Living "off the grid" is usually the choice of the hardened survivalist, the mountain man and perhaps the odd fugitive running from bounty hunters. But more and more Americans are now opting to disconnect from the grid — government, electric and other utility services — which delivers increasingly expensive, fossil-fuel based power and, as millions in the Northeast learned in the 2003 blackout, is anything but infallible. In 2006, Home Power magazine estimated that more than 180,000 U.S. homes were supplying their own power.

By Bryan Walsh - TIME Magazine , November 10, 2008

From the outside, the house at the bottom of Stocking Street looks no different from any other in the cul-de-sac. But step around the back and a purpose-built shed hums with the latest in green technology - a state of the art hydrogen fuel cell. Today the house in Lye, near Stourbridge in the West Midlands, will be opened as the first permanent hydrogen-powered home connected to the national grid. The refrigerator-sized fuel cell unit will produce 1.5kW of electricity and 3kW of heat for the occupants of the house, with any excess power being fed into the national grid. "You shouldn't notice any difference in the house," said Waldemar Bujalski from the University of Birmingham's fuel cells group, which will monitor its performance and reliability.

By Alok Jha - The Guardian | UK , October 14, 2008

For compulsive groomers who either spend time off-grid or just want to stop consuming toxic batteries, the PowerPlus Piranha Dynamo Shaver may provide a solution. It's a great Christmas present for the eco-minded man or woman on your list who's into helping stop global warming at it's source.

By AlternativeConsumer.com , October 13, 2008

The "Green Recovery" report is part of a larger proposal by several labor and environmental organizations to improve the shaky American economy by infusing $100 billion - the amount spent on the 2008 economic stimulus checks - into promoting renewable energy, retrofitting buildings to be energy-efficient and expanding public transportation. The proposal could create 2 million jobs nationwide, provide more jobs than an equal investment in the oil industry and bolster employment in the construction and manufacturing fields, according to the study, which was commissioned by the Center for American Progress, a liberal political non-profit based in Washington, D.C.

By Michelle Lee - The Press of Atlantic City , September 22, 2008

Big-name contenders are vying in Texas for billions of dollars in high-voltage power line projects in a competition other parts of the U.S. may copy to keep up with rising demand for renewable energy. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., major power companies, and asset-management firm Babcock & Brown Ltd. all want a piece of the state's latest energy boom and are filing transmission proposals with the Texas Public Utility Commission, which are due Friday. The state plans to select developers for nearly $5 billion in projectsaimed at connecting wind generation in rural areas with growing electricity demand in cities.

CattleNetwork.com , September 12, 2008

When Mildred and Jack Kinser decided to retire and move back to Paonia, they selected a site just three miles from where she had grown up. The couple decided their location on Fruitland Mesa would require something other than the usual utility service. Getting power out to them would have been very expensive. They turned to water and wind energy for their power sources. It’s been a great decision. “We had sold the house in Palisade and bought this land and a log cabin package when I got sick and couldn’t work anymore,” Mildred said. When they first arrived, they used a gas generator for electricity. “That was not convenient.

By Kathy Browning - The Delat County Independent | Grand Mesa, CO , September 10, 2008

Mental atrophy is all around us. It’s a big theme of “Wall-E,” that fierce indictment of the human race disguised as a family cartoon. Its human characters are supersized and infantilized by all-encompassing robotic care. If our machines are coddling us into idiocy, the right reaction is to bristle. An insurgency has been brewing for a few years now, made up of the inventive, the curious and the technologically restless.

By Lawrence Downes - The New York Times | Editorial , August 25, 2008

In its drive to go green, the technology industry has so far focused mainly on big targets like corporations and especially computer data centers, the power-hungry computing engine rooms of the Internet economy. Next come the hundreds of millions of desktop and laptop personal computers in households worldwide. Microsoft, the nonprofit Climate Savers Computing Initiative and a start-up called Verdiem are combining to put a spotlight on the energy-saving opportunity in PCs, and distributing a free software tool to consumers to help them do it.

By Steve Lohr - The New York Times , August 06, 2008

Four years ago, Harvey Bowers launched a crusade to get off the grid after a line-clearing crew dropped a tree on a pen housing his pet reindeer. So far, the Wasilla area bed and breakfast owner is finding it easier than he thought. He's not energy independent by a long shot. But he's cut his home power bills nearly in half by switching to energy-efficient light bulbs and installing his own solar power system. "I haven't gotten rid of anything (appliances). I haven't turned off anything," he said. "The more I'm around it ... the more I'm convinced it's possible to go zero energy."

By S.J. Komarnitskym - Anchorage Daily News , August 05, 2008

When a family decides to take the step to build a model "green home" there really is no exact"how to" book. The first thing Joe Goldblum did was to hire his team locally. Building any home is always difficult but there was a new challenge every step of the way. It demanded lots of research, patience, perseverance, compromise and a strong will to succeed. He was a collaborator in every facet of the project. His first hand report is now a must read for others.

By Joe Goldblum - The East Hampton Star , July 17, 2008