Off The Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space...

[katty]

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-rosen/off-the-grid-9-amazing-at_b_654157.html
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Nick Rosen.Author, Off the Grid
Posted: July 22, 2010 07:05 AM

As I crisscrossed America researching for Off The Grid: Inside the Movement for More Space, Less Government, and True Independence in Modern America, I encountered an unsatisfied, pent-up demand to live offgrid. And those who seek to live this way want to do so without obstacles like zoning, building permits, or social ostracism (all of which I encountered). I suspect most people consider using a composting toilet, for example, a fate worse than sleeping in their car. But for those on a limited budget, living off the grid appears to solve all sorts of problems, housing being the most immediate; there are no power or water bills, which reduces the amount of money one needs to live well. As long as one can afford the up-front payment for the equipment, one can live comfortably, use the latest gadgets, and avoid most of the hardships suffered by the earlier generation of off-gridders.

The main requirement is a change of mind-set. Most Americans are taught, or at the very least encouraged to believe, that homes must be a certain way.