Posts from — October 2007

NBC – green as my ass!

Oh, roll out the green carpet. A pitiful slate for the Sweeps from NBC has the whole channel going greenwash for a week, adapting its leading shows to green themes for a single episode. Its actually rather symptomatic of the mainstream corporate approach to green issues. You can just imagine the execs sitting around in their air-conditioned offices, deciding that it would be really, really great to get the whole green thing out of the way in a week. Oh what fun they had before they climbed into their limos and headed down to Four Season for lunch.

Here is an outline of the tawdry ideas, lifted from TV Guide magazine: (more…)

Watching them watching us

An article by Nick Rosen, Editor of Off-Grid, details the steps we can all take to fight back against the surveillance society of government and private company databases.

The story, Ten ways to Thwart Big Brother, in The Observer newspaper, lists ten simple actions, from wearing a hoodie in shopping malls, to special software which protects your identity online, to driving a horse and cart on the roads in order to avoid the automatic numberplate recognition systems.

This week also sees the publication of The Road to Southend Pier: One Man’s Struggle Against the Surveillance Society by Ross Kemp, a look at everything from CCTV Cameras in the High Street to the records the FBI keep on each and every one of us. (more…)

Sunset view from Long Island

Its enough to make you long for an economic collapse. Long Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset, has gone on the market The uninhabited private island would be the perfect off-grid retreat, — it has no homes and there is no planning permission to build one, but normal people will not be able to afford to live there with offers of over �1 million ($2.08 million) being considered. (more…)

Ditchmonkey, Hugh Sawyer

Ditchmonkey sprang to fame a few years ago, when he announced to the UK media that he worked at Sothebys by day and lived in a ditch in Oxfordshire at night. Now he is about to start the biggest test of his life. And he will write about it here on Off-grid.

I have recently been trying to work out how I came to be committed to walk through the jungles and mountains of South America for up to a year. It is not the kind of plan that naturally comes to mind over the morning cornflakes. I think it started off as a surf trip with a spot of camping on the beach and things kind of escalated from there. Now the plan is walk coast to coast across South America following the line of the equator as far as is possible, living in the jungle, surviving off the land as far as possible and blogging about the experience via a solar powered lap top and satellite phone. (more…)

Eco pimp my ride

AN ELECTRIC car that can move sideways, a hydrogen-powered van with a body made out of a gel-like substance and a hybrid, stroller-shaped vehicle that runs on sidewalks and streets.

These and other eco-friendly concept cars to go on display today at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, running thru Nov. 11, are designed to give off warm, fuzzy feelings along with reduced carbon-dioxide emissions.

Toyota Motor Corp. will take the wraps off the largest number of dream cars, representing a wide range of green energy and design options. (more…)

Batman star in his belfry

Nobody’s saying he uses his utility belt to winch himself up there, but he sure loves to get away. Val Kilmer’s love for nature, particularly trees, has deep roots. His second cousin Alfred Joyce Kilmer wrote the famous poem “Trees” in 1913.

Kilmer eventually will �build a new house here by the river, have some organic gardens to farm what I need and just get back to the land. In a way, this treehouse is my first step in that direction. Look at this tree. It�s so solid and yet so fragile that it moves with the wind,� he says, grasping one of the oaks. �There�s a sense of freedom and wonderment up here.� (more…)

Space to grow

I’ve been growing vegetables for over 30 years, on and off, but it’s only in the last 5 years that I’ve made any effort to become nearly self sufficient in veg all year round. The good news is: it’s surprisingly easy if you give it a little thought. The photo is about a quarter of my garden in October a couple of years ago, you might spot: pak choi, mizuna, swiss chard, shallots and spring cabbage.

Even using just part of my back garden – a space about 30 feet by 30 feet – I’ve been able to grow the majority of vegetable needs for one or two people with plenty to give away during the summer and autumn glut. (more…)

Live free, be free

THE AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SPENDS A WHOPPING $7,500 A YEAR ON THE WEEKLY SHOP. FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE TIPS AND CUT YOURS BY UP TO 40 PER CENT.

We just found a great book called The New Spend Less Revolution (click on the link to buy it from Amazon US. Click on this link to buy from Amazon UK. Its packed full of great tips to help you feel good about earning less and spending less. Its a vital step on the path to freedom and happiness.Click to keep reading the 50 tips. (more…)

Down so long it feels like up

JOHN Martin is a man who knows what it’s like to live the high life… running a successful computer software company and jetting between luxury homes in the Scottish Highlands and Spain.

But now 53-year-old John says he couldn’t be happier living in what looks like a garden shed with a few extra windows.

And he’s so impressed with life in his �45,000 Eco House that he’s launched a new business selling the homes that he believes could ease the housing crisis and make it easier for young couples in rural areas to take the first step on the housing ladder. (more…)