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Clusterfuck Nation by Jim Kunstler : The Abyss Stares Back
One of the sad paradoxes of politics is that democracies do not seem very good at disciplining their citizens' behavior. The wish to please voters and the influence of campaign money overwhelm even leaders with mature instincts.
Thinking Small
“Don’t get in debt, don’t think in terms of a career (work at a job for one reason only, to get paid so you can buy a place to land and grow some food), live in a small shelter, unload unnecessary stuff, reduce monthly expenses, extract yourself from the enslavement of modern technological materialism, stay healthy by exercising, eat a simple, wholesome diet, develop some practical skills, practice your art or trade and serve your local community. Teach your children to value true pleasures. Real wealth is perishable: food, health, trees, flowers, herbs, healthy soil, clean water, fresh air, friends and art. Learn to value and appreciate these above all else.”
Bush Retreat by Farnan Findlay Architects : TreeHugger
Four 6,000 gallon tanks hold water gathered from the roof; a wind turbine and photovoltaics generate electricity for 14 batteries that hold a week's worth of electricity (do they have longer nights in Australia?) LED lighting, passive solar design, in an elegant modern envelope. As Dwell says, none of the "down-on-the-alfalfa-farm nuts and berries aesthetic associated with sustainable architecture."
Vela Creations - HOME
Vela Creations is a documentation of our experiences and projects living off the grid. We are a young couple striving to fulfill our lifestyles through sustainable means. Our hope is that our experiences will serve as guidence to those interested in the technologies and methods illustrated on this site.
Offgrid.ca
Welcome to offgrid.ca, promoting green, energy efficient home designs & building and complete renewable energy system, from simple backup power systems to full off-grid energy packages.
Solar, wind, earth and micro-power, all our renewable energy systems are designed and engineered to fit your lifestyle & budget.
Permaculture Research Institute of Australia » Bill Mollison Interview from 1991
Another thing I find extremely eerie is that when people build a house, they almost exactly get it wrong. They don’t just get it partly wrong, they get it dead wrong. For example, if you let people loose in a landscape and tell them to choose a house site, half of them will go sit on the ridges where they’ll die in the next fire, or where you can’t get water to them. Or they’ll sit in all the dam sites. Or they’ll sit in all the places that will perish in the next big wind.
Pioneers show Americans how to live "off-grid": ENN -- Know Your Environment
With energy prices going through the roof, an alternative lifestyle powered by solar panels and wind turbines has suddenly become more appealing to some. For architect Todd Bogatay, it has been reality for years.
When he bought this breezy patch of scrub-covered mountaintop with views to Mexico more than two decades ago, he was one of only a few Americans with an interest in wind- and solar-powered homes.
Now, Bogatay is surrounded by 15 neighbors who, like him, live off the electricity grid, with power from solar panels and wind turbines that he either built or helped to install.
Video: Scotland's wind-powered community | Environment | guardian.co.uk
Hugh Piggott is a pioneering creator of recycled wind turbines. He has managed to power and maintain an entire community on Scotland's north-west coast where he runs courses teaching wind turbine construction to students from all over the world
Small Home Oregon - featuring homes with a smaller footprint
These houses are small and simple. They have everything you need and nothing you don’t. If you’re looking for a small home, guest house, vacation house, studio, or workshop, these houses are made for you. These small homes are infinitely adaptable. Join them together to add a couple of bedrooms, put the doors and windows wherever you want, off grid or on.
How to unplug from the grid - 03 December 2008 - New Scientist
The average UK household uses around 4500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, plus some 18,000 kWh of gas for cooking, hot water and domestic heating. In the US the figure varies considerably from region to region. For example, households in New York City use around 4700 kWh a year, whereas those in Dallas use 16,100 kWh: there are a lot of air conditioners in Texas. In chillier regions where people use gas for heating and cooking, on the other hand, they can burn up an extra 28,000 kWh or so per household.
It would be a struggle to generate this much energy from renewables alone, so an important first step is to dramatically reduce wasted energy. This may be less fun than installing shiny new energy-generating gadgets, but it is almost as effective in cutting your reliance on fossil fuels and the grid.
First Solar-Powered Car to Drive Around the World Completes Journey : TreeHugger
We’ve reported before on the progress of the first solar-powered car to make a round-the-world journey , and are pleased to report that the so-called Solartaxi has completed its 32,000 mile journey today, pulling up to the UN climate change talks in Poznan, Poland.
The noiseless vehicle, which can travel at speeds up to 55 mph and go 185 miles on a fully charged battery, has been driven by Swiss schoolteacher Louis Palmer to spread the word that we have the technologies to radically reduce carbon emissions and stop global warming. Palmer had this to say of his trip,
Amazon.com: The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-Grid and Sustainable Living: William H. Kemp: Books
Author/engineer William H. Kemp, who is a leading expert in small- and mid-scale renewable energy technologies, designed and built his own off-grid home. The result is a house that has all the standard “middle-class” creature comforts while using less than five times the total fossil-fuel energy of the average North American house.
The Renewable Energy Handbook focuses on the unique requirements of off-grid living and contains chapters on energy conservation; heating and cooling; backup power; domestic water heating; wireless communications; photovoltaic, wind, and microhydro energy generation; battery selection; and inverters.
Living the Good Life on $5,000 a Year | Environment | AlterNet
Merkel decided to simplify. He not only cleared away stuff (enough for 13 yard sales) but also tapped his engineering degree from New York's Stony Brook University to calculate the economic and environmental savings. By doing so, he figured out how to live comfortably -- and income-tax-free -- on $5,000 a year.
The eco machine that can magic water out of thin air | Environment | The Observer
Element Four, has developed a machine that it hopes will become the first mainstream household appliance to have been invented since the microwave. Their creation, the WaterMill, uses the electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.
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According to the Earth Policy Institute, about 1.5m barrels of oil - enough to
power 100,000 cars for a year - is used just to make the plastic. -
$1,200 cost when it goes on sale in America, the UK, Italy, Australia and Japan
in the spring - 1 more annotations...
Generating Off-Grid Power: The Four Best Ways : TreeHugger
Microhydro electricity generation can be the most cost effective of the three... "Our experience with micro hydro systems has demonstrated that water power will produce between 10 and 100 times more power than PV or wind for the same capital investment."
Is Living Off the Grid Right For You? : TreeHugger
There's an awful lot to like about living off-grid, and it's a little different for everybody, but in many cases it requires a few lifestyle modifications and a different day-to-day routine. So, how do you know if you should live off the grid?
YouTube - Off Grid in Launching
CBC Charlottetown story on the off grid house of Terry and Diane Brennan in Launching PEI
At $1 per Watt, the iTunes of Solar Energy Has Arrived | SolveClimate.com
A Silicon Valley start-up called Nanosolar shipped its first solar panels -- priced at $1 a watt. That's the price at which solar energy gets cheaper than coal.
Motorola's Solar and Wind-Powered Cell Phone Base Stations in Africa : TreeHugger
This video explains how Motorola is planning to expand its operations in Africa by using wind and solar powered cell phone base stations.
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