This man is a saint

We reviewed Ben Law’s first book, THE WOODLAND WAY, a while back. In fact it was one of the things that inspired me to start this web site, along with “Off the Grid” from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales.

Now Ben as brought out a detailed record of the building of his home. THE WOODLAND HOUSE has all the virtues of his first book, but is more accessible, more focused and more useful — at least useful to anyone who is thinking of building a timber framed house.

The book combines sufficient detail so that you could copy his design, with an emotional warmth that lets you know the sort of person Ben is and how much this building means to him.

Buy The Woodland House from Amazon for £11.20. Normal Price - £16.95 (more…)

Licking Global Warming

The G8 summit made a commitment to develop new forms of energy like solar and wind. It wasn’t enough for Jerry Greenfield, founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. He talked to Off-Grid’s Sarah Ewing about the US avoiding its responsibilities and what he intends to do about it.

Q: What gets you really fired up about the way the environment is dealt with by governments?
A: In the United States, it has to be the refusal of our government to sign the Kyoto Protocol. The US is the world’s largest polluter and 75% of our carbon dioxide emissions are created from the burning of fossil fuel. With no serious commitment to reducing our emissions, then what hope is there for future generations?

Q: What do you think are the biggest environmental problems we are facing right now?
A: Climate change is undoubtedly the biggest environmental problem we’re facing. Given current rates of warming, scientists fear that there may be no sea ice left during the Arctic summer by the year 2100 and the effect this will have on populations and wildlife will be irreversible. (more…)