Would you live off the grid?

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   Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years ago

   Would you live off the grid?
   
   I am wondering what are your thoughts on off grid life philosophy. I will soon start my own journey, and share my thoughts, ideas and solutions. Why I decided to do this? I believe that time spent doing the things you love is the only way to go, and what better way to do that, then in a selfsustainable way, connected to nature. I am looking forward on hearing your thoughts, would you like to see more hubs talking about this subject?
   
   

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   mikeydcarroll67posted 9 years ago

   I would like to see hubson this. Maybe add on stuff about aquaponics.

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      Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      aquaponics is def on my to do list for an efficient gardening. Thanks for the imput

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   connorjposted 9 years ago

   
   
   Absolutely it is worth considering; in this day there are indeed some "pretty good" incentives to encourage it. The state I reside in should offer more incentives; yet there is strong lobby against it inclusive of some that require "the grid" to be well-populated to turn a profit literally.
   How ironic I live in the Sunshine State yet we have less solar then many states and foreign places. It is quickly becoming cheaper to switch the grid off; thus, I believe the clock is ticking down until it becomes a significant movement.
   I believe hubs well written in this area will be significantly popular and offer extraordinary assistance and knowledge-transfer to enable this rather important and rebel-like movement. I have converted our house to a certified Natural Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Foundation and it has significantly reduced our energy costs; yet, with the shade from predominantly oak trees I have reduced our solar capabilities; so I am still grid-locked, if you will...

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      Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I heard that in U.S it is actually illegal in some places to go off the grid. Like you said with all the sun, is madness not to use it. Tell me more about this  National Wildlife certification, sounds very interesting!

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      connorjposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      In the US we live within city limits, thus, there are significant limitations about what one can do to landscape. However, if you submit application and photos to the National Wildlife Foundation and your yard becomes certified you can have an Eden..

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   lisavollrathposted 9 years ago

   I live in Texas, where people die without air conditioning. (That's not an exaggeration.) If solar power could support my a/c both day and night, and also keep the computer and the fridge running, I'd get off the grid in a heartbeat. I think the new Tesla battery packs are bringing this closer to reality.
   
   I already compost, and wouldn't mind switching to a composting toilet. I'm not sure I could get off the water system, though, since we go for such long periods without rain. I grow veggies, but not enough to feed myself completely, even though I'm vegan.

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      Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your comment, I believe off grid lifestyle is harder in some places. If you do not have a fresh water source, might be hard to switch it off. I will research the Tesla battery, thanks for that, we are planning on having a cooler

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      lisavollrathposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Here's an article about the Tesla Powerwall. It's not quite there yet, but it's close to what we'd need. http://www.treehugger.com/renewable-ene … stems.html

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   junksellerposted 9 years ago

   I have always been a bit of an off-the-grid kind of guy. Studied sustainable design and environmental science, lived in a tent for a while, etc. and the notion of living off the grid has always had a romantic appeal. A cozy little cabin on the river and fishing all day doesn't sound so bad.
   
   But at the same time, in the grand scheme of things, I have always felt that individual solutions (like solar panels on houses) is a bit of a mistake (that's not really the right word).
   
   The reality is that our problem isn't only a technological one. Or said another way, technology alone isn't going to solve our problems. I believe very strongly that the fundamental problem of our world today is alienation. We are alienated from the systems that we rely upon. In our case we are alienated because they are too big and too distant.
   
   Individual sustainable solutions at one's own house level is at least good because you are in direct contact with some of these systems, but at the same time you face the opposite problem in that they are too small. What we really need, in my opinion, of course, is sustainable COMMUNITY solutions. We need to not only have sustainable solutions but they need to be sustainable systems that can be maintained by groups of people over time.
   
   So, for instance, rather than having single family homes and gardens sprawled out over a large area, have compact clusters of people with human powered transport and/or mass transit, community gardens, community water processing systems, and a small solar or hydro plant.
   
   That isn't in any way meant to discourage you. I think it is a great idea, but the part I'd be interested in is if, and/or how, a community develops around your efforts, and how that transfers back to yourself.

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      Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      thank you for this insightful comment, I can share your views, as the problem is clearly not going away if we switch to selsustainable method. To connect and exchange, grow the community and relationships, would truly be a win.

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   Dorotea Pospiposted 9 years ago

   
   
   Thank you for your encouraging thoughts, I will do my best to develop and research the matter, in order to provide substantial elements for everyone that feels that humanity should do something to reverse the damage we caused to the ecosystem.
   
   From a philosophical standpoint, it is so much more then just respecting our nature, but as junkseller pointed out, it is more about connecting with the community, work together and develop collaborative human relatiosnhips. Self sustainable communities are already growing around the world, I am currently looking for people that would share their ideas and experiences with the broader community.

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   John Brothertonposted 7 years ago

   I would love to live off the grid, I think it is the only way to have freedom in the 'free world'.
   
   To think you could spend the day connecting with nature, connecting with your food by growing it, whilst all the while helping to show others the way to helping prolong the life of this beautiful planet we live one.
   
   To answer it in sort it would certainly be the life for me!

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