Another Look at living off the grid…
Everyone wishes that their utility bills weren’t so high. Everyone wishes that they could have power when the electricity goes out due to weather or ??? Everyone hates being caught in the dark (literally) with no options for light or heat either. No one likes rising food prices, and every one agrees that both medical care and gasoline cost too much. Hence, you need to read this article, just to get a basic understanding of the basics of living green, self-sufficiently, and/or completely off the grid.
The best “living off the grid” equation can be broken down into six parts, rather than just five as previously thought by us and others: Power, Water, Food, Heat, Medicine, and Transportation. Let’s take a quick look at each one in order to get a better understanding of how they each function, working together to let you live in a self-sufficient way.
1. Power. The most obvious thing about living off the grid is the need to generate your own electricity and power.
2. The second most critical component of living off the grid is to procure and insure a stable water source or supply for yourself.
3. Then comes food needs. Did you know that even an apartment dweller can grow some of their own food in order to cut down on food bills? And how do you cook it?
4. Heating and Cooling. Depending on what time of year it is, and your geographic location, this one can be a lifesaver too. If your power goes out in the middle of the winter, as it sometimes does, do you know how you are going to supply heat for yourself?
5. Medicines and Medical Supplies. And though we don’t claim to be doctors, there are far more home treatment remedies and processes available to the average person than what the profit driven medical establishment would have you believe.
6. Transportation. Face it, we’re a mobile society, and we need to get around. But how do we do it cheaply, and without tying ourselves to the grid through gasoline?
Let’s look quickly at each of these in more detail.
For Power off the grid, you can use get into solar (by far the most common), hydroelectric, fuel cells, generators, or one of several other technologies being developed at http://www.EvergreenMountainLabs.com (EML). You will also need a bank of storage batteries, a charger to fill them, and an inverter to convert their power to usable house current.
For water, your options are slightly more limited. A good, high quality water filter (with backup filters available on hand) is must, so that you can make use of any water supply you find. Rain and snow water can also be good sources of drinking water, but not if in heavily polluted/smoggy areas. A distiller takes power, but if you have power, by all means, get one.
Sewer needs have even fewer basic options, though within those options, many varieties exist. Basically you need to get a self-composting toilet, and then learn to operate it safely and satisfactorily.
For food, you need basic access to the six primary food groups at least occasionally (as well as a way to cook them): Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, Lean Meats, Diary, and Nuts. A more basic breakdown of these groups might be: carbohydrates, proteins, and vitamins/minerals. Either way, the vegetable group will keep you the healthiest, the longest, if you are limited to just one of them. And that’s lucky for us because it’s also the one that is easiest to address. And the two foundational vegetables that I tend to recommend and focus on are tomatoes and potatoes. Both can be grown in high volumes in small spaces, and will give you tons of vitamins/minerals, and lots of daily carbohydrates. Your protein intake can be meat supplemented into your diet from whatever the source. If you live in the country, goats for milk, and chickens for eggs is also a ard combination to beat. Find out more about growing your own food at the http://www.FreedomFromTheGrid.com blog site.
As for cooking this food, a wood stove is hard to beat when it comes to being self-sufficient. But even here, there are options. A creative person can generate their own methane or hydrogen for cooking on a gas stove, and solar reflectors and reflector ovens, though they CAN take longer to cook, also provide effective cooking methods if you have access to good sunlight. Fortunately, tomotoes and many fruits don’t need to be cooked to be enjoyed (though potatos and other veggies do).
As for heating and cooling, heating is the more critical issue, and needs more attention. What is unfortunate in today’s world is that most heat sources depend on electricity. Fortunately, propane, natural gas, wood, hydrogen, and several other technologies being developed at EML aim to get around this. But the oldest and most time tested heat source technology is still simply a wood-burning stove. Get one if you can, or a derivative thereof like wood pellet stoves, corn stoves, etc.
As for medical care, start by getting and committing to memory a good, thorough, high quality first aid manual and then procure a good store of some basic field supplies.
Then we focus on medicines. There are two very old technologies, and at least one very new one, which can both help anyone living to live in a self-sufficient way.
The metal Silver, when made into a solution through basic electrolysis or some other method, is one of nature’s best antibiotics. People have known this for a long time, and it works, both internally and topically. It has a hidden danger though, in that overdoses of it can turn your skin a permanent shade of zombie gray-blue, so be careful. But in moderation, it seems to work wonders. Do your research.
The second old technology is based more on common sense, and is currently practiced under the name of naturopathic medicine. And basically it aims to help your own body fight off diseases and conditions by first eliminating any vitamin or mineral deficiencies that your body might be experiencing, and then strengthening your body’s own immune system.
A much newer technology still being developed underground even today depends on the simple fact that any object will shatter if you hit it with the right note and enough power, like an opera singer shattering crystal goblets. It works with pathogens of all sorts as well. To get started studying this technology and some of its derivatives, explore “rife machines” on Google.
Of lesser importance to some people, but still worth mentioning, is taking care of transportation needs. At http://www.EvergreenGasLabs.com, they sell lots of items to make your gasoline stretch as far as it can, but barring that, if gasoline isn’t an option, look into bicycles, horses, and even some of the home generated hydrogen fuel technologies being developed at EMP and various other places around the net.
As for clothing, I’m going to have to simply tell you that it’s not economically feasible for you to develop your own fabric mill and learn to sew. Instead, stock up, and then learn to barter with people who do have access to clothing and/or fabric.
By focusing your attention on the six areas above (Power, Water, Food, Heat, Medicine, and Transportation), you can indeed learn to limit your dependence on the grid, cut your bills down, and live in a self-sufficient way. With that said, go to it, be careful, and have fun!
