Posts from — February 2008

Planting jerusalem artichokes

At last! The days begin to noticably lengthen, the sun feels warmer than it did a few weeks ago and there are signs of things growing again.

I’ve just spent a couple of weeks up in northern Scotland at the Phoenix Project, apologies for no articles in recent weeks – I’ll try to make up for that soon. There’s a good selection of vegetables for eating fresh from the garden there now: kales, cabbages, purple sprouting broccoli, even some calabrese, carrots, turnips, jerusalem artichoke, radicchio, leeks, parsnip, brussels sprouts, swede, winter radish, beetroot.

Its time to begin sowing and planting outside if conditions are favourable. (more…)

(Washington, D.C. – Feb. 12, 2008) Finding energy efficient schools, supermarkets, offices, and other facilities throughout the country has become even easier for Americans interested in being green. Now they can find the Energy Star not only where they live but where they work, shop, play and learn. The number of commercial buildings and manufacturing plants to earn the Energy Star for superior energy efficiency is up by more than 25 percent in the past year, and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions reduced has reached an all-time high of more than 25 billion pounds.

“From a historic office tower in the Big Apple to a small manufacturing plant in America’s heartland – EPA is pleased to see so many organizations offering high-efficiency Energy Star buildings and facilities,” said Robert J. Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air & Radiation.

Nearly 4,100 buildings and manufacturing plants have earned the EPA’s Energy Star through the end of 2007, with the addition of more than 1,400 in 2007 alone. They include about 1,500 office buildings, 1,300 supermarkets, 820 K-12 schools and 250 hotels. Also, more than 185 banks, financial centers, hospitals, courthouses, warehouses, dormitories, and – for the first time – big-box retail buildings earned the Energy Star. More than 35 manufacturing plants such as cement, auto assembly, corn refining, and – for the first time – petroleum refining are also being recognized.

In total, these award-winning commercial buildings and manufacturing plants have saved nearly $1.5 billion annually in lower energy bills and prevented carbon dioxide emissions equal to the emissions associated with electricity use of more than 1.5 million American homes for a year, relative to typical buildings. Commercial buildings that have earned the Energy Star use nearly 40 percent less energy than average buildings and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, offering a significantly smaller carbon footprint. About 500 Energy Star buildings use 50 percent less energy than average buildings. Many of these buildings excel due to good energy management practices such as routine energy efficiency benchmarking.

Energy use in commercial buildings and manufacturing plants accounts for nearly half of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 50 percent of energy consumption nationwide. For more than a decade, EPA has worked with businesses and organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through strategic energy management practices. Today, there are Energy Star qualified facilities in every state across the country. To qualify for the Energy Star, a building or manufacturing plant must score in the top 25 percent using EPA’s National Energy Performance Rating System.

Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. In 2006, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved about $14 billion on their energy bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 25 million vehicles.

To learn more about Energy Star buildings and facilities: http://www.energystar.gov/buildings

To find Energy Star buildings and industrial facilities in your area: http://www.energystar.gov/LabeledList

Today was a banner day, it was a beautiful day, sunny, slight breeze, warm , the high was 75 f. After lounging around most of the morning into the afternoon, we got up and started working on concrete. We poured about a foot in depth and about 10 feet long, we are pouring a three sided wall, we pour, allow it to set for a few days, remove the forms and reattach them higher on the wall and pour again, this keeps the forms from bulging out too much, concrete is heavy. Bob mixes the cement powder, local soil, local gravel and a little water in the cement mixer, pours it into a bucket and brings it to the wall, he pours it into the wall cavity, I tamp it down and smooth it out as best as I can with a stick. We also throw in fist sized rocks and poke them into the wet concrete.

After that, Bob got out the powered post hole digger, my Dad gave it to us, so far, digging has been so easy that Bob hasn’t felt the need to use the auger, but he tried it tonight, and was very impressed, he dug 3 holes a few feet away from the south side of the cabin, he set some long 2×6 boards in the holes, filled the hole back in with dirt and a little water and tamped it down. His intention is to make a scaffold structure so he can work safely on that side of the cabin. While he was doing this, I made dinner, I was instructed to post the recipe on my blog, so I will. It’s a recipe I made up when I was a teenager, it’s extreme comfort food.

4 slices of bread (your choice-white or wheat)
4 wieners (hot dogs)
1 can chili
1 can cream corn
mayo
shredded cheese (your choice)

Heat the cream corn and the chili in separate pans, you can heat the wieners in the chili if you want or heat them separately, leave whole or cut into bite sized pieces, your choice. Take 2 slices of bread for each serving, place it on a plate, slather each slice with a thick layer of mayo, I like Miracle Whip, my hubby likes real mayo, make it thick, pour the chili with the wieners) over the bread, place some shredded cheese over this, as much as you want. Next pour the cream corn over the top. Eat. This serves 2 hungry people.

I don’t have a name for this, anyone want to name it? When I made it as a teen, I didn’t add wieners or cheese, I add this now to make it more of a meal. It may sound like a strange combination, but it’s very good, have lots of napkins. Don’t ask about the calorie count, if you have to ask, then you probably shouldn’t eat it (grin!), we aren’t worried about calories out here, as hard as we work, we burn off more than enough. Walking up and down the property with buckets of gravel and dirt in this thin air is a super workout!

Work

Before we moved out here, we did a lot of research on how to build and live off grid, I found a lot of websites boasting about how green they are while spending lots of money and using heavy equipment and lots of hands helping them. It can be discouraging to the average person who wants to do this but doesn’t have much money (or equipment or help). I am here to tell you that it CAN be done, we have done everything with very little money and mostly by hand. The most expensive part was buying the land, before we moved we started buying a few thing here and there, the deep cycle batteries, the solar panels, yes I know those are expensive, but they are coming down in price, and if you are willing to live a more simple life, you can make it with a few batteries and a few solar panels, we are doing it, and we are doing it very well. We would not be able to power the same amount of stuff as we used to have when we lived in the city, but living out here, in a small cabin, using the bare minimum of lights, a radio, a small cube refrigerator, cell phone, computer and the water pump, our little system is working great. We don’t watch TV, it’s just a time waster and an energy hog, I don’t miss it very much at all, but then again I didn’t watch it much before.

We have built out home ourselves, with hand tools and sweat. It’s not the Ritz, but it’s ours, free and clear. We get a lot of material for free by doing things like Bob did the other day, a neighbor around the mountain from us was tearing down a building, he gave us the material as long as we took all of it, we ended up with a lot of good, usable wood, some of it is no good, but for a half a day’s work, we got a truck load of wood for free. You gotta network with the local people to find out what they need and what you can offer, the barter system is alive and well. If you have skills, especially out here where it is remote and costs a mint just to get someone to come out to your property, and that is before they start doing any work, you can go a long way toward getting the things you need. Bob is good with his hands, he can repair most any appliance, motor and is good with carpentry, electronics and a hodge podge of other things, it has come in handy for us as well as for a few neighbors who help us with other things.

For anyone who really wants to do this, let me say that it CAN be done, and you don’t have to be wealthy, you just have to be willing to do the proper research, learn from everyone, and be willing to work hard. It’s not a vacation, but it has been worth it. It has been worth everything we have given up, which by the way hasn’t been much:

Noise
TV
pollution
Stress
Close by stores
Close by neighbors (packed in like sardines)
Traffic problems
High bills
City codes (building, parking…)

There is more than I can list, the main thing is the noise level, it’s so quiet out here, and the air is so clean, you can see so many more stars. I do have to collect wood for heat, for now I have to tote water, I have to be aware of my power usage, but I don’t get a monthly bill for my electricity or heating, it’s a trade off, and I don’t mind it at at all.

I am thinking about what I am going to grow for food this spring, we will have to decide where to put the garden, and we will have to protect it from the animals who would like to eat our veggies as much as I would. I plan on planting carrots, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers (hot and mild), beans, peas, spinach, kale, okra, lettuce, garlic, herbs… and I don’t know what else, I ordered some seed catalogs, I can’t wait to get them.

2 Comments

HOLLIS said…

I am in the research stage. I just found your site and love it. If you don’t mind me asking what did the land cost and how much did you get? I am researching on how to do this with kids. We have a 7 & 8 yr olds. Any advice there?

May 21, 2008 7:28 PM

Wretha said…

Hello Hollis,

I don’t mind answering most questions (grin), we purchased just under 6 acres, we paid $11000 for it. The land had nothing on it, no improvements at all, most properties around here cost more, the reason ours was less was because accessing the largest part is difficult, there is a dry creek bed running across the front of the property, getting a vehicle across, or anything else for that matter is not easy, but it’s doable. You need a 4 wheel drive vehicle or you have to use a winch to get across and up the other side. We park our vehicles on the street side and walk across most of the time. When it rains, we just stay on the high side and don’t leave the property.

Where are you looking for land? You can email me directly if you want. :)

Wretha

May 21, 2008 9:11 PM

The light that cannot shine

The Treehugger web site has fallen for an obvious bit of hype in featuring a gravity powered light yesterday.

The light won second prize in a green gadgets competition in New York. But much as off-gridders would welcome the product, unfortunately the design is flawed — as anyone with a little scientific knowledge would recognise.

Treehugger featured the”Gravia” LED floor lamp from designer Clay Moulton which claims to that combine human power and gravity to create a lighting source that will work for 200 years with no external power. The design, part of his master�s thesis at the College of Architecture and Urban Studies should never have been passed by his academic minders. (more…)

Off-grid planning advisor

Introducing top planning and environmental lawyer Tim Driver of UK law firm Berryman……

Tim will be advising off-grid readers IN THE UK ONLY, on how to gain planning permission for their off-grid homes (any lawyers in the United States interested in helping off-gridders fight their way through the system, please feel free to contact us).

Planning permission, the right to live on or use a particular piece of land, is the main obstacle to off-gridders in the UK.

Trouble with the local council planning officers? Or the neighbours? Or building control? If you need help carving out your little piece of off-grid heaven, write to MANWITHPLAN@OFF-GRID.NET with questions or requests for advice . (more…)

what price tranquility?

Great news! A load of pin-striped city bankers suddenly want to buy your off-grid home.

No less an authority than The Financial Times has endorsed off-grid holiday homes in a breathless article that will win over many CEOs to the merits of an off-grid haven to call their own.

Of course no biggie if you are merely adding to your property portfolio with a fraction of your annual bonus, but for many its all they have. (more…)

02-21-08

It’s been several days since I wrote anything, that is because not much has been happening, Bob has been gone during the daytime, I do get some things done, dishes, cleaning, taking care of the humanure toilet. Day to day life is becoming normal here, at least normal for me :) I get up in the morning, I look outside to see how the day looks, I take the dog out, I change out of my pj’s, I take a sponge bath using the water from the stock pot that is still warm from last night’s fire. I put on my clothes, I do any dishes that were left from the night before, if I am hungry, I eat something, usually I make a bowl of oatmeal, if the water in the pot isn’t hot enough, I have a 2 burner propane stove, it doesn’t take long for the water to get hot enough to cook the oatmeal. Sometimes I listen to the radio, we get one station, it’s a NPR radio station out of Marfa, they play a variety of music, I have heard everything from rock, classic rock, country, old country, ancient country (grin!), pop, jazz, classical, Cajun, folk, blues, and some I can’t put a name to, and that’s all in an hour or two! It seems that they don’t want to offend anyone or leave anyone out, so they play this crazy variety of music one after another, you might hear Pink Floyd then right after that they might play Hank Williams Sr, then something classical… it’s like a crazy quilt for music. Anyhoo, at some point during the day (or evening) I go to my neighbor’s house for water and company, once Bob gets home and gets cleaned up (as much as possible), I make dinner, we eat dinner while watching the most beautiful mountains and sunset. Our mule deer show up just before sunset on most days, they have gotten quite used to us, for better or worse, they hang around for an hour or so, depends on how many crackers I toss their way. After dinner, if I haven’t gotten water yet, I will go then, otherwise, we have movie night a few nights a week, IF the weather cooperates. If the wind is gusting, we can’t hear anything but the wind, many movie nights have been canceled because of the wind. But that is OK because we do like to talk to each other, actually we are opposites from most couples, in most other couples, the female talks more and the male talks less, often to the point where the female wished her mate would talk more and the male wishes his mate would hush up! :) In our situation, Bob is the talker, I like to say that he narrates the world, this is a good thing, I appreciate his gift for gab, I on the other hand, tend to be a bit on the quiet side, at least as compared to most of the other women I know (though I can chat up a storm when I need to), so for us, it works out quite nicely.

I just heard the Bug pull up, it will take Bob about 5 minutes (+/-) to walk up to the cabin, once he gets here, we are supposed to go to our neighbor’s house for dinner, our neighbor is cooking a pork roast, Bob just walked in, I stopped typing and started heating water for coffee, Bob is a coffee drinker, he likes it semi-hot and very sweet.

I have figured out a glitch in our power system, not a bad one though, I dug out my alarm clock a few days ago, it runs on 110 and has a battery backup, it’s just a standard, digital alarm clock. The first night I had it plugged up, it worked just fine, but the next morning, I noticed the time was wrong, it was a head about 20 minutes, I assumed that either Bob or I had hit the wrong button and made the time jump ahead, I reset the time and watched it for a bit and it ran just fine. A few hours later, I noticed the time had jumped ahead again, not much, between 5 and 10 minutes, again I reset the time and assumed that one of us must have bumped the button that resets the time, it’s quite sensitive. So today, I was watching the clock to see if it was having a problem, the digital clock was a minute behind the clock on the weather station, I heard the power inverter’s fan kick on for a few seconds (that happens when the refrigerator comes on or some other load occurs), right after that, the digital clock jumped a minute ahead of the weather station clock, that was the “aha” moment, I started making the inverter fan come on by turning on lights and other things that cause a power load to occur, each time I did this, the digital clock would jump ahead 30 seconds to a minute, so I am going to have to isolate it from other power loads in the future, Bob thinks he can do something to change the “flavor” of the power, we will see if it works, it would be great of it did, but it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t work, for the most part, we don’t need an alarm clock. :)

Moon

Last night I watched the lunar eclipse, I saw it from the point where the moon was red, I got a late start and missed the first half. I went out about once every 10 minutes to see what was happening. I must say that I wasn’t very impressed, it was kind of fun to see it, but not a huge thrill, I understand our next full lunar eclipse will happen in about 3 years… A strange thing that happened during the eclipse, I don’t know if it was associated with the event or just a coincidence, my cell phone couldn’t acquire a signal at all, this went on all night, it worked during the day just fine, but about sun down, it started “looking” for a signal and it did this all night. This morning, it finally started working again, I hope this doesn’t happen often, I get a marginal signal at best, it’s always a “roaming” signal, and for the most part, I have to stand in a certain place in the cabin, if I move around, my signal drops out and I may even lose the call alltogether.

Comments

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been leaving comments, I really REALLY appreciate each and every comment, keep them coming! :) Comments, questions, I read and respond to them, so if you ask a question, go back to that comment and look for my response, it may take a few days to get back to you, but I will respond.

5 Comments

Oldman in th eBoonies said…

Perhaps I missed it in your posting but Unless you have a true sinewave converter you will always have problems with a power inverter and some elctronics. Variable speed motors and standard inverters do not get along well. I replaced the variable speed fan on our Wood burner with a equivilant CFM bathroom fan and some flexable ducting. The inverter is much happier now. This was a much cheaper solution than a Sine wave converter.

Thanks for the info on the water pump. I keep forgetting about RV and Marine stuff. I am building a rainwater catchment system and 12 componants are essential. Since we are in the frozen great north the project is on hold for a while.

February 22, 2008 7:17 PM

Wretha said…

Yeah, we have an inexpensive inverter, it was the biggest one I could get where I used to work, Best Buy is not known for selling inverters, computers yes, but not the bigger inverters, but it was a good deal for me so I got 2 of them, eventually we will get a bigger/better one, but for now, what we have is working just fine.

Where in the frozen north are you located?

Wretha

February 23, 2008 9:07 PM

oldman in the boonies said…

We are in Central Wisconsin. We got 14″ of snow last sunday after it had been -20 for a couple of days in a row. we have had about 80 inches so far this year. It is in the high 20′s yesterday and supposed to be 35 today.

We are in our late 50′s. We have about 5 acres. We grow about 75% of our vegetables. We have 5 chickens.

We do have a nice 6″ well that gives us all the water we could want. it runs on 220 and that scares me. I have put together a rather extensive rain water catchment system. while it is still evolving I am always looking for better ways to do things.

You and Bob are doing great. I look at your every day to see if you have posted.

February 24, 2008 8:11 AM

nanabird2000 said…

Hey Wretha, everyone sends their “Hello’s” sounds like things are going well for you guys. Was nice to talk to you the other day. If you keep up all talking to the animals you may turn into Dr Dolittle and the animals talk back to you, :) Glad you guys are doing good your neighbor sounds like a heaven sent, you must be company for each other. Keep up the blogs look forward to reading them and enjoy the pictures too, explains alot of things, thanks. Until next time……Nancy

February 25, 2008 9:53 PM

Wretha said…

Oldman, wow, that is too much snow for me, and too much cold! I really love living in the desert AND on a mountain, I get the best of both worlds. We are going to get chickens sometime this spring (I hope!), I can’t wait to have fresh eggs and the occasional chicken in the pot… we are also going to grow lots of fruits & veggies. How do you store (long term) what you grow?

Nancy, thanks so much for keeping up with me, I miss each and every one of you! I will keep up the blog, it’s great fun and honestly, it allows me to remember things that I might forget, especially about the early periods, and helps me to appreciate each step.

I have more pix that I will be uploading soon, stay tuned! :)

Wretha

February 26, 2008 10:07 PM

Rosen and Paddick

Ken Livingstone tried to hijack the green debate in London with a campaign to force restaurants to serve tap water instead of bottled. He will have to do better than that if he wants to win the green vote at the upcoming election for London Mayor. Off-Grid editor Nick Rosen met Lib Dem candidate, BRIAN PADDICK:

Brian Paddick is the opposite of a professional politician.

That is why it is me, and not him, who points out the news value of his call for a �green audit� of the London Mayor�s office, and the London Assembly. (more…)

It has been mentioned before but an article was due on the Alliance to Save Energy. The Alliance to Save Energy promotes energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security. As stated on their website: “The Alliance is the only national nonprofit, bipartisan public-policy organization working in strategic partnership with business, government, environmental, educational, and consumer leaders to encourage a more vibrant marketplace for energy-efficient products and to promote energy efficiency worldwide.”

It was founded by Senators Charles H. Percy, a Republican from Illinois, and Hubert H. Humphrey, a Democratic from Minnesota. Since it’s founding in 1977 it has a solid track record for unifying both the public and private sectors to promote sustainable energy for the future.

Today the Alliance still strives to better equip our future teachers, policy makers, business leaders, environmental leaders and even the everyday consumer. So that they can make informed decisions about their energy use and future energy directions.
They cannot and do not want to do that alone. They hope that by us all working together we will be able to reach the common goals of a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and improved energy security through energy efficiency.

According to Kateri Callahan the President of Alliance to Save Energy “Energy efficiency represents the cheapest, quickest and cleanest resource for meeting the world’s ever-increasing demand for energy”

The Alliance has over 115 organizations from all parts of the economy, from “big box” retailers to energy providers to state and local governments and national laboratories, participating actively in their Alliance Associates Program. This provides them many opportunities to engage in every aspect of these organizations, from policy advocacy to market transformation initiatives and national communication campaigns. The Alliance also drives efficiency through public policy.

The Alliance serves as the recognized and respected voice of the energy efficiency movement before Congress, the Administration, and state and local governments. They do everything from advocating energy-efficiency building codes
and appliance standards to securing funding for technology deployment. They also seek government support to advance energy efficiency. They try to communicate their message through PSAs and media outlets.

It serves as a unified voice for the energy-efficiency community through its award-winning PSAs and frequent interviews with national and local media outlets. The Alliance actively employs all forms of media to educate public leaders and the public about the multiple benefits of saving energy.

Though this organization is seen as a media resource for what is going on in politics, manufacturing, research, education and more on energy efficiency, green initiatives, alternative energy, etc., they offer newsletters to anyone who wishes to sign up for them. Just think everyday, week, monthly and/or bi-month you can receive the the latest news about the going ons without searching through national, local, trade, etc. publications. With over 8 different newsletters you are sure to find one that spans your interest. You can find descriptions of their newsletters here. Even if you don’t sign up for a one take the time to look around or search their website for they offer great information that is sure to help you make your home more energy efficient.