From the monthly archives:

November 2009

by veg-head on November 29, 2009 · 0 comments

in COMMUNITY

SO much pointless stuff gets passed around at Christmas. We’ve tried to suggest a handful of gifts which are both useful and unlikely to be things you have seen before

The Energenie Automatic standby shutdown is a clever little device (sold in the UK only) that powers down your flatscreen TV or any other annoying, badly designed, unecological electronic goods that have been supplied without a proper on/off switch.

You plug it in between the unit and the wall socket, and it does the rest.  Once the TV is switched to standby, the Energenie detects it, and switches it off properly.  

»Keep reading 'A few stocking fillers'

Grid pollution kills 24,000 Americans a year”

November 27, 2009
Grid pollution kills 24,000 Americans a year” The coal-fuelled grid is the US’ biggest polluter pumping out three times as much CO2 as all the nation’s cars put together, says a new report. The study by environmental lobby group Environment America details the full extent of environmental damage caused by power plants in the US. It lists the country’s dirtiest 100 power plants and identifies Texas as the dirtiest state by far. Released this week, the report examines carbon dioxide emissions from power plants across the country using 2007 data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Don’t get frustrated – be inspired

November 27, 2009
Don’t get frustrated – be inspiredWe are honored to welcome a serving member of the US Armed forces as our newest regular contributer. Laurie Tamminen is currently in a theater of war that is featured in the media every day.  Her dream over the next two years is to build herself a new home off the grid.  Here is her first dispatch from the frontline of the off-grid learning curve: Thinking about building your new home off the grid? Anyone will tell you that the first time you try something new, it can be frustrating or a flat out failure.  This doesn’t have to be the case when decided to build your new home off-grid.  The first correct decision you made was deciding to build a home that is energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

»Keep reading 'Don’t get frustrated – be inspired'

Real-life Canute fights coast ruling

November 26, 2009
Real-life Canute fights coast ruling A retired engineer who built his own sea defences is trying to reverse a legal judgement which would result in his home being washed into the sea. 78 year old Peter Boggis has spent seven years and over fifty thousand pounds of his own money constructing a kilometre long sea wall from 25,000 tonnes of compacted clay.  He is trying to stop the sea eroding cliffs just a hundred yards away from his home at Easton Bavents, north of Southwold in Suffolk, UK. Mr Boggis started the work without planning permission.

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Wish we thought of that!

November 23, 2009
Wish we thought of that! The rainbeers are coming! An Atlanta Brewery which was making beer from rainwater has been told to stop gathering  the water by city officials.  Probably encouraged by Miller lite and other big brewers, the EPA and officials at the local and State level have been persecuting the tiny indie brewery.

»Keep reading 'Wish we thought of that!'

Sanyo’s packaged life off-grid

November 23, 2009
Sanyo’s packaged life off-grid Once upon a time off-grid living was about existing on your own terms, independent of ‘the system’.  But one of the great strengths of capitalism is its ability to absorb new, even threatening ideas and turn them into a business opportunity.  So it is no great surprise to learn that Sanyo, the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer, says it has begun selling onventional homes that can be taken off-grid at the flick of a switch.

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Senators back mini-nuke

November 22, 2009
Senators back mini-nuke WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee issued the following news release: Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mark Udall (D-CO) today introduced legislation to direct the Department of Energy to develop innovative, low-cost nuclear reactors. The Nuclear Power 2021 Act (S.2812) proposes a program to design and certify small modular reactors (< 300 megawatts) which can be built and operated in combination with similar reactors at a single site.

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Possum Living-How To Live Well With (Almost) No Money

November 16, 2009
Possum Living-How To Live Well With (Almost) No MoneyI wish I could say that I had read this book way back when, and that was what inspired me to live my off grid life... but my earliest inspiration was the Grizzly Adams series. If I had come across Possum Living before now, I know it would have also been a great inspiration for me. It  was written in the 70s by a very smart young lady, Dolly Freed. She and her father lived in a regular house, on a large lot by today's ...

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Australian Eco gifts

November 16, 2009
Australian Eco giftsHere are a few ideas that will help, or at least not hinder the Australian environment Oregon Scientific Solar Weather Clock $139.99 THIS tidy unit is as practical as it is sleek and is ideal for campers and caravanners. Best of all, it's green friendly. After fully charging the solar panel in the sun (takes about six hours) it's right to operate for two months. Its main game is displaying the time and weather (inside and out), but it also forecasts the weather 12 hours ahead.

»Keep reading 'Australian Eco gifts'

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