Category — WATER

Margaret Thatcher privatised Britain’s power, water and rail network, handing huge profits to the private sector, at the expense of ordinary homeowners. Perhaps the best way to mark her death yesterday would be to renationalize the Utilities. Bolivia nationalised its domestic energy resources a few years ago. A shrewd move, at a time when owners of natural resources hold the best cards.

Maggie Thatcher’s greatest legacy was (together with US President Ronald Reagan) initiating the free market economics that have led directly to the bonus culture and gaping income inequality.

The era of “greed is good” capitalism went global, a fitting tribute to this extraordinary politician. Britain’s first and only female Prime Minister, she set the template for a massive transfer of public money into private hands.

The privatization of the state owned energy industry took a lumbering inefficient national power grid and turned it into a lumbering, inefficient and eye-wateringly expensive Corporate national power grid, where nearly 20% of households are officially in fuel poverty. (more…)

RAM pumps can move water from a lower point to a higher point by using the energy from a water sources like a stream or river. They work 24 hours a day with no fuel or electricity and super low maintenance.

In this series of videos, learn the basics for calculating the size of a RAM pump installation depending on your water needs. Leanr also, how to make a RAM pump installations.

Glass bottles are a great building material – strong, long-lasting and beautiful if handled correctly. They can be used for hundreds of things, from decoration and food storage to UV water treatments and windows. (more…)

As millions live without power or sanitation, or even gasoline, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, it seems the North-East of America is getting its first big lesson in living without the access to the power grid and fresh water supplies that are taken for granted the rest of the time. While the big banks and financial institutions were largely up and running within 24 hours, millions of ordinary homes are last in the queue, giving way rightly to hospitals and schools, and wrongly to offices and factories. Shame also that it took a catastrophe to get America talking about Global Warming (see our story from last year about “Global Storming”)

It will be uncomfortable at times and relatively short-lived –up to several weeks in many cases. Although, look on the bright side, it may encourage folks to realise they can survive without the grid and save money doing it. It was only the well prepared who will have had the simple solar panel, charge controller and battery to manage their own power station

You could call them the “off-grid ready.” (more…)

Water, it IS necessary for life. For drinking, cooking and cleaning, it’s more than handy to have around, it’s a matter of life and death. In my previous water article, I discussed how my hubby and I deal with water in our off grid life. Chances are if you are reading this, you live in a more traditional setting with city water on tap, all you have to do is turn on the faucet and clean water comes out. Hopefully that situation never changes for you, but it’s always a good idea to be prepared for the eventuality that it might not flow out as readily as it always has, and if it does, perhaps it will not be clean and sanitary as you would want it or need it to be. This article will address that situation. (more…)

Water. It’s necessary for life, and it’s pretty handy to have around. Drinking, cooking and cleaning, you need water. This will be a 2 part article, the first part discussing how we have water living off grid (ie with no city water), the second part will discuss how to make sure you have water if you are living in town but services get interrupted, that will be also part of the “Prepping on a Budget” series. (more…)

 

Now that you have decided to start putting aside some food, you might be thinking “Where am I going to keep all of this food and other stuff?” Hopefully you have lots of extra space, an extra bedroom, or a big kitchen with a pantry and lots of cabinets…  or if you are like many of us, space is at a premium and you will have to be creative about how and where you store your preps. (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…)

Thames Water and six other water companies in southern and eastern England have imposed hosepipe bans – but keen gardener Alison Brown can carry on regardless. Like an increasing number of homeowners, she has a plentiful supply of clean, free water from a borehole in her garden.  As the water companies focus increasingly on profits and the quality of the water continues to fall, anyone with a garden could consider providing their own household water by digging a well or borehole as it is known in the UK. (more…)