live off the grid

Stanford had a sustainable fashion show Some of the clothes are affordable, in line with your standard name brand store price. And some of the clothes are actually wearable. One site catered to the super-models only crowd. But I saw some stuff on a couple of the sites that I would wear. Too bad I’m on a moratorium for purchasing clothing.

As a scientist and interested consumer, I know where my water comes from and understand the chemistry involved in clean water. We have to keep in mind that we live in a world with billions of people. To live completely off the grid works for a very small percentage. And you have to have the money already to do that. In the current economy, it just isn’t going to happen for all the people who have this goal.

However, there is a lot that can be done to live off the grid. Honestly, I just want to still have power when the upcoming solar storms knock the nations power grid out. I also want to contribute to doing what I can to reducing my family’s impact on the environment.

So, under the current circumstances of where I live and my job, I cannot do a lot. We also have a large likelihood of moving within the next couple years, so installing solar panels on this house will not be financially feasible (as well as against the rules of our neighborhood association.) Solar panels are hopefully under basic research funding in the stimulus, so we will hopefully have a huge advance because right now they are not very efficient. I also cannot do anything about my commute, except carpool, which I do.

However, we do use canvas bags now for shopping. I do carpool. I already garden in season to produce some vegetables. It is possible to garden off-season here, but it is too time intensive for my current job.

Living off the grid sounds a little granola, something that strikes my friends as very funny with my high-tech job and lifestyle. But I also think that living off the grid caters exactly to high-tech geeks because it is stepping into what should be the present but still that elusive future.

Anyway, this goal is not to live completely off the grid because that is not feasible for 99.9% of the US. And the rest of the world that live off the grid live in poverty and horrible circumstances that lead to poor health and death.

I would like to supply my own electricity through solar power at home. I would like to drive an electric car (my dream car right now is a Tesla.) I would like to garden on a larger scale to have more fresh fruit and vegetables in season. I still want heat in the winter if I live in a climate with winter and A/C in the summer. I still want my clean tap water, which has 2000 times less impact on the environment than bottled, and is truly the only way to have clean water. I’ve had well water. No, thank you.