Tuesday, March 18, 2014

In How Many of the United States is it Illegal to be Off the Grid?

ט"ז לחודש השנים עשר ב' תשע"ד

Real Farmacy: Florida Makes Off-Grid Living Illegal – Mandates All Homes Must Be Connected To An Electricity Grid

Arjun Walia, March 10, 2014

It’s no secret that an opposition to sustainable living exists. Earlier this year, Texas state brought several SWAT teams to a sustainable community and threatened to shut it down. Each one of the community members were initially handcuffed at gunpoint. It was called “The Garden of Eden Community,” and was totally self sustainable. You can read more about that here.

This time, it’s Robin Speronis that’s come under fire. She lives off the grid in Florida, completely independent of the city’s water and electric system. A few weeks ago, officials ruled her off-grid home illegal. Officials cited the International Property Maintenance Code, which mandates that homes be connected to an electricity grid and a running water source. That’s just like saying our dependency on corporations isn’t even a choice. The battle to live without most utilities has been ongoing for Robin, the self-sufficient woman has lived for more than a year and a half using solar energy, a propane camping stove and rain water.

In the end, she was found not guilty of not having a proper sewer or electrical system; but was guilty of not being hooked up to an approved water supply. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Wind Turbine
Jewish town, Samaria
Besides the aforementioned Texas, Colorado has apparently also been causing problems with those who would like to collect their own rainwater.

"Unbelievable!" would be a gross understatement.

How many other states have been practicing such shenanigans?

I have no doubt that these states have been doing this for their constituents "own good," safety reasons and the like. After all, why should the states foot the bill for an illness contracted by an "unapproved" water supply or sewage system, or from lack of electricity? Anyway, that has appeared to be their logic.

It is the same old story. Governments find ways to show its populations that they need them. The truth is that they need us more than we need them.

In some areas of Israel, towns are supplied with water from wells. This can even be more convenient for the government.

Fortunately, solar heating has been encouraged, and it does not make any money from the electricity we do not have to use to heat our water. From April through as far as the beginning of November, heating water in the past few apartments where I have lived has been free from the sun.

In fact, if you are willing to foot the bill for your own alternative electrical power system, which I have heard can run around $100,000, the Israeli electric company will even by any surplus from you.

Pictured above is a friend's wind turbine, which has taken him and his family completely off of the electric grid. In his area, heating homes during the winter is often done with wood burning stoves. The homes are small, insulation can be added, and the wood from is plentiful, if you are willing to be apart of the tree pruning projects during the fall. The electricity collected is used for washing machines, perhaps a luxury, big help to growing families with small children, power tools, and cooking back-up, in case gas suppliers are unable to make their deliveries, or if their supplies suddenly cease.

So far, the Israeli government has been focusing on other ways to control its populace.Nonetheless, it pays to be prepared for the possible worst case scenarios popping up in the future.

5 comments:

LondonMale said...

Your site is about Jewish issues, yet it has a large advert of a woman advising me to "Date Arab Girls".
How does that add up?

Esser Agaroth said...

Thanks, LondonMale,

You're right! It doesn't add up.

I do not always see the same ads readers do. I depend on you to let me know, and, if possible, send me the web addresses, so that I can block them in my settings.

Thanks again for point this out.

Jesterhead45 said...

While I guess it depends on the house, say if one desires to live off the grid and is willing to foot the bill for their own alternative electrical power system in Israel, then what could they expect to pay in terms of annual bills compared to a typical Israeli home that is still connected to the grid?





Esser Agaroth said...

Jesterhead,

Good question.

Unless still paying off a loan to buy an alternative system, solar would not cost anything, save for necessary, future repairs.

Generators - fuel.
Heating - wood-gathered or bought, oil

I'm afraid I couldn't say.

I think it's important to remind ourselves that living off the grid isn't [just] about expensive; it's about independence.

If the grid goes down, or if power is lost, like during the December, 2013 snow storm, people would not have to worry as much, because they picked their hand of cards, instead of depending on what the local companies were able to give them.

Dave19128 said...

Question: Ever wonder why digital electric meters are still so big and clunky when everything else has miniaturized?

Answer: So it can accommodate Big Brother's wall penetrating radar on 'persons of interest'--The better to see you with my dear.

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