Posts by — Amy Suarez

(ANSA) – Rome, April 10 – Renowned Italian architect and visionary Paolo Soleri has died at 93 at his home in Arizona.

Born in Turin in 1919, Soleri was best known for Arcosanti, an experimental village he established in the Arizona desert devoted to his theory of ‘arcology’, or architecture in harmony with ecology.

After studying with Frank Lloyd Wright in Arizona in 1946, he returned and settled there 10 years later where he developed influential theories on buildings that respect nature and spoke out against urban sprawl.

In 1970 he founded Arcosanti, a futuristic community planned for 5,000 people that over the next 40 years received international acclaim as an urban laboratory. (more…)

As the idea of living off the grid goes steadily mainstream, increasing numbers of properties are being offered on the market. Here are two, at very opposite ends of the spectrum….. and the world.

In Argents Hill, Coffs Harbor, Australia, a dwelling for 230,000 ozzie dollars. In Woodstock, NY, a 2.3 million dollar property.

If you want your own private bushland oasis of 100 timbered acres, there is a council-approved two-bed home plus 7m x 5m Colorbond shed. The basics are all in place. A small solar system, generator, water tanks with pump, two seasonal creeks and a hidden dam. An extensive list of fruit trees are already planted.

In Woodstock, an iconic village north of Manhattan, an off-grid retreat for the 15.

“When I first bought this property,” Miller said, “everyone told me you couldn’t build here. But it was exactly where I wanted to live.” Woodstock is one of those iconic places, both beautiful and convenient, and it s great to see an off-grid home there – a showcase that might encourage many others to do the same. (more…)

BioLite stove products are making camping and cooking with wood more eco-friendly, and providing an off-grid power source for charging phones, lights, and other electronics where there is no sun or wind.

Be Warned.

The World Economic Forum has launched their Energy for Society initiative, “which seeks to engage citizens in a discussion about the future of the energy industry.”

The initiative is supported by a new online platform with 24 case studies that “demonstrate corporate best practices for meeting the world’s growing energy needs while improving living standards for those with limited access to energy.”

Twenty global energy companies signed on to the initiative. Leaders of the companies agreed on five principles – supplying secure and affordable access to energy, having efficient energy systems, upholding responsible citizenship in communities, contributing to economic development and promoting energy literacy. (more…)

National Post profiled a couple from Calgary who are quitting their lives in the city and building a tiny house on a trailer.  They told the magazine they are doing it because the system has not really worked for them – they worked hard all their lives but have nothing to show for it – no home and  no savings. So they want to get off the merry-go-round, and start having some fun. 

“Being attached to society hasn’t really served us,” says Kirsten Shaw.  “We don’t have money in the bank, we don’t own a home. We don’t have any retirement money saved up. Quite honestly, at our age, that’s something we need to take seriously. If we can reduce our monthly expenses by $2,000 that is money that can go towards our children having fun and a retirement fund.” (more…)

Yorkshire in the UK has already “won” four Olympic gold medals as sportsmen and women from the Northern county have taken the medals as part of team GB.

Now Yorkshire is vying to be known as the centre of Yurt holidays, as a former surveyor who set up a luxury camping business after being made redundant, opens a third site near the market town of Ripon.

Tom Sterne launched his third sustainable ‘glamping’ center with three yurts overlooking a small lake. (more…)

Economising on energy, or water, or other resources comes naturally to people living off the grid. But the off-grid ways of life can also help grid-tied householders reduce consumption and save money.

These simple ideas do not require a big investment: we are not about to recommend you spend a lot of money on something like an energy-efficient heating/cooling system or expensive CFLs for your house. Nor do you have to invest a lot of time researching product ingredient lists and do-it-yourself projects. While these things all play key roles in moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle, there is plenty you can do in your home right now to make it more energy efficient and save you money, shrink your home’s carbon footprint, and it will hardly cost you a dime. You’re probably even doing some of these already without realizing how “green” you really are. (more…)

Les Rencontres d’Arles 2012 is one of the world’s key photo exhibitions. this year it has an off-grid theme.

In the centre of town, the biggest and most well-attended show is a historical one: Gypsies by Josef Koudelka. The book, first published in France in 1975, is one of the defining photobooks of the 20th century. Koudelka’s brand of poetic sadness is more powerful today given that the world he photographed has all but vanished in the intervening years to be replaced by a new Gypsy generation which prefers concrete and mains power to caravans and wood fires.

The most haunting image in the collection shows a beautiful, bewildered young man in handcuffs. He stands in the foreground as if mesmerised by Koudelka’s camera while, behind him, a string of onlookers and a pair of uncertain policemen await their parts in this mysterious drama. (more…)

Off-Grid residents already know that ceiling fans are a great alternative to Air-conditioning for the simple reason that they use far, far less power.
At a time of power outages due to peak consumption of air-conditioning, that is a socially useful benefit. It is technically possible to run a 110 AC off solar panels in very bright sunlight, but only at the expense of just about every other appliance in the home. And only with a fairly massive battery pack. And only for a relatively short time. Celing fans on the other hand can keep going all day on a fairly low power supply. Some were designed especially for running directly off solar panels with no battery – for use in drying cannabis in California’s Emerald triangle.

And ceiling fans have other benefits.

There is nothing artificial about the air they circulate, compared to the staleness of conditioned air. In Cities, ceiling fans provide a kind of white noise that is especially useful at night for keeping traffic noise at bay when you want the cooling breeze of an open window. And aesthetically they provide a nice sense of movement. Set ceiling fans in a counterclockwise position to pull cool air up. (more…)