This is what to expect Off-gridder Lamar has researched the great depression and “gleaned much info from my parents that lived through it” to come up with some useful tips for what, thanks to our great leaders in Washington and New York, will be some real tough times:

1. Don’t worry that your savings and checking account will disappear. FDIC banks are guaranteed for $100.000 per person.
>>Keep reading “10 ways to beat the Depression of 2008″

Here’s something to keep you occupied while I’m away doing the grandma thing… (like you have nothing better to do…grin!)

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN2526865120080526?sp=true

It’s an interesting article about people living off grid.

Wretha

Harrelson and wife in Maui Woody Harrelson lives off-grid in Hawaii and his plug-in Toyota RAV4 is his pride and joy, reports the London Sunday Times.

Harrelson keeps the Toyota in Los Angeles, but his main home is in Hawaii, where he has a VW Beetle that runs on biodiesel, and a motorbike, which he presumably has no choice but to run on dirty old petrol.

His Hawaii home is off-grid and runs on solar power. “Everybody in the neighbourhood is on solar power,” he says.
>>Keep reading “Harrelson’s Hawaii haven”

Belt-tightening has hardly started Like thousands of other American families the Buxton family’s life is on hold – stacked on shelves and piled into plastic bins in a corrugated metal warehouse behind a fire station in an industrial part of Sacramento, Calif.

For the past four months, the offices of a social service agency have been the closest thing they’ve had to call home.

Over in Citrus Heights, Calif., the Thomas family started out just trying to cut out frivolous stuff — Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards, bottled water and soda — with the goal of making life simpler and less expensive. Then a $300 electricity bill earlier this year kicked basic conservation into high gear.
>>Keep reading “Coping with the downturn”

African windpowered base station A cellphone companies trade body has launched a major program to take base stations off-grid. By 2012 up to 50% of new off-grid base stations in the developing world could be powered by renewable energy. And researchers are coming up with innovative solutions that will spread way beyond their niche. The GSM Association (GSMA) launched the Green Power for Mobile programme with the goal of helping the mobile industry use renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, or sustainable biofuel, to power 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries by 2012.
>>Keep reading “Cell-phone base stations”

Hello everyone, I had to sneak in a few pix of my new grandbaby, her name is May Lynn, she is the cutest baby ever! Of course I have to say that, being the grandma and all… :)

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>>Keep reading “Baby Pix”

By Sophie Demarco in Gower, South Wales.
Anyone can join in Like many others, I have the dream of living in a sustainable home made from completely natural materials. But there is the problem of my complete lack ofpractical building skills.

When I heard about the ‘Down to Earth Project’ open day offering free tasters workshops in natural building, I jumped.
>>Keep reading “Down to Earth”

Hello everyone,

I’m writing from my sister’s house in the DFW area, it’s been quite different being in in the big town, it’s noisy, it’s dirty, too many cars going way too fast… I will have lots to write here when I get back, I got a notepad so I can keep notes on what is going on so …
>>Keep reading “Big Town Update”

Sesame Kale with mushrooms There are so many great fruits and vegetables to grow that it can be difficult to decide how to invest your time and garden space, says Ken Carman.

Most of us grow food for two reasons, nutrition and pleasure. For example, many will eat spinach because it is good for us, and yet look at how many people eat iceburg lettuce, which has little nutritive value.
I am not going to write about growing for your pleasure because that is entirely up to your own personal preferences. Instead I want to tell you about what I believe is the best crop that anyone can grow in their home garden and I will give you numerous reasons why I believe it is truly number one.
When you grow something to eat, you want something that is easy to grow, highly nutritious, provides an abundant harvest, is harvested over a long period of time, is easily stored through winter, and hopefully it tastes good too.
>>Keep reading “Number 1 Vegetable”