An article on off-grid living and some thoughts

I found this on Google news.It's an article over at CNN about off-grid living. It all seems like a great idea. And it is as long as living that way is a choice. Of course there was the bit at the end about how everyone should be doing this or we're all going to die. I contend that if everyone lived this way we'd be in serious trouble. Then again the majority of people couldn't possibly live this way. You have to be smart. You have to be resourceful. You have to have a good sense of responsibility. If you don't have the money for a really nice setup then you'll be living like a citizen of a third world country. If the situation dictates that we all have to live like that then most of us will fall into the latter category. Being forced into that situation by real environmental problems is one thing. You do what you gotta do to survive. Being forced into that situation by a government that wants to stem a problem that may not even be happening is something else entirely.

There was one little anecdote about a settlement in Scotland where everyone lives off grid. A noblewoman owns all of the land. Sure she charges extremely low rent ($15 a month) but what happens if she decides to raise the rent? Or worse, what happens when she dies? Who takes ownership of the land? What will the new owner decide to do with it? Little setups like that seem like such a great idea but there are way too many factors to consider for me to want to jump into it myself. Most importantly you're living at the behest of someone else. No thanks.

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