It beats plugging movies Off-Grid actress Daryl Hannah has been arrested during an anti-coal protest in West Virginia.

The Splash star,who has off-grid homes in the Rockies and Malibu, was taken into custody after she and others blocked a road into a coal mine in Raleigh County, Tuesday.

Daryl, 48, was protesting against plans to use controversial method of mountaintop removal mining, which involves blasting the mountain summit off to expose coal seams. She was arrested on misdemeanour charges of obstruction and impeding traffic, and not for the first time.

>>Keep reading “Daryl Hannah arrested”

Producers from a spoof series on Showtime TV tried to trick Daryl Hannah into making herself look ridiculous with a Condor.  Little Duke Productions (probably a pseudonym), managed to lure  Daryl all the way out to a remote location in California where she was supposed to “release a Condor into the wild.’

She became suspicious when she spotted a crew of 15 (for a nature show?) and was asked to sign a release form permitting hidden cameras; and even more suspicious when the Director told her he had been fed by Condors after becoming stranded in the wild for three days
>>Keep reading “Showtime TV vs Daryl Hannah”

Here come the buttkickers Sweden’s pro-piracy party won its first seat in the European Parliament last night. It will take a second seat once the Lisbon Treaty comes into force as Sweden’s representation in the Euro-parliament will then increase from 18 to 20.

Set up to promote internet piracy and reform privacy and copyright laws. the Pirate Party is now Sweden’s third largest political party.  It came into being amid a wave of revulsion at heavy-handed tactics by the big entertainment brands cracking down on file copying.
>>Keep reading “Pirate Party triumph”

Will we ever learn? The economic meltdown of last year was largely caused by the rise in commodity prices, especially oil. 

At a time of white-hot growth and over-leveraged banks, oil reached $140 a barrel before dropping back to $40.

Now, inevitably,the price is creeping up again - into the high $60s last week.  Motorists will have noticed that gas prices are also on the rise even though the economy has not recovered.  Stagflation is back.

With rising demand in developing economies, rising production costs and restrictions on supply, prices will
>>Keep reading “Oil heads back up”

Anything could happen The Nowhere Festival in Los Monegros, Zaragoza, Spain is the annual get together of the European wing of the ‘Burners’ – as regulars at the amazing US Burning Man event refer to themselves.

It takes place from 8-12 July 2009. Like its US counterpart, its a festival of self-reliance, gifting and improbable sculpture.

Its slightly more tilted towards art installations than its US parent, and there are even grants to help towards the cost of installation and getting there. But hurry. Round 2 grant proposals are due by this Friday, May 22.
>>Keep reading “Europe’s Burning Man”

The story of how the panic over climate change was pushed to the top of the international agenda falls into five main stages, says Telegraph writer Christopher Booker (pictured). He blames Al Gore for lying to create a climate scare.  Off-Grid does not support Booker’s views, but Gore is clearly a practised liar and Booker’s case deserves an airing.
>>Keep reading “Did Al Gore suppress weather info?”

Cowardly suckup to bankers Unlike America, Britain is failing to meet the scale of the financial problems facing it.  A severe crash became more likely after last week’s dishonest, electioneering budget.  The Labour government’s love affair with the bankers is to blame for this sorry state, and anyone who has the means had better start preparing for rationing and blackouts as early as winter 2010.

The key problem is that Britain is handing huge sums of our money to the bankers, almost none of whom have been fired for incompetence. They can keep paying themselves excessively and unlike the US, the UK has not extracted any concessions or structural changes from the banks, other than a tiny share of the profits in the event of a (miraculous) recovery.  No major structural reform, no increase in lending, no investigations into falsely declared profits such as those at Lehman Brothers.
>>Keep reading “Unready for the crash”

Family-friendly festival This August sees the first Off-Grid Sunrise Festival  somewhere in Somerset (location to be revealed).  The three night event will be entirely powered by renewable energy. This new camp is a deep exploration of community living, creativity and consciousness, with hands-on activities, talks, workshops, performance, music, art …
>>Keep reading “UK Off-Grid festival in August”

This week, the X Prize Foundation announced a pair of California students won the $25,000 prize for their crazy green idea, an “ultra capacitor” to store energy. This is a new approach to the age-old problem of how to leap forwardin battery design.

The foundation applauded all participants for their innovative ideas including finalist Alan Silva who proposed an off-grid house.
The …
>>Keep reading “X-prize announced”