Well, I looked at this, and decided not to fool myself. There are some comforts of modern life that I take for granted, and do not want to give up. But, there are compromises.
My plan is to have a home built largely underground in a hill, to help control temperatures without power, and protect from most of nature's furies. Using this terrain to my advantage, I'm going to deploy wind turbines, passive hydro turbines, and solar panels.
Coupled with high efficiency lighting, and low power appliances, my electricity needs should more than be met. This will also be with a diesel generator on standby.
The vehicles on the property will be flex fuel, diesel or electric.
The crops I would run would be corn, soy, cannabis (natch
), some wheat, potatoes, and various veggies for the table, of course. The corn provides valuable meal, flour, and vegetable. It can of course also be fermented, resulting in alcohol to power both me and my flex fuel cars.
Soy obviously provides food, feedstock, and again, oil, which can be refined into bio-diesel.
Wheat produces flour and whole grains, while again, providing a raw feedstock.
Potatoes, again, raw food, and another great source of ethanol production.
Cannabis, well, we all know how useful this plant is. Medicine, fiber, food, and, again, fuel.
This will allow me to maintain the modern standard of living I expect, plus allow me to work the land more efficiently. Tractors, trucks, mini-logsplitters, all still operational. Running hot and cold water, lights, climate control, refrigeration, all chugging along.
I've even found diesel and flex fuel aircraft engines for the STOL and VTOL aircraft I want
I'll be dealing with household solid waste through composting, eliminating blackwater as well. Gray water will be dealt with through an artificial wetland, which will support a catfish pond, and provide access to waterfowl.
As far as animals, I plan on limiting those. I have no interest in raising cattle for meat, for example. I may let some run around wild and go hunt them or something, but I'm not using valuable food, land, and water resources to sustain them. Pigs too.
I will have some goats and chickens, and possibly a dairy cow or two. Something that can be sustained on the by products of the agriculture.
The majority of my meat will come from Catfish, Goat, and Chicken. Obviously, there will be some hunting.
Water obviously comes from the spring/creek.
I figure this gives my family the best fighting chance. We could potentially maintain our quality of life for years, with as little impact on our environment as possible.
I have given it a little thought
My plan is to have a home built largely underground in a hill, to help control temperatures without power, and protect from most of nature's furies. Using this terrain to my advantage, I'm going to deploy wind turbines, passive hydro turbines, and solar panels.
Coupled with high efficiency lighting, and low power appliances, my electricity needs should more than be met. This will also be with a diesel generator on standby.
The vehicles on the property will be flex fuel, diesel or electric.
The crops I would run would be corn, soy, cannabis (natch
), some wheat, potatoes, and various veggies for the table, of course. The corn provides valuable meal, flour, and vegetable. It can of course also be fermented, resulting in alcohol to power both me and my flex fuel cars.Soy obviously provides food, feedstock, and again, oil, which can be refined into bio-diesel.
Wheat produces flour and whole grains, while again, providing a raw feedstock.
Potatoes, again, raw food, and another great source of ethanol production.
Cannabis, well, we all know how useful this plant is. Medicine, fiber, food, and, again, fuel.
This will allow me to maintain the modern standard of living I expect, plus allow me to work the land more efficiently. Tractors, trucks, mini-logsplitters, all still operational. Running hot and cold water, lights, climate control, refrigeration, all chugging along.
I've even found diesel and flex fuel aircraft engines for the STOL and VTOL aircraft I want
I'll be dealing with household solid waste through composting, eliminating blackwater as well. Gray water will be dealt with through an artificial wetland, which will support a catfish pond, and provide access to waterfowl.
As far as animals, I plan on limiting those. I have no interest in raising cattle for meat, for example. I may let some run around wild and go hunt them or something, but I'm not using valuable food, land, and water resources to sustain them. Pigs too.
I will have some goats and chickens, and possibly a dairy cow or two. Something that can be sustained on the by products of the agriculture.
The majority of my meat will come from Catfish, Goat, and Chicken. Obviously, there will be some hunting.
Water obviously comes from the spring/creek.
I figure this gives my family the best fighting chance. We could potentially maintain our quality of life for years, with as little impact on our environment as possible.
I have given it a little thought
