Off the Grid: Life on the hills

Off the Grid: Life on the hills

“It’s where you can let your freak flag fly. If you are not insane, you will be.”
This 2007 documentary is about a community of people who are truly living “off the grid” and almost totally disconnected from society. It doesn’t depict a glamorous life.
The film first highlights the right-winged, drug-addicted, gun-toting hillbilly types, but there are also teenage runaways and peaceful hippies living within the community. Most of the people seem to be very anti-government (for the most part), though they still rely on government programs for food.
One person describes the area as, “… the world’s largest outdoor insane asylum, and rather than renegades, heroes, and unbridled individualists, we have drunks, drug addicts, gun nuts, paranoid survivalists, and, most frequently, mentally ill veterans suffering from extreme cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.” But due to the authenticity and naked honesty of these people the film was somehow absolutely engrossing , and surprisingly, not in a train wreck sort of way.
The greatest irony comes late in the documentary when there is a problem with a local group of kids who separated themselves from the community at large. These “Nowhere Kids” were stealing from people within the community. The community developed (or already had developed) a small government to decide on how best to handle the situation. They voted and decided to send up some of the “mothering” types to talk some sense into these troubled youths, which appeared to alleviate the situation.
If you have Netflix, this film is available to watch online. You can also watch it for free at a couple of other websites. Just Google “Off The Grid - Life on the Mesa online” (without the quotes).

Natural Gas Line Exploded

In September a PG&E natural gas line exploded in San Bruno, California, sending an initial blast 1,000 feet into the air, killing eight people, and injuring dozens. Reports vary regarding the number of homes destroyed—from 37 to 53 incinerated and another 100 damaged. PG&E has since released a list of its 100 most dangerous gas lines, lines they considered at risk for reasons ranging from corrosion to earthquake. The list, compiled before the accident, didn’t list the San Bruno line.

Clean Coal - The Oxymoron
Never has there been a better example of an oxymoron than clean coal. It’s surprising to find the following definition on Western Coal’s website and to realize it’s not a joke: “Clean Coal: Coal that has been sized, washed and dried in preparation for shipment to customers.”
Clean coal is the term used to describe technology that reduces CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that burn coal. But the catch phrase has exceeded this original meaning and is now used as a marketing tool for coal industry, a term used to divert national attention away from the fact that burning coal is responsible for acid rain and mercury contamination throughout American waterways.

How to Be Eco Friendly and Save Money Doing It!
Going Green Today - Review
I am not the typical consumer. I purchase all natural cleaning supplies, fluorescent light bulbs, used clothes, and energy efficient appliances. I limit my driving trips as much as possible. I recycle. I rarely eat processed food, and 90% of the food I do buy is fresh organic produce and locally grown whenever possible. In fact, even my businesses, Green Lifestyle Magazine and Organic Lifestyle Magazine, are online publications that use environmentally friendly hosting. As tree-hugging goes, I’m doing pretty well.
When Scott Ankeny, founder of Going Green Today, and I first spoke, I let him know I didn’t think there was much he could do for me. I figured reducing my carbon footprint anymore than I already had would be too expensive or not appropriate at this time. I told him I’d rather look at the program after I move and can afford to implement some alternative energy generators.
“Just try it. You’ll be surprised just how much you can do today,” he said. “Yeah, but, I’m the editor-in-chief of Green Lifestyle Magazine,“ I thought to myself. “How much am I really going to learn about being greener?” Fortunately, I did not say this out loud. I quickly learned that when it comes to going green, Scott is a lot smarter than I am. In fact, halfway through the conversation, I realized that Scott is a lot smarter than I am in a lot of ways.
Going Green Today is a beautiful website. More importantly, it works very well. It’s laid out well, and very professionally designed.
It starts with a lifestyle assessment survey which took me less than ten minutes. After this I was told how I could save money and significantly reduce my carbon footprint.
For $47, you get the program. The website states that you can reduce your carbon footprint by at least 35% and save up to $2,000 a year (from what I understand, you may save much more in many cases).
Was it worth it? Absolutely! I learned a lot. Some of the changes where a bit difficult to make, and some of the changes required some upfront money to implement, but there were many simple and free things anyone could do that had never occurred to me. In addition, there were some things I knew I should be doing, but hadn’t done yet. It helped that each step showed how just much I could reduce my carbon footprint.
This program got me to make so many of the changes I had been putting off or ignoring. I have not read a better book, or seen a better program for teaching someone how to live a more sustainable lifestyle with easy step- by- step instructions.
I am really very impressed with Going Green Today; $47 is such a small price to pay. And yes, I did save money in the long run. In fact, by my calculations, this investment paid for itself within two months.
Going Green Today also makes the perfect gift for anyone you know who is either trying to lead a greener lifestyle or, like me, thinks they are already as green as they can be.

Energy Star Certification

According to the EPA website, the following criteria are used to choose which products earn an Energy Star Certification:
• Product categories must contribute significant energy savings nationwide.
• Qualified products must deliver the features and performance demanded by consumers, in addition to increased energy efficiency.
• If the qualified product costs more than a conventional, less-efficient counterpart, purchasers will recover their investment in increased energy efficiency through utility bill savings within a reasonable period of time.
• Energy efficiency can be achieved through broadly available, non-proprietary technologies offered by more than one manufacturer.
• Product energy consumption and performance can be measured and verified with testing.
• Labeling would effectively differentiate products and be visible for purchasers.
Sounds reasonable, right? But this year the program jointly run by the Energy Department and the EPA came under attack after covert investigators from the Government Accountability Office proposed ludicrous products that received the seal of approval with no questions asked such as an air purifier that was a space heater with a feather duster and flypaper attached.

Zero-Energy Homes: A New Direction in Energy-Efficient Home Building

Zero-Energy Homes: A New Direction in Energy-Efficient Home Building

An energy-efficient home is about more than expensive photovoltaic panels and wind turbines. Zero-energy homes produce as much energy as they consume, and these exciting abodes are redefining what it means to build green.
Zero-Energy Homes: A New Direction in Energy-Efficient Home Building
The following is an excerpt from Toward a Zero Energy Home (The Taunton Press, 2010). This comprehensive home energy self-sufficiency guide explores the design of zero-energy, near-zero-energy, off-the-grid and carbon-neutral homes from start to finish, giving readers an unparalleled look at these emerging trends in environmentally friendly building. This excerpt is from the Introduction, “The Case for Zero Energy Houses.”
The petroleum economy bared its teeth in 2008, and it wasn’t pretty. In mid-July, the cost of a barrel of crude oil reached an all-time high of $147, a 50 percent increase in just seven months and a threefold jump in three years. A few months later, as the world economy took a nosedive, prices dropped to less than $60 a barrel and gas prices dipped to nearly $2 a gallon. Heating oil customers in the Northeast who had locked in a winter’s worth of fuel at more than $4.70 a gallon looked wistfully at a cash price of less than $2.20. It was the most recent upheaval in our fossil fuel economy, and it almost certainly won’t be the last.
The cost of oil has a huge impact on every corner of the economy, in part because we continue to use so much of the stuff. Americans manage to burn more than 20 million barrels of petroleum products a day. About 12 million barrels of that is imported, making us the world’s largest consumer. Until a few years ago, that didn’t seem to matter. Oil was relatively cheap, and the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s was long forgotten. Now it matters a great deal as the developing world competes for a bigger share of this limited resource.
All of this affects how much we pay for energy. But the cost of fuel oil or gasoline looks like small potatoes in comparison with the environmental consequences of burning the enormous quantities of oil, natural gas and coal we pull from the Earth. Climatologists link an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases to a steady rise in average global temperatures and a variety of climate changes, some of which may prove catastrophic. Carbon dioxide — a byproduct of burning hydrocarbons — is an especially noticeable culprit. Glaciers are melting. Weather patterns are changing, bringing bigger, more frequent storms to some regions and droughts and high temperatures to others. High energy costs and a lack of potable water could make some parts of the globe very difficult places to live in the future. Worse, climate changes are occurring faster than scientists had predicted only a few years ago.
What does building houses have to do with any of this? A lot. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 40 percent of all primary energy consumed in the United States and 70 percent of the electricity produced by U.S. power plants goes directly to commercial and residential buildings. By some estimates, buildings are responsible for 48 percent of the carbon released into the atmosphere.
This is where sustainable building first found a toehold. Using less energy for heating and cooling makes houses less expensive to live in while reducing their environmental impact. Other fundamentals of green building help buildings last longer, give them healthier interiors, and helped reduce the natural resources needed to construct them. People got it. Green building has prospered. As we write this, green building is just about the only good news in the building industry.
The question is whether these gains will be good enough in a world where oil can cost $100 a barrel in January and $147 in July. There are other issues: How much will fossil fuels cost over the life of a house? How do we keep housing affordable on a monthly basis if utility bills approach the cost of the mortgage?
The Next Step: Net Zero
Net-zero and near-net-zero homes take the goals of sustainable building one step further. But just what is a zero-energy house?
Not too long ago, a house that used 60 percent less energy than one built to code was called a near-zero house. That was quite an accomplishment. A house that was this energy efficient could be constructed mostly with conventional materials and techniques but with more attention to details, such as air sealing and insulation. Builders and architects got to thinking that going way beyond code may give them a market advantage.
Today, building standards are getting tougher, and there are many labels for super-efficiency. There are zero-energy homes, net-zero homes, carbon-neutral homes, and off-the-grid homes. What are we talking about here?
The simple definition is that a net-zero-energy building produces as much energy as it uses on an annual basis. This includes energy for heating, cooling and all the devices that plug into the wall. Net-zero houses are typically connected to a local electric utility. They use the grid for storing excess electricity generated by photovoltaic panels or a wind turbine, banking electricity at times of plenty and drawing on the surplus when production falls.
A house in a cold climate may need more energy than it makes during the winter but then makes up for it in summer when demand is lower and the photovoltaic system is running at full tilt. The opposite may be true in the South, where high humidity in the summer requires more electricity for air conditioning during peak months. But on average, zero-energy houses produce enough energy to offset the high-load months.
Most grid-tied homes are built where the local utility offers net metering. That means the utility will buy electricity at the same price it charges, but usually only until the net is zero. If houses produce more than that, the utility may buy it back. If so, it is often at the wholesale price, which can be as little as 1 or 2 cents per kilowatt hour when the retail price is 10 or 12 cents per kilowatt hour. That makes those excess electrons produced very expensive. In Germany, the government has imposed rates on utilities, forcing them to pay roughly 50 cents per kilowatt hour as an incentive to building owners to produce more electricity than they use.
Off-the-grid houses must provide all the electrical energy their occupants need, summer and winter. Other than relatively small battery banks, there is no place to store energy. The house is truly self-sufficient. For decades, a handful of builders around the country have experimented with off-the-grid approaches in different climates. They have taken very diverse paths to get to the end goal. Most often what makes the house self-reliant are changes in lifestyle for the families that live in them. Electricity goes on a budget. There is a fixed amount of energy available for any given day. If someone wants to take a hot shower, it has to be on a day with plenty of sun. If you want toast in the morning, maybe you can’t use the hair dryer. Most Americans aren’t willing to adjust their lifestyles that radically.
Houses can also be designed to produce enough energy to offset the embodied energy in all the building materials plus the energy required to build the house. This means the house must produce more energy than it uses on a yearly basis. Roughly 8 percent of a home’s energy use is embodied energy from producing and transporting the building materials used in its construction. This is sometimes called regenerative architecture, and it has a deep ethical vein running through it.
A carbon-neutral home uses a different metric to determine how to get to zero. More than just zero energy, it must be zero carbon emissions all the way back to the power plant or manufacturing facility that made the building products in the first place. On average, getting electricity from a power plant to a house is at best 30 percent efficient. From a carbon-neutral standpoint, the electricity used from the grid has to be repaid with three times more site-generated electricity to break even. The same holds true for building materials. If the marble tile in the foyer is from Italy, the energy produced at the house has to be sufficient to make up for the embodied energy from extraction and transportation of the marble. The utility buyback policy also dictates the financial context for this approach. Adherents to carbon-neutral houses are insistent on using only local materials and simple solutions to getting to zero energy. The more complex the house, the more diverse the sources of the materials and the more energy needs to be produced.
Size also comes into the net-zero discussion. Some say a 10,000-square-foot home can never be sustainable — it is just too big and energy- and material-intensive. How can a family of four need so much space when in developing countries 10 families would inhabit a house that size? Communities such as Marin County in California and Aspen in Colorado penalize houses that exceed a prescribed maximum square footage. The larger the house, the more energy efficient it must be until finally, at a certain size, code drives the design. Aspen allows a homeowner to buy his or her way out of this problem by putting money into a fund that pays for solar collectors on homes of police officers, firemen and teachers. The result in net carbon may be the same in this Robin Hood approach to reducing carbon emissions.
But let’s keep it simple. For our purposes, net-zero or zero-energy means the house makes as much energy as it uses over the course of a year.
Building Houses a New Way
Regardless of the term we use, builders are realizing opportunity in this upside-down market by building homes that provide financial security for their customers. By minimizing utility bills or even creating the potential for the home to make money by selling energy to the utility at some point in the future, zero-energy homes offer a new direction for housing in America. It is a win for the homeowner, for the planet in aggregate, and for a new generation of builders who will be able to construct houses that better meet future energy challenges.
Building a real net-zero house is more than investing an arm and a leg in photovoltaic panels or buying a big wind generator. Reducing the amount of energy needed to heat and cool the house is the essential consideration, and that means a tight, well-insulated building envelope and more awareness on the part of homeowners about their energy use. Investing in energy-efficient appliances and lighting fixtures, eliminating phantom electrical loads, and orienting the house to take advantage of sunlight all cut the demand for electricity and fossil fuels.
But even taking all of these steps won’t necessarily get a house all the way to the land of net zero. Much more realistic are near-net-zero homes. These houses are also designed to drastically reduce the amount of energy they use, but they fall somewhat short of producing all the power they use. Many of the builders of these homes talk about the 80/20 rule: Eighty percent of the load reduction can cost only 20 percent more than a standard house, but the last 20 percent can mean an additional 80 percent of the incremental cost. This is hardly a failure. What if all new houses in the United States used 90 percent less energy than what we use now? Even 80 percent less? The impact would be immense.
There are scores of builders all over the United States and Canada who are constructing houses like these. A general public clamor for better energy performance has helped, and so have a variety of public and private programs that promote zero-energy construction. In Massachusetts, there is the governor’s Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force, announced at the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s 2008 building energy conference. Architecture 2030, created by architect Edward Mazria, is pressing for changes in building design and construction that will make all buildings in the United States carbon neutral by 2030. The U.S. Department of Energy, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the California Energy Commission and a variety of other public agencies have launched their own initiatives.
Building a net-zero house can get expensive, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. In New York City, for example, architect Chris Benedict specializes in multifamily buildings that use a fraction of the energy that a conventional building of the same size would consume. Benedict is able to accomplish this without the use of any renewable energy systems and at a cost no greater than conventional construction. A net-zero Habitat for Humanity house near Denver was built for $116 a square foot. Near-net-zero houses built under the Habitat program in Tennessee have energy costs of about $1 per day — it’s not just a game for the well-heeled.
There is no single path toward energy self-sufficiency, nor are we arguing that building net-zero houses will magically solve the world’s energy or climate problems. But one house at a time, one neighborhood at a time, is how green building became mainstream. Building houses that are energy self-sufficient is completely within our capabilities — not at some distant point in time, but right now.

Water Saving Tips

Water Saving Tips

Here you’ll find over 50 tips to help you reduce your water footprint. Because most of the things on this list save you water and energy, they’ll also save you money in the long-run, but some cost you money up-front.

free or money-saving
low-cost
can be pricey .
In the Bathroom

If you don’t have a low-flow toilet, put a plastic bottle filled with water in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used per flush.

Put a bucket in the shower while you’re waiting for the water to warm up, and use the water you catch for watering plants or cleaning.

To check for a toilet leak, put dye or food coloring into the tank. If color appears in the bowl without flushing, there's a leak that should be repaired.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.

Turn off the water while shaving, and instead fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of water to rinse your razor.

Install a low-flow shower head. It may cost you some money up front, but your water conservation efforts will save you money down the road.

Spend less time in the shower. If you lose track of time in the shower, bring a radio into the bathroom and time yourself by how many songs play while you’re in there. Try to get your shower time down to one song (or less).

If you take a bath, keep the water level low, and consider re-using the water before you let it go down the drain. Learn more »

Fix those leaky faucets. You may think that a constant drip is just annoying, but it’s also a huge waste of water (you can lose about 20 gallons of water per day from a single drippy faucet!).

Install low-flow faucet aerators in your sinks.

When you wash your hands, turn on the water briefly to wet them, turn it off while you lather up, then on again to rinse. You’ll save water –and soap – this way.

If you’re in the market for a toilet, buy a low-flow model – they use as little as half as much water as normal toilets.

If it’s yellow, let it mellow. The saying may be cliché, but it’s good advice. If you’re grossed out by the “yellow”, just put down the toilet lid.

Don’t flush things down the toilet to dispose of them. Throw away tissues and other bathroom waste in the garbage can, which doesn’t require gallons of water.

In the Kitchen

When washing dishes by hand, don't leave the water running the whole time. If your sink has two basins, fill one with water for washing, and another with water for rinsing. If you only have one basin, lather up and scrub a bunch of dishes, then turn the water on to rinse them all at once.

Only run the dishwasher when it’s completely full.

Scrape dishes into the trash rather than rinsing. New dishwashers don’t even require pre-rinsed dishes.

Use the garbage disposal less and the garbage more (or even better, start composting!).

When washing dishes by hand, use the least amount of detergent possible - this minimizes the water needed for rinsing.

Keep a bottle or pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator instead of running tap water to cool it each time you want a drink.

Wash vegetables and fruits in a large bowl of water and scrub them with a vegetable brush – your faucet is not a power-washer!

Think ahead! Don’t use water to defrost frozen foods – instead, leave them in the fridge overnight to defrost.

Boil food in as little water as possible. You just need enough to submerge your pasta and potatoes, and with less water you keep more flavor and nutrients in your veggies.

Use the water left over from boiling to water your plants (just let it cool down first!).

If you’re planning on steaming veggies to go along with rice, potatoes or pasta, put your vegetable steamer right on top of the starchy foods you’re boiling. This way you’ll save water and space on your stove, and have fewer pots and pans to clean up afterwards!

Eat meat and dairy foods fewer times a day, or just in smaller portions. The amount of water used to produce animal products far exceeds the amount used for growing vegetables and grains. Learn more »

When grocery shopping, try to buy more whole foods like vegetables, rice and potatoes. Processed foods and beverages like chips, candies, pre-made meals and sodas take a lot more water to produce than foods that come straight from the farm.

Around the House

Use your laundry machine only when it’s full.

If you’re in the market for a new washer, choose an energy star certified model – it will save you gallons of water per load.

Don’t over-water your plants! Many plants die from over-watering. When you water your plants, poke at the soil with your finger. If the soil is dry and hard, give your plants some water, but if the soil is damp, leave your poor plant alone!

Outdoor Entertainment

Use a pool cover! You’ll keep leaves and bugs out of the pool, and save thousands of gallons of water from evaporation. Learn more »

When you clean the filters in your swimming pool or outdoor spa, make sure to direct the water you spray onto your lawn or other outdoor plants.

Keep your pool water cool – the warmer the water, the faster it evaporates.

Check your pool for leaks often, and if you find a leak get it fixed as soon as possible.

Keep your pool’s water level low to reduce the amount of water lost to splashing.

If your family wants to play with the hose or the sprinkler, make sure they do it in a dry part of the lawn that can use the water.

Avoid buying water toys that require a constant stream of water. Instead, try a blow-up kiddy pool that you only have to fill once.

Don’t buy or use a decorative fountain unless it re-uses its water.

Lawns and Gardens

Water your lawn during the cool parts of the day, like in the early morning or late evening. This helps to prevent evaporation that happens during the hot hours of the day.

Don't water the lawn on windy days, because wind increases evaporation.

Set up your sprinklers so they’re not spraying the sidewalk or driveway.

Use a drip irrigation system instead of a hose or sprinkler to water your garden.

Hand-water your lawn or garden instead of using sprinklers when possible. You’ll use less than half as much water this way.

Get a rain sensor for your automatic sprinklers, or just make sure to turn them off on days when rain is expected.

Set lawn mower blades one notch higher. Longer grass means less evaporation.

Direct the water drain line from your air conditioner to a flower bed, tree base or onto your lawn.

Xeriscape! Plant native species that don’t require additional watering around your house. Grassy lawns make sense in wet climates, but in dry areas like the southwest they’re huge water-wasters. In dry climates, try landscaping with rock gardens, cacti, and native trees and plants that won’t require watering. Learn more about xeriscaping »

Car Wash

Find out if any of your local car wash establishments recycle their wash water, and give your business to the one with the best water conservation practices.

Don’t leave the hose running when you wash your vehicle. Purchase a squeeze (pistol grip) nozzle for your hose so you don’t have to turn the tap to start and stop the flow.

Your hose is not a power-washer! Use soap and a sponge to clean the car, and only use the hose to rinse it off.

Drive your car onto your lawn when you wash it by hand - you’ll irrigate your lawn and get two jobs done at once!

Household Products

Recycle everything that you can. Read more about recycling and find out what you can recycle in your town.

Buy re-usable products for you home instead of disposables.

Buy higher-quality electronics and appliances instead of going for cheap models that don’t last as long. This might cost more money up front, but it will save you big in the long-run.

Buy second-hand goods whenever possible. You’ll find that lightly-used, higher quality items often cost less than new low-quality goods.

Your trash is someone else’s treasure! Make sure to donate or re-sell your old stuff instead of just throwing things out.

Rain Collection

Set up a rain barrel under a rain gutter outside your house. You can catch hundreds of gallons to use for watering the lawn, washing the car, etc. Just don’t drink it, and make sure to keep it covered with a screen so it doesn’t breed mosquitos. Learn more about rain barrels »

Graywater Systems

If you’re building a new house, or re-doing the plumbing in your old house, consider setting up a graywater system. These systems allow you to re-use the water from your sinks, laundry machine and dishwasher for watering plants and flushing toilets.