Posts from — January 2012

Simpsons endorse off-grid lifestyle

Fox continues to dribble out info about the upcoming, record-setting 500th Simpsons episode, in which Homer and family go to live off the grid.

What will Mr Burns think?

We already covered the basic news that the family are ejected from Springfield and find a warm welcome in an off-grid community.

Now it transpires that the episode will also include an appearance by Julian Assange, the autocratic Wikileaks founder, who is living with the off-gridders when The Simpsons arrive. (more…)

In the midst of saving for my own piece of land 2 – 5 acres somewhere in the UK and hope to build / adapt my own earthship inspired home.

Im looking to be frugal as i’ve started growing my own fruit and veg, look to re use or re purpose what I can. Have a creative and problem solving outlook to life.

Would love to learn bee and chicken keeping, gain permaculture experience and ween myself off the need to work 5 days a week and get away from being part of the machine.

Not looking to be part of a commune as do like my own space and ways of living and growing but am not against the idea of being part of a community of independant yet helpful and friendly individuals / families looking to share our excess and help one another like people should be in conventional suburbs.

Obama praises Nellis - unaware of flaws

Off-Grid.net has written many stories over the years about the US military’s early-adoption of off-grid energy strategies.  But some army and USAF bases are stymied by the big energy companies when it comes to readying themselves for a big outage caused by anything from solar storms to terrorist attacks.

A recent report from Nevada by Greenwire focuses on a base that carries out some of the Air Force’s most advanced work, including testing and flying drones.The 140 acres of solar panels at Nellis Air Force Base’s 14.2 megawatt array are useless when commercial power is out, thanks to a provision in the agreement with the local utility that lets NV Energy turn off the array if the grid power goes down.

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The dream is to build an Earthship, plant a forest garden and live a simple life with my husband and 2 cats in beautiful Scotland!
We don’t have to means to begin making our dream a reality but would love to connect with the like minded and those who are already living the dream!

Jewel Kilcher - prefers Bravo to Discovery

Raised off the grid in Alaska, singer Jewel Kilcher,  known professionally as Jewel, has sold tens of millions of records.  The multi-platinum-selling singer and songwriter also co-hosts a successful TV series.  But she is having nothing to do with her family’s latest venture – a low-budget reality show following their off-grid lives.

Her father and siblings are cashing in on her fame by allowing cameras from Discovery TV to follow them as they endure winter off the grid in Alaska. Jewel has not confirmed she is feeling betrayed by their decision to go for the series without her.  She says the roots of the family are more adventuring than ecological:  “”As a kid, we traveled by bush planes to Alaskan native villages. It would drop us off in the night, and dog sleds would pick us up in the village. I was probably about 6 or 7 years old.”

The simply titled, “Alaska: The Last Frontier,” is just the latest in the ever-expanding list of reality TV shows set in Alaska. (more…)

Anne Cobham: practising what she teaches

Paul and Anne Cobham are the second in our series about Canadians living off the grid. They run Willow Retreat and Survival School from a secluded off-grid property in Cape Breton. They moved there in order to escape from the suburban grind and live a simpler, less stressful life. This is not quite what they ended up with!

“But that’s part of the journey,” said Paul, a survival instructor. Anne is a Reiki Master  - a teacher and meditation instructor. They are on the Cabot Trail in the small village of Middle River, Nova Scotia, (more…)

World Economic Fixers grab for power

The Corporate Muppets running Davos, the annual gathering of financial and industrial leaders, launched their 2012 meeting saying that now is the moment for business to take over from government as the key force for social change. But the evidence they present for this claim proves quite the opposite:  in reality, while trust in politicians and companies has collapsed, public movements like Occupy and Tea Party, plus peer-to-peer web sites are likely to become far more influential.

The impetus for the debate is the just-released poll by Edelman, a corporate PR company, showing that the public’s faith in government has dropped sharply around the world in the past year due to a mixture of corruption and incompetence.  It is this change which is causing people to go off-grid in growing numbers, particularly in the US.

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I am trying to learn everything I can about living off the grid. I want to DIY the build and I hope I can build a model farm that other people can base their systems off of some day.

I want to set an example for others that people can afford to use solar and wind technology to live off grid and stop wasting other resources and polluting the earth and they can live very comfortably. I would like to have a large garden, raise sheep and horses, possibly have a small vineyard and am interested in bee-keeping for my farm.

The hardest part will be the financing of land and building materials. I am interested in learning to build and maintain my own solar and wind energy and how to manage water supplies. I currently live in Iowa and I think that this is where I want to stay, but that is something that can change bc I love to travel and explore this beautiful world. I hope I can find like-minded people who can help me learn.

We have 3 acres with our house and are interested in meeting like minded people who would like to go off the grid.

I am Algonquin First Nation and was raised in the caucasian world because of my father. In the past five years I have reconnected with my heritage and have chosen to live off grid. I am a retired Purchasing Manager and my husband works in Logistics.

We must respect Mother Earth and treat one another with respect as well. Humanity has taken a bad turn and things are only going to get worse. The year 2012 is supposed to be a very active solar cycle and we can end up with another Carrington Event which would take down the failing grid structure.

Due to the Economic crisis & increase in siesmic and Solar activity it is best to get off the grid now and have peace of mind, body and soul. There is nothing better than waking up in the morning with the birds singing and becoming one with Nature once again, as humanity should be..

If interested please contact me.
Chi’Miigwetch, (Thank you very much in Algonquin)