When you think of living off the grid, you might imagine installing solar panels and/or a windmill so that you're not using energy from utilities. That's what I think of, anyway, and I'm very proud of my solar hot water.
But it can be way more than that. A new web series called "Going Off Grid," appearing on Discovery's new Seeker Network and on Youtube, "highlights the beautiful, strange and wonderful people living disconnected from our modern world; the bold few that live off the grid," according to the show description.
Show creator Laura Ling told me: "It's fascinating to look at different parts of society to see the reasons why people are living off the grid, and how."
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Ling cites statistics from 2006 that say 180,000 people live off the grid, though it's impossible to say at this point, nine years on, what exactly that number is. But let's assume it's higher and growing.
In her search for subjects to feature in her series, Ling came across some notable people.
One family moved from outside Boston, where the husband worked at Harvard, to the backwoods of Idaho. They built a 314-square-foot yurt with wood from the forest. Two of the three kids go to school an hour away, where there are also stores where the family can buy food and materials.
But otherwise, they're totally off the grid: no running water, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, no connectivity.
"I think I was most afraid of the unknown," says Esther Emory in the first series episode, which you can watch at the bottom of this blog.
"It wasn't until I got out here and realized that I could survive and have so much happiness and so much satisfaction that I realized that this was the long-term plan," Emory says.
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Ling noted that many people are not living off the grid by choice. She cited a population that lives in the tunnels of Las Vegas, some of whom she interviewed.
"Beneath the glitz and lights of Las Vegas are miles and miles of tunnels where people are living off the grid. Some of them have jobs, but still can't afford to live in apartments," Ling said.
In situations where people are living off the grid by choice, Ling said it was surprising to her that so many were making that choice.
"I see reasons for them doing it and admire them for it, but it is pretty out there," she said. "That whole lifestyle takes a certain personality and it's not mine."
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Another episode of "Going Off Grid" will feature former pro snowboarder Mike Basich, who left a pretty sweet lifestyle behind to build a 228-square-foot home in the Sierra Nevada mountains, named Area-241. It includes a 600-foot chairlift and a wood-fired hot tub, and it's gorgeous, but hey, it's definitely off the grid.
And then there's Laura Singer, who lives nearly off the trash grid. She reduces, reuses and recycles so effectively that her waste for more than a year can fit inside a Mason jar. I do the three RRRs, but there's no WAY my waste is anywhere near that (which might have to do with the chickens, ducks, dogs, birds and humans in my life...).
Ling told me that she hopes "Going Off Grid" inspires people to live more simply.
"I hope that it shines a light on other segments of America that we don't really think about, especially in this day and age where we do have so much. I hope it encourages them to change their way of thinking and have a new appreciation for the things we do have," Ling said.
