Record profits and record prices, duh? At the same time as wholesale Gas spot prices drop 50% within a month, British Gas has raised prices by 35% for 16 million British households.

The gas grid in Britain was built out in the 1970s as a result of the discovery of natural gas in the North Sea. Somehow it was not foreseen that one day the gas would run out and the country would become dependent on imports.

The head of British Gas, Phil Bentley speaking on Radio 4s World at One, had the colossal nerve to say that people would consume less as a result and that was a good thing. He said the firm would be working hard with its poorest customers to ensure their homes were energy efficient.
>>Keep reading “Use less, pay more”

Sorrell: bye bye the Ferrari…….. Advanced industrial countries like the US and UK are moving toward a post-consumer era - less materialist and more spiritual, reports Alex Benady.

The idea that people will stop buying stuff was once the preserve of gloomy anti-globalists. Now a top advertising boss is saying it, you can be sure the party’s over.

In a series of extraordinary and unreported speeches at seminars this year, Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and CEO of WPP, the world’ No 2 advertising group after Omnicom, representing trillions of dollars of consumer spending worldwide, has been announcing what sounds suspiciously like the imminent death of the consumer society in its current form. And other ad execs are joining the chorus.

Sorrell’s speeches

“All our instincts as clients, agencies and media owners are to encourage people to consume more – super consumption,” he told one conference.
>>Keep reading “End of Consumerism”

20 million windy US homes Turbine makers are starting to promote pint-size installations that can take a house or small business off the grid or take a bite out of an electric bill. For people who live where the wind howls — and where government subsidies can be had — home-brewed wind technology holds promise.

First off, you need a separate tower for your turbine – never try to fix it to the side of your house. Next…..
>>Keep reading “Easy backyard turbines”

Laverne Williams - architect Ten years ago, long before it was fashionable, Bernadell and Stu Thompson built an off-grid ready house in San Antonio, Texas.

Now, everyone wants a tour.

“Even two years ago, we were considered way out there,” Bernadell said. “Now people are coming to us and asking, ‘How did you do this?’”

The 2,200-square-foot energy-efficient home is off-grid ready because solar panels are still too expensive compared to hooking up to the utilities which were already onsite. But that may change next year as costs fall,
>>Keep reading “Model home”

Today was such a fun day, I was at the country store (as is usual for a Saturday), we closed early today because of the P A R T Y! The store …
>>Keep reading “Party!”

Super Good Cents log home, Idaho . Pioneers living in log cabins were part of American frontier times. Now its part of the new frontier — living a healthy and self-sustaining lifestyle.
The choices available to those wishing to build a log home range from factory pre-cut to handmade on-site. Pre-cut kits are nothing new and have been available since 1923. Most manufactures will allow homeowners to customize their design to make it almost as one-of-a-kind as those handmade on-site.
A plus of log homes is that since most log homes are produced from local renewable wood sources they use much less energy
>>Keep reading “A Natural Home”

Now that I have had a chance to try some more of the canned meats, I am soooo happy with it, it’s top quality, tasty, spiced just right, not too much, not too little, all I can say is WOW! As you should know, I ordered my cans from the Internet-Grocer, and I am very happy with them, …
>>Keep reading “Canned Meats-Stocking Up-Better Prices”

OK, here we go again, it seems that the story about the government buying up large stocks of foods is growing, here is a story from WorldNetDaily:

Are feds stockpiling survival food?’These circumstances certainly raise red flags’ …
>>Keep reading “More About The Gov Stockpiling Foods”

OK, the poll ended about which look for the blog, you collectively liked best, only 9 people answered, and it ran pretty close, at least until the very end, it ended up being 6 like the original look, 3 like the new look. I liked both looks, so I decided to combine the two, it still has the same layout …
>>Keep reading “Finally, Finished With The Major Overhaul…”