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Off Grid And Sustainable Living


Xann

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Unemployment today is significant in most developed nations and it’s only going to get worse. By 2034, just a few decades, mid-level jobs will be by and large obsolete. So far the benefits have only gone to the ultra-wealthy, the top 1%. This coming technological revolution is set to wipe out what looks to be the entire middle class. Not only will computers be able to perform tasks more cheaply than people, they’ll be more efficient too.

Accountants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, bureaucrats, and financial analysts beware: your jobs are not safe. According to The Economist, computers will be able to analyze and compare reams of data to make financial decisions or medical ones. There will be less of a chance of fraud or misdiagnosis, and the process will be more efficient. Not only are these folks in trouble, such a trend is likely to freeze salaries for those who remain employed, while income gaps only increase in size. You can imagine what this will do to politics and social stability.

Big Think - This may be a worse case scenario generally, but I actually think some industries job losses will be even more acute. I'm currently working with people developing systems that will put many thousands out of work.

So if you think it's shit now, how do you think Tory England (cos let's face it, Scotland's leaving) is going to deal with this? We must surely also add May that is trying to right royally screw up education for the poor, just to hammer in an even bigger wedge between the haves and have nots.

The medium and long term picture for the majority is a race for the bottom as far as quality of life is concerned.

Sticking two fingers up at this failing society and getting out of it becomes more attractive with every passing year. Especially with independently developed technologies improving all the time.

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A growing number of my friends are seeking alternatives. A few are proper hippy types in permaculture collectives and such. Another is raising a family in a yurt. This isn't quite as drastic as it sounds. It's a multi yurt, a large central space with smaller connected yurts - Think glamping more than camping. Others have moved to warmer climes and have installed solar power equipment. They grow much of their own food and trade with local farmers for dairy and meat products. They work in the UK over Summer to cover their bills such as N.I contributions. Another friend is making a 'Hobbit House' under a hill - Though I must admit her outside toilet gives me the fear! She should have an inside bog at some point. Her guest house is nearer completion.

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Visiting folks over Christmas it became obvious even friends earning good money were wanting out.

I signed up to a couple of off grid collectives and it surprised me how much has been forgotten. For example it's possible to grow Mediterranean fruit further north in walled enclosures, as they create their own microclimate.

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Throw in a couple of polytunnels and you're starting to get towards being self sufficient for fruit and veg.

Mixing the old and the new seems like the way to go.

Septic tanks under the garden that break down effluent into nutrients that slowly pass through the walls of the tank and into your garden.

These folks get a quite a bit of power out of a fairly small pipe.

Apologies to Darren and the Tree Hugger thread. I'd discussed this with maqroll before, and I don't think you have to be a tree hugger to want something different in today's World.

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Awesome thread. Yes it is a bit different. This is probably more relevant to my interests anyway.

I don't really worry about a lot, but the world my kids will inherit sure concerns me.

I think one of the industries that will be isolated from automation will be IT development e.g. computer programming. Yes, once AI gets to the point where it can replicate code itself humans will be squeezed out but that's a long time away. In the meantime lots of teams still have to write the code for all this automation.

I'd love to go off grid. Perhaps it's closer to my reach than I think. I like the idea of a south facing hillside sustainable house with all of the advances we now have so you can also live comfortably.

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Love this thread! @Xela have you heard about Earth Ships? There is a a whole community in Taos New Mexico and people just live off grid year round. The structure is made from old tires (which can't be used for any other purpose once discarded) and everything else is basically garbage that other people throw away! They provide your food & need no electricity or power. 

 

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Earthships can be built in any part of the world and still provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production. The Most Versatile and Economical sustainable green building design in the world.

http://earthship.org/

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Xann said:

You been?

No. He was the keyboard player in my old band, but we lost touch for years, until reconnecting via Facebook a couple of years ago. Communal living not my scene in any way, TBH. 

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3 hours ago, darrenm said:

I think one of the industries that will be isolated from automation will be IT development e.g. computer programming. Yes, once AI gets to the point where it can replicate code itself humans will be squeezed out but that's a long time away. In the meantime lots of teams still have to write the code for all this automation.

Not my area of expertise, but I think there may have been some big changes in the last few months. Deep neural network technology has been added to Google Translate. You'll probably understand the ramifications of that better than I.

47 minutes ago, NorthernGordon said:

This is a great weekend festival near Loughborough in September, I'll be DJing at it and did last year's too.

My inlaws are new age/hippy folks and have got me into making my own herbal remedies for ailments, picking berries and plants to use in cooking etc.

http://positivevibrationsfestival.org/

I know the Green Futures gang, they run the solar Toad Hall stage. Lovely people.

36 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

No. He was the keyboard player in my old band, but we lost touch for years, until reconnecting via Facebook a couple of years ago. Communal living not my scene in any way, TBH. 

You not curious? I can understand an aversion to some of the drippy vegan malarkey of the 60s and 70s, but I think the next wave of folks seeking escape will be less about crystal healing, spirit guides and polenta and more about fleeing a toxic society that thinks the Tories, Farage, Trump and fracking are acceptable.

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22 minutes ago, Xann said:

Not my area of expertise, but I think there may have been some big changes in the last few months. Deep neural network technology has been added to Google Translate. You'll probably understand the ramifications of that better than I.

I know the Green Futures gang, they run the solar Toad Hall stage. Lovely people.

You not curious? I can understand an aversion to some of the drippy vegan malarkey of the 60s and 70s, but I think the next wave of folks seeking escape will be less about crystal healing, spirit guides and polenta and more about fleeing a toxic society that thinks the Tories, Farage, Trump and fracking are acceptable.

True. Apparently, Lauriston Hall has a few new agey types, but they're a minority. My mate is very much an atheist rationalist. 

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as per the Armageddon thread I'm too incompetent to survive off the grid , but if someone promises to kill and cook  animals for me and build me somewhere to live , I'll do all the IT support

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44 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

as per the Armageddon thread I'm too incompetent to survive off the grid , but if someone promises to kill and cook  animals for me and build me somewhere to live , I'll do all the IT support

I'm surprised Tony! Quite positive. I thought you'd be all "Damn you hippies, I love my central heating, Mrs. Thatcher blah blah blah" ;)

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18 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

I'm surprised Tony! Quite positive. I thought you'd be all "Damn you hippies, I love my central heating, Mrs. Thatcher blah blah blah" ;)

Witchcraft - there's your connection, right there.

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30 minutes ago, TheAuthority said:

I'm surprised Tony! Quite positive. I thought you'd be all "Damn you hippies, I love my central heating, Mrs. Thatcher blah blah blah" ;)

I do the odd camping trip with the kids even have a funky solar power thingy to charge my iPad and iPhone whilst I'm there 

did 5 days in a tent in zambia back in Aug and did sorta contemplate faking my death and just living out my days by the Victoria falls .. then a load of back packers with braided hair , those string bracelet things on their wrists and  a guitar moved into the tent next door and ended any thought ..

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