Living Off the Grid in the City Podcast. A significant benefit of living off the grid is the ability to be self-sustainable, which means you can provide for your basic needs without relying solely on others. Many people believe they are already self-sufficient because they pay for these needs, but in reality, this often involves limited choices about where and how to obtain them. For instance, most go to supermarkets for food, pay for water utilities, and depend on banks for shelter. This reliance makes us vulnerable if money runs out, or during crises like pandemics or wars. The question then becomes whether you have the skills and resources to meet your basic needs independently.
Self-sustainability can be achieved to varying extents. It requires the skills and access to resources necessary to fulfill your basic needs indefinitely. Everyone should have access to free water, food, and shelter, which are viewed as human rights. However, this access has often been limited, and individuals must be creative to regain it. Living off the grid allows individuals to access key resources and develop the skills necessary to protect and share them. This means that self-sustainability extends beyond basic needs and includes other areas as well.
The text highlights, in particular, the importance of being self-sustainable regarding water. It emphasizes the economic advantages of disconnecting from utility water systems. To successfully manage your water needs, it is crucial to establish alternative water sources before cutting ties with purchased water services. Multiple alternative sources should be readily available. The text outlines essential steps to become water self-sustaining: first, find and maintain access to water sources; second, transport the water to your living area; third, have systems in place to use the water for everyday tasks; and fourth, consider how to store water safely.
Self-sustainability can be achieved to varying extents. It requires the skills and access to resources necessary to fulfill your basic needs indefinitely. Everyone should have access to free water, food, and shelter, which are viewed as human rights. However, this access has often been limited, and individuals must be creative to regain it. Living off the grid allows individuals to access key resources and develop the skills necessary to protect and share them. This means that self-sustainability extends beyond basic needs and includes other areas as well.
The text highlights, in particular, the importance of being self-sustainable regarding water. It emphasizes the economic advantages of disconnecting from utility water systems. To successfully manage your water needs, it is crucial to establish alternative water sources before cutting ties with purchased water services. Multiple alternative sources should be readily available. The text outlines essential steps to become water self-sustaining: first, find and maintain access to water sources; second, transport the water to your living area; third, have systems in place to use the water for everyday tasks; and fourth, consider how to store water safely.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Section 5. Self-Sustainability
00:03A central advantage of living off the grid is your ability to be self-sustainable.
00:09Here, self-sustainability is simply being able to provide basic needs for yourself and your dependents freely.
00:16You may argue that if you are a working adult, you've been providing yourself with basic needs freely all along.
00:23But in fact, most of us have not.
00:26We have been mostly merely buying those services and goods, without choice as where and how to get those.
00:33We've been paying for water most of our lives.
00:36Or if you are luckier, taking purchased water and drinking it.
00:41We've been paying for most of our food.
00:43We spend vast amounts of money on it and follow the expectation to drive to the supermarket and purchase it.
00:50We've been paying for our shelter which was provided and built by a bank.
00:54For you to purchase at a high cost.
00:57We are expected to depend on other people for just about everything.
01:01And we just pay them so they can keep providing those things and services to us.
01:07We've turned into walking ATMs, spitting out money everywhere for everything we do and get.
01:12Then, what happens if the money you have runs out, loses value or you become unemployed?
01:19What happens if there is a catastrophe, war or a pandemic that stops the economy for some time?
01:26Do you have the skills to provide your and your loved ones basic needs using resources you can access?
01:32The key question here is access.
01:35And I believe self-sustainability satisfies all of these questions.
01:40Self-sustainability is achievable to varying degrees.
01:44Of course, accepting the fact that you cannot be completely detached from your environment and other people.
01:50Self-sustainability is simply having the skills, technologies and access to resources to provide basic needs indefinitely.
02:00As discussed, your access to free water, food and shelter should not have been curtailed.
02:07They are human rights.
02:08But since these have egregiously been allowed to be severely curtailed, in your past, you now have to be extraordinarily creative and fight your way back to gain that access.
02:20Living off the grid helps you gain access to those resources and gives you tools and skills to sustainably use, protect and share them.
02:29You may be self-sustainable in basic needs and many other non-basics.
02:33In earlier chapters and sections, I focused on the disadvantages of being forced to use and paying the high cost for water, shelter, energy and communications.
02:45Here, I argue that free access to those are part of self-sustainability and our basic needs.
02:52So, I will introduce them here, then will be detailed later.
02:55I believe that self-sustainability, among other endeavors, satisfies your personal and intellectual growth, pursuit of happiness, relationships, etc.
03:06How this occurs may be touched upon throughout this text.
03:10But here, I will focus on the advantages of self-sustainability for water, food, energy and communications.
03:18Water, self-sustainability
03:20The economic advantage of being off the utility water grid should be plain by now.
03:26When living off the water grid, you obviously still need to drink water.
03:31So, a tried and tested running water alternative system should be in place before any talk on disconnecting from the water grid service.
03:40In fact, you should have more than one alternative water source at the ready.
03:45That is how important water is.
03:47You may already have an alternative water source, as many people purchase bottled water in addition to having their utility water.
03:57But, if you want your water to be completely free, as it should be, you will have a lot of work ahead of you.
04:04Technical details on water harnessing systems will be discussed in part 3 of this book.
04:11Here, I will briefly discuss what it takes to be water self-sustained.
04:15You need to find water sources, gain access to those sources and dependably maintain access to those.
04:23Then, you need to get the water to you.
04:26It may take resources, technology and some work to get the water from the source to your place of living.
04:32Also, you have to use the water with systems that pipe it and run it to where you dispense it for drinking, washing, etc.
04:40Lastly, you may want to or need to store water.
04:45This also takes some technologies, space and other resources.
04:50Utility and purchased water sources are too easy to find.
04:54In fact, I believe utility water found you when you first moved to your current place of living.
04:59And, it only takes a trip to any store to find water for purchase.
05:05However, other water sources exist that can be accessed and used free of charge.
05:10All water from all questionable sources should be tested for contaminants,
05:15then treated and filtered as necessary to prevent health problems.
05:19For example, rainfall, a great free water source, happens often in many areas of the US and the world.
05:27Here in the southeast US, rainfall is plentiful, sometimes a bit too much.
05:32And, although rainfall may be relatively clean and safe to drink directly from its source,
05:38it may need filtering in many areas.
05:41You may harvest rainwater in most areas of the US without any restriction.
05:45All you need are clean containers such as buckets and little space on the ground
05:50for you to place the open containers when it rains.
05:55You may get a lot more intricate and fancy and build a rainwater collection system
05:59if you have the space and the resources.
06:02Rainfall runs down to the lowest point by gravity.
06:06So, underground water or groundwater is everywhere.
06:10Water wells are structures or excavations that permit access to groundwater.
06:16Groundwater may be freely accessed in most areas of the US and the world.
06:21But, you do need to have access to the land to access and use groundwater.
06:25You may buy or rent the land, although this makes your water not free.
06:30An initial hefty investment is normally needed to build a groundwater well.
06:36It generally utilizes an electric or mechanical pump to extract the water,
06:40which may be many meters below ground.
06:42Bodies of water, like rivers, lakes and ponds, could be accessed freely for water.
06:49You may or may not be able to build a permanent method to extract the water from these sources,
06:54since they may be managed by your city, state or other government.
06:59But, you surely may extract as much as you need or can carry it for a short period of time
07:04using containers and pumps, for example.
07:08Of course, you should ensure you have legal access to the land where these bodies of water are located.
07:15You may be able to extract large amounts of water in a truck or pickup,
07:19then treat and filter as necessary.
07:22Treating and filtering water takes equipment and expendable supplies,
07:26such as filters or salt, which cost money.
07:28But, the cost should be a fraction of what you would pay for utility water and or purchased water in the long term.
07:37There are times where utility water is very expensive.
07:41For example, I used to routinely pay over $90 per month for utility water
07:47for an entire year at an apartment building in South Florida in 2005.
07:51That is around $147 in today's money.
07:56Back then, my water bill alone added to over $1,000 paid for one year,
08:01around $1,700 today, for a basic human need.
08:06An alternative source to utility water, if it is less expensive,
08:11is just buying filtered water in big jugs.
08:14You may have a water dispenser,
08:16and you can have several of these 3-5-gallon bottles
08:19and refill them much cheaper than purchasing water by the gallon.
08:24Also, you may opt to refill your jugs at a location where you have access to with free potable water.
08:31Being water self-sustaining,
08:33permits you to raise a satisfying finger to the abusive and corrupt utility water system
08:38and can potentially save you thousands of dollars per year,
08:42gives you resilience to utility water contamination events
08:46and gives you the peace of mind of having access to alternative, secure and safe water sources.
08:53Many technologies exist to harness and deliver the water for your use.
08:58A local rainwater collection system requires a way to collect and channel water
09:02to your place of final use.
09:04For example, if you collect water in a kid's plastic outdoor pool container,
09:09this water needs to then be pumped to a closed storage container.
09:13From there, it needs to be piped using plumbing and a pump
09:17or by pressure or gravity to your dispensing place.
09:21If you harness water from the ground,
09:23pumps, plumbing and filtering equipment
09:25are needed for delivery to the final place of use.
09:29If you harness water from a natural body of water,
09:32the best option again would require plumbing,
09:36a pump and means to store and filter that water.
09:39Trucking your water in or buying or refilling water bottles
09:43requires you to go to the source
09:45and refill your bottles for you to haul it back and use it.
09:49This last option requires some manual lifting
09:52and dispensing of water, a vehicle and perhaps lift equipment.
09:57Having running water is the most convenient way to use water.
10:00Running water is water that is in your home's plumbing
10:04with enough water pressure to dispense vigorously.
10:08Water pressure can be achieved locally
10:11by pump systems with reservoir tanks.
10:14But normally, utility water has adequate pressure
10:17because large pumps and tanks are used in those systems.
10:20You may choose not to have running water
10:23and use your water by pouring it with containers.
10:28Although this method is considered Spartan,
10:30in time, it may become second nature
10:32and not inconvenience you from living a modern and happy life.
10:37For the convenience of running water,
10:40there are a myriad of different pumps, plumbing, tanks, reservoirs
10:44and filtering technologies and equipment that you may use.
10:48Acquiring and maintaining water service equipment
10:51and knowing how to test, treat and filter water
10:55are technical requirements for being self-sustained with water.
10:59Part 3 of this book will introduce you
11:02to some specific water service and treatment components
11:05and how to install, maintain and use them.
11:08Using water wisely is a big part of being self-sustained with water.
11:14However, knowing the quality of the water will take some knowledge.
11:19For example, knowing the chemical composition of the filtering methods used
11:23and the possible contaminants to look for in water
11:27will take some research.
11:29If you get water from a wild body of water,
11:32there may be biological contaminants that may spread disease
11:36such as animal or human poop and pee.
11:39These may make their way into these bodies of water
11:42as do animal decomposing carcasses, chemicals and other contaminants.
11:48Rooftop water collection systems can introduce petroleum
11:51and other chemicals from roofing materials to your water
11:55and bird and rodent droppings as well as other pollutants.
11:59Even rainfall may be already contaminated with air pollutants.
12:03So, you have to be aware and ready to filter
12:07and chemically treat rain or natural water
12:10before you use it for your self-provided water.
12:14You would be wise to conserve the water you treat and filter
12:17since it takes resources to do so.
12:20Sometimes fresh water is scarce in your area of living.
12:24For example, you may live in an arid and dry area
12:27where rainfall and bodies of water are precious and guarded resources.
12:31Or, you may live in an area with tight restrictions in accessing free water
12:36or that have pollution problems such as large cities or industrial zones.
12:41If so, you will not want to wastefully let clean water run
12:45or leave clean water leaks unfixed.
12:48In these situations, you must also be wise in selecting your source of water.
12:53You shouldn't just go for your nearest source without investigating it.
12:58For example, if your bipond has a surface film with a multicolored sheen,
13:04you shouldn't get your water from there
13:05regardless of the treatment system you may possess.
13:09So, good judgment, conservation and maintenance skills
13:13and strategic sourcing are things to have
13:16before considering being self-sufficient with water.
13:19Storing water is an important part of being self-sufficient.
13:24Storing water acts as a buffer for those periods
13:27when water flow is scarce or absent.
13:29Your water source may become contaminated or dried.
13:33Rainfall may not come for many weeks, sometimes months
13:36or your access to your water supply may be blocked for whatever reason.
13:42During those times, you still need to drink and use water.
13:46Water which you have hopefully stored.
13:48There are many methods to store fresh water.
13:52Containers, tanks and cisterns are among the more popular ones.
13:56Water containers come in all shapes, sizes and materials.
14:00Because of this variety, water containers are widely and mostly cheaply available.
14:06The 305 gallon bottles and buckets are popular water containers.
14:10I think the 3 gallon bottles are more convenient for continuous handling
14:16or for those people with more limited strength.
14:20You may go big and have a container of many dozens of gallons.
14:24Of course, stored water, especially that's stored in large containers,
14:28generally has life forms unless chemically treated.
14:31This requires that containers be exceptionally clean and that water is continuously used.
14:38Water that is chemically untreated, which sits in place for an extended period,
14:43will likely have these life forms multiply and grow.
14:46Films of these life forms will likely grow on the surface or in the container inner walls,
14:52which may affect the quality and safety of your water.
14:57So you shouldn't have a get it and forget it attitude with storing water.
15:01It needs careful and strategic management,
15:04maintenance, cleaning and treatment of the containers and water.
15:07I will go into more details on these aspects of storing water in part 3 of this text.
15:15Thank you for listening to this podcast.
15:18Please look for the next episode soon and please ensure to share this with your friends and family.
15:24And please like this content and subscribe as a sign of support
15:28and for me to continue to provide this type of content to more people like you.
15:33Lastly, if you wish to support this content further,
15:36please visit the links provided in this publication.