PEAK OIL: Living off the Grid, Saving the Species and One Sky

My brilliant friend Mike Simpson runs the NGO One Sky: The Canadian Institute for Sustainable Living. One Sky, in short, "promotes sustainable living globally," from Smithers BC, to Calabar, Nigeria to Sierra Leone to Peru and beyond. They stand for integration, integrity and a sharing of ideas and practical applications on the ground.

Every time I spend time with Mike (and Gail) I learn a ton of actually practical things (and things metaphysical), and of course these three August days in Smithers, BC were no exception. Upon my urging, Mike gave me a ten-minute crash course in living off the grid, and more intelligently on the grid, and let me film it. I hadn't even heard of grid-intertie systems. And lo and behold, one of the reasons, Mike says, that solar isn't yet common place is because all of the non-renewable resources, oil, nuclear etc, are relentlessly subsidized. Subsidized? In our 'free market' system. What the hell? Yes, that was sarcasm.

Learn what you can, do what you can. You know, love is a sustainable resource, too.

May all sisters and brothers live a little better, a little more sustainably, with a little more justice.

Pete

See www.onesky.ca

See also Gail Hochachka's www.drishti.ca

www.petemccormack.com

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• solar panels
• living off the grid
• peak oil
• sustainability
• nuclear
• grid-intertie systems
• environment
• renewable resources
• fossil fuels
• energy
• earth
• Mike SImpson
• Pete McCormack

[mae951]

Another option would be to use solar only for the 'easy' stuff: lights and the water pump.  Extremely efficient LEDs are efficient, and the infrequent use of water, means solar panels would have an easier job of keeping a small batter bank (two golf cart batteries) charged.

[FrJcsc]

There is no such thing as peak oil, at least not for another couple centuries. Our present oil limitations are cause by environmentalists.

[HomelessShelterRice]

If you can't afford solar panels I like how he said, "you don't need to go and get solar panels to make a big impact, it makes much more impact to actually reduce your energy footprint."

[satellitetune]

Great vidio

[Ficker2]

If you're going drop the subsidies for oil and natura gas extraction then you better drop the Crown royalties on oil and gas as well.

[homeismn]

What kind of panels are they and how mny watts each?

Thanks awesome video

[fnkdrmr86]

garage band music.......sweeeet

[pinetar100]

nice setup looking to start a system . how do you keep the battery warm

[MrEnergyCzar]

I converted my home to a net-zero powered solar home and made a video about it....It's called, "Preparing for peak oil"...great off the grid video...

[Umaxen]

There are lots of options available VERY cheaply ! High efficiency wind turbine $425 complete, solar, passive heat boxes, solar fans, candle stoves, 12 volt off grid water heater, 12 or 120 volt power for free, radiator heat. All this is cheap compared to gas and oil. Pays for itself in a year as long as you do it yourself. A heat box gives you 140" heat forever, for free. How hot is your heater outlet? 90"? ac