Posts by — Nick Rosen

Prolific writer-producer JJ Abrams is behind the new series Revolution – a post-apocalyptic off-grid drama to air on NBC in a late-evening Monday slot – See series summary below.
The multiple award-winning writer directed and wrote the two-part pilot for Lost and remained active producer for the first half of the season. That same year he made his feature directorial debut in 2006 with Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise.

If trailer does not appear above click here to see. (more…)

A decision by Samsung to sell solar powered laptops in Bangladesh at low prices could be the first of  a new generation.  For mobile users and those living without utility power in the West, the 3G products could give long-term Internet access on the remotest mountaintop.

In a display of cultural ineptitude, the Seoul based company with an annual turnover of more than $220 billion says it will launch the new product next month, right at the start of the Bangladesh monsoon season which  would make solar powered portables unusable.

Samsung had announced plans last year for a solar powered laptop to be launched (improbably) in Russia. But this product has yet to appear. The new development seems more realistic as part of a strategy to target the young professional market among the 160 million Bangla population.

“We will launch solar notebooks in June for young professionals,” said Choon Soo Moon, managing director of Samsung Electronics (Bangladesh operations), in an interview with Dhaka’s Daily Star. (more…)

Bloomberg News reports a fast-growing consumer movement in opposition to smart meters.   Smart meters, so called because they allow real-time usage monitoring, originally were pitched by the industry as a boon to consumers for increasing control over consumption.

The gadgets that bring the so-called smart grid into your home are being foisted on consumers for the convenience of the Utility companies. With the new wi-fi meters sending user data back to base, Utilities no longer need to employ meter readers, but still want to charge end-users for the installation, as well as picking up substantial government grants.

Now a growing consumer backlash is slowing U.S. utilities’ network upgrade. Bloomberg puts a figure of $29 billion on the project but the true costs is far higher. One consultancy put the total at $1.5 TRILLION. (more…)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded more than $1 million in grants to 15 university and college teams for innovative off-grid solutions.

Projects include a new process that uses spinach to capture and convert the sun’s energy to electricity and a partnership with a local landfill to design a process that uses waste heat and drainage to grow algae for biodiesel production.  If one of the teams below is in your area they might be able to use your off-grid home or community as a test bed for ongoing research. Contact via the college or the EPA web site:

The projects were selected from more than 300 college innovators showcasing sustainable projects, almost all designed to facilitate off-grid living and use natural resources more efficiently.   Following an initial peer review process, the EPA selected 45 teams for two days of judging by a panel of national experts convened to provide recommendations to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Here is a complete list of the best projects: (more…)

Off-Grid TV is casting for entertaining communities or families for our planned documentary series.

We are searching throughout North America and Europe for  committed, entertaining,  off-beat, unique, outgoing communities, families or couples living Off the Grid or about to start doing so. (more…)

Lot of stuff about off-grid toilets in the right wing media at the moment.

At the top of the tree, Fox News has been contemplating the horrors of composting toilets. At the other end of the media power spectrum, the Sun newspaper in Corsicana Texas has been railing against men who defecate in the wild.

We had a conversation in our office the other day about men who want to leave their modern lives and go “off the grid,” says the papers prim writer.  Essentially, the women in our office were wondering why anyone would want to sacrifice indoor plumbing, while the guys were simply saying “who wouldn’t want to?”

Meanwhile at Fox they are sniggering about the crazy people who compost their poo: (more…)

Mooch: hosts multiple homeless blogs

By Mooch, owner of Inspired Design & Development – an international Website & Branding company.

I’ve been living out of my car since September 2010; 19+ months now. I have a full-time security job, a gym membership at 24 Hour Fitness and utilize public wi-fi spots to work on client projects. And I’ve never been happier or more successful in my life.

Some say I’m homeless by choice, however, I feel that’s a blanket statement labeling my situation. In mid-2010 I could no longer pay rent at my apartment in California, so my Dad said I could live with him rent free.

Thirty days later he asks me for rent, which I could not pay, so I had to leave. Having nowhere to go and no money or steady work, I decided to drive down to Los Angeles to live out of my car, and grow my new Website & Branding business, since I can do that from anywhere.

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The long-awaited Trade War with China has started. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke (pictured with President Obama) has slapped a retroactive tax on all Chinese solar panel imports. Other OECD countries are expected to follow suit.

The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a preliminary “trade-remedy” finding that Chinese energy companies like GCL which rely on state sponsorship of its solar industry, are anti-competitive under U.S. and international trade law, and ordered preliminary duties on the industry’s U.S. exports of crystalline silicon solar cells and panels to offset the effects of China’s illegal subsidies.

Commerce will require importers of record to post deposits or bonds toward anti-subsidy margins of 2.9 percent for cells and panels made by Suntech, 4.73 percent Trina Solar and 3.59 percent for all other Chinese manufacturers.

(more…)

Fort Sam Texas is looking for a contractor to provide it with a  complete and usable 15KW-Hrs Off-Grid Hybrid system.  The specs are interesting as they provide a guide of what any group of individuals thinking of living off the grid might decide they need.

The system consists of: two 5KW Vertical Axis Wind Turbine for a total of 10KW. Each turbine with its own inverter; plus one  5KW solar photovoltaic system and one battery bank suitable for one  day of autonomy. (more…)