Another green blogger - easy read
Mar. 27th, 2007 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenFound this guy through the noimpactman.com blog. I'm taking a break from reading the heavier stuff at energybulletin.net as it takes me a long time to read just half the stuff there. At noimpactman's site I scanned through a couple of his older posts that he was featuring -- one was on 'junk mail tree killers' -- he had a handy link to an optout site for opting out of credit card and insurance offers, so I went for that. Just the 5 year option, because that's electronic so you can do it right then and there. There's also info for where to mail a letter for permanent optout (has to be in writing). But five years will do, since likely we won't be living at this house by then. So since we'll just have to do it again for the next place, might as well save the paper and postage.
Anyway, here's the URL for the guy I found through noimpactman:
http://littlebloginthebigwoods.blogspot.com/
He's been living off the grid for 30 years!
Mind you, having read through the brief description of the place and how he does things (side bar on the right hand side of the screen), I don't think I'd do everything the way he's doing them -- also, Ashfield, MA is not wherever he is in PA. Different options available, etc. And he did finally get a phone.
But he does have some sound ideas, and it's nice to hear about someone who's done this sort of thing for quite a while, not just as an experiment. He's got a fun way of expressing things too, and a sound view of things. Here's a few bits I liked, because they express his views and character:
1) Lots of folks somehow get the idea that since we live in a log cabin, without grid electricity, etc, somehow we DISAPPROVE of the rest of the world. And them. No, we don't.
The world is what it is. We are what we are. You should be what you want to be.
It's really that simple, but there are a bunch of folks who will never believe you mean it- because they, themselves do not approve of that kind of personal freedom. They believe you should be free to do what they tell you is the right thing.
Let them eat compost.
2) A couple of the comments from eco-nazis were outraged that NoImpactMan was using a (GASP) ... computer!!
Oh, horrors.
Look, you nazi morons, THIS WORLD - this one, right here- is the one we have to live in. There are computers all over the place, and they are never going away. They are, in fact, with a little care, a terrifically powerful tool. I own a chainsaw, too.
So- read my "green practices" on the sidebar here. I'm off the grid. Limited power. And I do (how can you tell?) use computers. Plural. They are all notebooks- because- guess what? they use less power than desktops. And their batteries are filled up each day by... sunlight.
And one of my favs for today:
3) Greenies are human too- and quite capable of hearing only what we want to. "Hey, I've got this figured out, quit bugging me about it!"
I am a scientist by training. One of the basic tenets is - never quit doubting; never quit thinking; never quit looking; even when you're 95% sure you know an answer.
Are you struggling with questions about how to live green? Should I give up my toilet paper? Should I sell my car?
My very first advice - take a deep breath, and slow down. You don't have to make these decisions instantly - in fact it will probably be far better if you don't.
Think about it. Close your eyes, and see yourself 5 years from now- doing or not doing. If you think, "maybe I could..." then- give it a try. Often you can get family members to go along if you do set a time limit on the experiment, like the Yw/oTP folks are doing. "Look, we'll try this for 2 months and then talk about it, ok?"
All the pieces have to fit together. And it just takes time to get there.
Anyway, here's the URL for the guy I found through noimpactman:
http://littlebloginthebigwoods.blogspot.com/
He's been living off the grid for 30 years!
Mind you, having read through the brief description of the place and how he does things (side bar on the right hand side of the screen), I don't think I'd do everything the way he's doing them -- also, Ashfield, MA is not wherever he is in PA. Different options available, etc. And he did finally get a phone.
But he does have some sound ideas, and it's nice to hear about someone who's done this sort of thing for quite a while, not just as an experiment. He's got a fun way of expressing things too, and a sound view of things. Here's a few bits I liked, because they express his views and character:
1) Lots of folks somehow get the idea that since we live in a log cabin, without grid electricity, etc, somehow we DISAPPROVE of the rest of the world. And them. No, we don't.
The world is what it is. We are what we are. You should be what you want to be.
It's really that simple, but there are a bunch of folks who will never believe you mean it- because they, themselves do not approve of that kind of personal freedom. They believe you should be free to do what they tell you is the right thing.
Let them eat compost.
2) A couple of the comments from eco-nazis were outraged that NoImpactMan was using a (GASP) ... computer!!
Oh, horrors.
Look, you nazi morons, THIS WORLD - this one, right here- is the one we have to live in. There are computers all over the place, and they are never going away. They are, in fact, with a little care, a terrifically powerful tool. I own a chainsaw, too.
So- read my "green practices" on the sidebar here. I'm off the grid. Limited power. And I do (how can you tell?) use computers. Plural. They are all notebooks- because- guess what? they use less power than desktops. And their batteries are filled up each day by... sunlight.
And one of my favs for today:
3) Greenies are human too- and quite capable of hearing only what we want to. "Hey, I've got this figured out, quit bugging me about it!"
I am a scientist by training. One of the basic tenets is - never quit doubting; never quit thinking; never quit looking; even when you're 95% sure you know an answer.
Are you struggling with questions about how to live green? Should I give up my toilet paper? Should I sell my car?
My very first advice - take a deep breath, and slow down. You don't have to make these decisions instantly - in fact it will probably be far better if you don't.
Think about it. Close your eyes, and see yourself 5 years from now- doing or not doing. If you think, "maybe I could..." then- give it a try. Often you can get family members to go along if you do set a time limit on the experiment, like the Yw/oTP folks are doing. "Look, we'll try this for 2 months and then talk about it, ok?"
All the pieces have to fit together. And it just takes time to get there.
