Until now, this site has spent too little time reporting on the active off-grid community across the border in Canada. From Ontario to Vancouver, BC, the Canadians have been leading the way, doing what many of us dream of, and doing it in comfort and style.
Over the next few months we will be running regular stories and photos of Canadian off-grid men and women. Please send us your photos and videos. (more…)

The yearlyInternational Consumer Electronics Show (CES), has seen off another round of headlines about lust-inducing gadgets soon to be on store shelves.

Some survival gadgets are on display at CES, and a handful of them are surveyed in this report from outdoor website Gear Junkie.
I love a gadet as much as the next guy, but I notice my own list of must-carry gear includes things that need no battery or charging cable, so don’t qualify for CES. Here’s the top ten – what would you add? (more…)

BEWARE RENEWABLE ENERGY SCAMMERS

If you are lucky enough to have access to fast moving water on your land, you can use it to generate power.  And there are free plans available on the web for DIY water powered generators (see below).  But be careful only to go to recommended sites.  Bogus companies like Earth4Energy has affiliate deals sweeping the net, selling worthless e-books for $30-75.   Yes, they will refundyour money if you complain, but 70% do not bother. (more…)

We’ve known for a while that the milestone 500th episode of “The Simpsons” would come somewhere early in 2012, but FOX has now nailed down a date for the episode: Sunday, Feb. 19.

The episode is called “At Long Last Leave,” and  scant details have been released by makers Fox.  We only know the episode involves the Simpsons being evicted from Springfield and taking up residence with an off the grid community outside town. When Homer and family try to return home they are treated so badly they come to respect the warm welcome they received from the off-gridders.

Its not the first time Homer and family have toyed with the off-grid life.  (more…)

As the Occupy LSX movement prepares for a legal battle over its encampment outside St Paul’s Cathedral, its presence down the road in Finsbury Square looks slightly more secure.
Public spending cuts have left the square’s owners, the Borough of Islington, with an overstretched legal team, and although it do not support the Occupy presence,  the Council is “reluctant” to devote potentially millions of pounds to evict the protesters. This news may arouse intense disappointment amongst Occupy’s many neighbours in the banking and financial sector. UBS bank, for example, has ordered its employees to keep the blinds closed in case residents in the nearby Bank of Ideas spy on their documents using long lenses.
Now the Occupy organisers are seeking help from the off-grid movement to turn the square into a model (albeit temporary) off-grid community. They need energy experts, water engineers, builders, mechanics, lawyers, fund-raisers, architects and planning consultants as they prepare for a residency of up to three years until the next local elections.

Finsbury Square and the Bank of Ideas are organising a one day seminar on the skills need to set up an off-grid community.  Anyone who wants to give a workshop on any of the relevant skills ( you know what they are) please email nick@off-grid.net.
Step one is to install composting toilets in the square, but the technical problem is that the soil is only 2 metres deep as the square sits atop an underground car park. Please send solutions or offers of help  as comments on this article. (more…)

New Zealand web site Oily Rag is a swap shop of money saving tips for everyday household items. Here are a few examples.

*One very handy easily remembered recipe for a lovely shortbread — say 3, 6, 9. I can only do ounces — 3 sugar, 6 butter and 9 flour! Make as usual. – Ann of Whakatane.

*My house is always looking for mouthwash, and a cheap, easy way to make some is to simply put half a teaspoon of baking soda in with a small glass of water, gargle as normal. Also, for a set of sparkling pearly whites, brush teeth with toothpaste as normal, then brush again, this time baking soda sprinkled on your toothbrush. Over two weeks your teeth will whiten, and save you an expensive trip to the dentist! (more…)

“Proud to be a hutter”, is the slogan of a new campaign called A Thousand Huts which has sprung up to champion and revive hutting as a way of life. Widespread in Scandinavia, its supporters say hutting promotes low-impact, ecological living and rural regeneration, and puts city dwellers back in contact with the countryside.

In 2012, hutters, landowners and environmental activists will launch a new Scottish hutting federation to spearhead a campaign aimed at reforming planning and land rights laws, to give hutters proper status in the planning system and protect them against eviction and exploitation by landlords. (more…)

There are a lot of things you or a professional handyman can do around your home to help cut back on energy use.  That’s something that will benefit both your budget and the environment.  

Small Do-It-Yourself Jobs

Not all green projects are major undertakings. There are simple ways for you or a professional handyman to make your home more energy efficient. Switch out light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs throughout the house. Install occupancy sensors so lighting will come on when people are in the room and automatically turn off when they leave the room. Clean or replace furnace filters once a month. Clean the air conditioner filter regularly. Add insulation to hot water pipes. Install a water filter and quit buying bottled water. Replace your showerhead and faucets with low-flow versions. This won’t reduce water pressure but water consumption and energy costs can be reduced by up to 50%. Insulate the water heater and turn it down to 48 degrees and cut your water-heating bill in half. Install ceiling fans. Weatherize your windows and doors with caulk, weather-stripping and sealants. The average home can lose 30% of its heat or air-conditioning though the windows. Replace the thermostat with a programmable one with a timer.

Watch “the Online carpenter” Mitchell Dillman as he shows off this “green” home improvement project located at 1011 E. Yampa in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (more…)

Having an off-grid home used to reduce its value but now being off-grid can increase a property’s value says a national firm of valuers in the US.

The rising price of energy is the reason says Propell National Valuers chief executive officer Bart Mead

‘‘Some properties have had considerable amounts spent on ‘improvements’ that, if not attractive to others, may provide no added value,’’ he said.

He used the example of the use of alternative energy sources to power properties. (more…)