Posts by author:

Nick Rosen

by Nick Rosen on March 8, 2010 · 1 comment

in COMMUNITY, EVENTS

Annie get your stuff

I received a mail from Annie Leonard, author of  The Story of Stuff, requesting help in getting the word out. I am happy to do so, because one of the key themes of the Off-Grid web site is that we are all sick of over-consumption. So Annie is One of Us.

Here is her letter:

“My new book, The Story of Stuff, goes on sale today in bookstores all around the country.

In fact, I’m in New York as I write this preparing for my appearance tonight on The Colbert Report! I hope you tune in.
Before I make a pitch to buy, full title The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-and a Vision for Change,  I want to tell you a bit about what inspired it.

»Keep reading 'Story of stuff'

Time to buy an island

March 6, 2010
Time to buy an island The Greek government is being urged to sell its uninhabited islands to bail itself out of bankruptcy, and the UK is likely to find itself in the same position in the near future.  What better time to explore the possibility of buying an island together with a group of friends, and setting up an off-grid community there with your own laws, government and even currency? Interested parties should advertise themselves on LandBuddy, indicating roughly where they want to go on the Google Map app that is part of the free service. Island buying is sensitive to world events. After 9/11, reports TheTimes of London, there was a rush of Hollywood A-listers snapping up remote islands globally as bug-out locations. Johnny Depp bought the 45-acre Little Hall’s Pond Cay in the Bahamas, Leonardo DiCaprio became owner of a 104-acre island with an airstrip in Belize and Mel Gibson took over Mago in the Fijis.

»Keep reading 'Time to buy an island'

Monbiot anti-micropower rant is anti-green

March 3, 2010
Monbiot anti-micropower rant is anti-green Everybody in UK eco-circles is talking about George Monbiot this week, which is just the way he likes it. George Monbiot is an unashamed cheerleader for big power – his column in the Guardian has previously come out in favor of large nuclear power stations, and this week he spoke out against micro-generation.  George Monbiot is also in favor of large, centralised wind farms and other forms of renewable energy, and sets himself firmly against micro-generation –which he caricatures as a middle class subsidy. The occasion for his latest outburst was the introduction of the UK government-backed Feed-in tariff (FiT), which will reward householders and others who generate renewable energy back into the grid.  Ignoring the fact that the FiT was enormously successful in Germany, which has become a European leader in micro-generation,  “the only renewables policy that makes sense,” says George, “ is to build big installations where the energy is – which means high ground, estuaries or the open sea – and deliver it by wire to where people live.”

»Keep reading 'Monbiot anti-micropower rant is anti-green'

Pacific Power Seeks grid-tied Renewable Energy

March 1, 2010
Pacific Power Seeks grid-tied Renewable EnergyFrom March 8 thru May, Pacific Power will accept applications for community-based renewable energy funding from its Blue Sky renewable energy program. They cover the states of Oregon, Washington and California. To be considered in this competitive application process, interested parties must complete and submit an application form, along with supporting materials, by 5 p.m. PDT on May 14.

»Keep reading 'Pacific Power Seeks grid-tied Renewable Energy'

10 acres near Durango — trees,spring

February 26, 2010
10 acres near Durango — trees,spring Brian writes: Hello! I own two separately deeded 10 acre parcels side by side. Both border 9000 acres of public land and are secluded and quiet. They are located approximately 30 miles sw of Durango, Colorado and have a nice view of the La Plata mountains to the north about 20 miles. These are the southern San Juan Mountains. There is no water on the property but a very nice spring that you pay $100 per year to use as much as you want. There are many people hauling water in this area and it is only about 9 miles from the property on a straight country road. The last 1.75 miles to the property is an unmaintained ...

»Keep reading '10 acres near Durango — trees,spring'

North-West Majorca

February 25, 2010
North-West Majorca This is a heart-stoppingly beautiful mountainous woodland near the ancient village of Deia. Word has spread amongst walkers who come to the mountain from around the world, but they rarely pass the front door of this 10 acre mixture of pine and olive plantations. there is plenty of water, several buildings and several neighbours, all locals. But there is plenty of work to be done and the opportunity for others to join us

»Keep reading 'North-West Majorca'

LandBuddy – link with others off the grid

February 25, 2010
LandBuddy – link with others off the grid Welcome to the beta launch of LandBuddy (tm), a place where you can find new off-grid friends and form groups to share land, acquire real estate  and other resources (no commercial postings please). Looking for the perfect bug-out location?  Real Estate prices are high. Or perhaps you already have some forest or agricultural real estate and are looking for others to share the land?  But who? Or, maybe you're just intrigued by this idea of living off the grid, and you want to meet some folks who are building a community together, and help out a bit. Whichever your interest, Off-Grid.net's new LandBuddy service is for you. Real estate prices may have fallen but good land is still out of the reach of most. And finding other people who also want to live in an off the grid community in the same region as you is really hard. We are here to help change that.

»Keep reading 'LandBuddy – link with others off the grid'

Bloom energy box enables off-grid living

February 24, 2010
Bloom energy box enables off-grid living More details of the Bloom Box have been revealed at a carefully managed press conference in California.  The much-hyped off-grid source of cheap electricity  will not lead us all to disconnect from the grid tomorrow, but it is undoubtedly disruptive technology, and very exciting for the off-grid community. The firm's executives and backers do think that many people in future may choose to install the small box in their home and use it to generate electricity from such fuels as methane and ethanol or even solar, rather than buying it from expensive, wasteful centralised producers.  It is a game-changer.

»Keep reading 'Bloom energy box enables off-grid living'

V2G will sustain microgrid

February 20, 2010
V2G will sustain microgrid Micro-grids could operate reliably without the need for a national grid backup if they tapped the vast amounts of power stored in the batteries of electric and hybrid vehicles, to balance out fluctuations in supply and demand. Vehicle-to-grid, or V2G, technology, which will enable electric car owners to make money while storing power for their local micro-grid, was unveiled at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The first experimental V2G system went live last year at the University of Delaware, the Christian Science Monitor reported. At Delaware,  electric cars are connected to the grid whenever they are not being driven.

»Keep reading 'V2G will sustain microgrid'

← Previous Entries