MSG 08
SBE, Manchester, London 09
Dublin, Belfast, London 10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Deal#Notable_New_Deal_programs
Admin
Social awareness does not equal political activism!
5/23/2011- An utter embarrassment... ticketing failures too many to list.
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/48-whole-foods-and-grocery-co-ops/
"Stuff White People Like"
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops
February 3, 2008 by clander
White people need organic food to survive, and where they purchase this food is as important as what they purchase. In modern white person culture, Whole Foods has replaces churches and cathedrals as the most important and relevant buildings in the community.
There are some regions that do not have Whole Foods, but do have an abundance of white people (college towns), in these situations Whole Foods can be substituted with a local co-op grocery store where you have to pay a membership to shop there.
All of these stores are pretty much the same - lots of vegetables, grain fed free range meat and eggs, and soy everything. They are also characterized by an outrageously large section of vitamins, supplements, and natural oils. There are natural, handmade soaps which give these stores a unique and uniform smell.
Many white people consider shopping at Whole Foods to be a religious experience, allowing them feel good about their consumption. The use of paper bags, biodegradable packaging, and the numerous pamphlets outlining the company’s police on hormones, genetically modified food and energy savings. This is in spite of the fact that Whole Foods is a profit driven-publicly traded corporation that has wisely discovered that making white people feel good about buying stuff is outrageously profitable.
As you walk through Whole Foods/Co-op you will see white people pushing carts buying things like Flaxseed Oil, wine, Tofu versions of meat, and organic kohlrabi. They also provide prepared foods, that single white people often purchase to avoid cooking.
This is important information, as this section of the store is loaded with single white people.
These stores are excellent for bringing children, as there is nothing that they actually want.
“Oh, mommy, look chocolate!”
“No Joshua, that’s carob.”
“I want it.”
“Ok.”
The child will then take a bite and realize that nothing in the store can be trusted.
Is there anything you've got to contribute other than 'what white people like' articles? You haven't answered my questions I asked last time.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_regeneration
Urban Renewal (similar to Urban Regeneration in British English) is a controversial U.S. program of land re-development in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. This process began as an intense phase in the late 1940's and continued into the late 1970's with traces of it still occurring in the early 1980's. It has a major impact on the urban landscape. Similar mechanisms play an important role in the history and demographics of cities around the world, including; Beijing, China, Melbourne, Victoria; Saint John, New Brunswick; Glasgow, Scotland; Boston, Massachusetts; Warsaw; San Francisco, California; and Bilbao, Spain. Commonly cited examples include Canary Wharf, in London, and Cardiff in Wales.
Urban renewal is extremely controversial, and typically involves the destruction of businesses, the relocation of people, and the use of eminent domain (known as Compulsory Purchase in the UK) as a legal instrument to reclaim private property for city-initiated development projects. The justifications often used for Urban Renewal include the "renewal" of residential slums, blighted commercial and industrial areas. In the 1960's James Baldwin famously dubbed Urban Renewal "Negro Removal". [1][2][3].
In the second half of the 20th century, renewal often resulted in the creation of urban sprawl and vast areas of cities being demolished and replaced by freeways and expressways, housing projects, and vacant lots, some of which still remain vacant at the beginning of the 21st century.[4]
Urban renewal's effect on actual revitalization is a subject of intense debate. It is seen by proponents as an economic engine, and by opponents as a regressive mechanism for enriching the wealthy at the expense of taxpayers and the poor. It carries a high cost to existing communities, and in many cases resulted in the destruction of vibrant—if run-down —neighborhoods.
Urban renewal in its original form has been called a failure by many urban planners and civic leaders, and has since been reformulated with a focus on redevelopment of existing communities. However, many cities link the revitalization of the central business district and gentrification of residential neighborhoods to earlier urban renewal programs. Over time, urban renewal evolved into a policy based less on destruction and more on renovation and investment, and today is an integral part of many local governments, often combined with small and big business incentives. But even in this adapted form, Urban Renewal projects are still widely accused of abuse and corruption.
Wembley 18/06/07
If there was a reason, it was you.
O2 Arena 18/09/09
Thankyou for that. I found this part particularly interesting:
Prolonged/worsened the Depression
Virtually all historians believe that the New Deal helped resolve the Great Depression, but economists are less certain, with a substantial minority believing that it either had no great impact or worsened the depression.[35] A 1995 survey of economic historians asked whether "Taken as a whole, government policies of the New Deal served to lengthen and deepen the Great Depression." Of those in economics departments 27% agreed, 22% agreed 'with provisos' (what provisos the survey does not state) and 51% disagreed. Of those in history departments, only 27% agreed and 74% disagreed. [1]
The minority view is represented by Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian who argue that the "New Deal labor and industrial policies did not lift the economy out of the Depression as President Roosevelt and his economic planners had hoped," but that the "New Deal policies are an important contributing factor to the persistence of the Great Depression." They claim that the New Deal "cartelization policies are a key factor behind the weak recovery." They say that the "abandonment of these policies coincided with the strong economic recovery of the 1940s."[36] Lowell E. Gallaway and Richard K. Vedder argue that the "Great Depression was very significantly prolonged in both its duration and its magnitude by the impact of New Deal programs." They suggest that without Social Security, work relief, unemployment insurance, mandatory minimum wages, and without special government-granted privileges for labor unions, business would have hired more workers and the unemployment rate during the New Deal years would have been 6.7% instead of 17.2%.[37]
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Conclusion: Instead of relying on government to save us all, it's far better & even a moral responsibility to turn to rugged individualism.
This is an incredible breakthrough! This is what conservatives have been arguing for nearly a century now. Welcome HLF & UH to the Republican Party!
I wasn't aware I'd joined any parties.. I don't think that finding a Wikipedia article interesting amounts to that.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Through quotign an article, revealed, your opinion is.
Off to lunch I go.
Not at all. All that was proven by the article quoted was that there are two sides to every story.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Another side which by your own information shows is not believed to be true. Please look at the bolded areas, only 27% agreed with the statement, so a majority believed that New Deal did not worsen or had no great impact on the Depression.
I'm not for govenrment hand outs at all but the government can help at times with programs that increase infrastructure (ie the grid) that you condemn and want to be off of. They can help stimulate economic growth.... problem is that they won't work today since the US is now a consumer nation and not the exporters we once were.
urbanhippie- I never once mentioned urban renewal.... I was pointing out the public works projects which helped build infrastructure in this country (ie electrical plants, more roads and highways, water plants etc.). Nothing about taking blighted areas and doing what the government thinks is needed or right for that area.
Admin
Social awareness does not equal political activism!
5/23/2011- An utter embarrassment... ticketing failures too many to list.