Posts by — Charles

1.  Rain
Without water, life is impossible.  Always buy land with a water source, if you can afford it.  If not, make sure you catch the rainwater.
There’s a reason you can buy land in the west Texas desert for next to nothing.  The reason is that it doesn’t have a water source.  A water source doesn’t have to be a river or stream.  It doesn’t even have to be groundwater.  It can be rainwater, provided that the rainwater source is steady and reliable. (more…)

home cooking on tap

This site does not talk enough about the great new gadgets and technologies which make off-grid living ever more comfortable.  Here are two – your favorite suggestions please, readers,  in comments at end of this story.:-

The impact of the microwave oven on human grazing habits has been extreme. It can reheat frozen food or cook raw food in a fraction of the time required of a conventional oven and has brought the convenience of preparing food to new levels. The WaveBox Microwave Oven is a (more…)

Become an Activist

Don’t just stand there on the sidelines. Get involved! Make a difference. Spread the word. There’s so much you can do. Stanley Campbell has written a great list of 12 steps on how to be an activist:

1. Speak out about an issue. Don’t remain silent, but don’t scare people away. Try to express your concern in a positive manner. The world doesn’t want you to act, and the rich want you to shop, so God bless the social justice activist! But if you are concerned about the environment, pollution, war, poverty, or the high price of living (or anything else), then speak your mind! Teddy Roosevelt said “do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” (more…)

Should you retrofit your home with solar power? The short answers are: probably (for your hot-water); definitely (for your pool); and likely not (for your household electrical needs).

Solar – bettar watar heatar

Water Heating
Your hot-water heater is an energy hog, accounting for up to one-quarter of your household’s energy consumption. Add greenhouse gas emissions associated with conventional hot water heating – between 600 and 760 kilograms a year – and endlessly renewable, non-polluting sunshine seems a no-brainer.

Quallium, an Ottawa-based startup company, (more…)

Homegrown, organic hearthrob

Actor Colin Firth, whose wet shirt clad Mr. D’Arcy made him one of Britain’s hottest male heart throbs, is now an unlikely shop keeper.

Due to open next week in a prime West London location, Eco will be Britain’s first “ecological destination store”, offering “contemporary, artisan-made, ethical, Fairtrade and eco goods,” plus the services of environmental experts to help homeowners make their spaces more energy efficient.

“I’m no eco hero.” he admits. “I’m supporting the shop because I think it’s a good idea. If I’m in a position to say anything, it is because I’m one of the culprits. I’m culpable because I’m a consumer. (more…)

Not only is this Zero House by architect Scott Specht completely green, automatic and self-sufficient, but it looks like it could’ve come out of the movie Clockwork Orange.

Glimpse of the fluture

That extra wide roof holds a slew of high-efficiency solar panels that let you say goodbye to electric bills, powering the whole house and storing up enough extra energy in batteries to keep everything running for a week, even if every single day is cloudy. That’s just the beginning.

The house holds its water in a 2700-gallon roof cistern, and the sheer weight of all that liquid pushes water through the plumbing. (more…)

When the wood runs out

Mozambique University has launched a local program to encourage renewable energy self sufficiency that may become a model across the continent.

The Faísca Cultural Association Mobile Unit will take science and technology demonstrations to rural schools and villages. One of the main aims is to develop solar power in rural areas of Mozambique as there is a dire need to save trees to prevent further environmental degradation, and to lessen the labour of the women who traditionally go to fetch firewood. (more…)

Don’t shake her hand

Rocker Sheryl Crow whose inconvenient truth is that she wants to limit the use of toilet paper to one sheet per visit to save the environment, has notched another first in her crusade against global warming.

Whilst promoting her Stop Global Warming College Tour, an 11-date tour explaining the perils of global warming to Americans, Ms Crow has just thrown an eco-baby shower for her son Wyatt.

Yup. An eco-baby shower.

The green gala is featured in the November issue of InStyle magazine, although the magazine has not stated how much was paid for the exclusive photos.

The barf-inducing event was planned (more…)

Developing nations go solar

UK-based solar company G24 Innovations this month started production of a low-cost, non silicon-based solar panel, which it says it will make available to developing countries from next year.

The sun supplies only a tiny fraction — less than one tenth of 1 percent — of mankind’s energy needs, yet the growing need to move away from traditional fossil fuels, because of rising oil prices and environmental concerns, has sparked a surge of investment in solar power.

This trend is bringing down the costs of the alternative energy source, but affordability problems still dog hopes for the 1.6 billion people, globally, without electricity and the further two to three billion people with access only to primitive energy sources

This is particularly apparent in India, where 60 percent of households, particularly in rural areas, are off grid. (more…)