Survival Homestead

…but is it too little too late? Click the link to read the full story, and don’t be satisfied by the reading alone. Do something positive and practical, especially if you have a wife and children to care for.

‘The Archers’ brings the idea of a self-sufficient community to the fore - Telegraph

World shortages of petroleum and the belief that supplies will become too scarce are driving some to seek an oil-free lifestyle. As ‘The Archers’ brings to the fore the idea of a self-sufficient community, Rowena Mason asks whether this new movement is the product of panic or a common-sense solution.

The petrol pumps are dry, the supermarket shelves are bare and family cars sit uselessly in driveways. Faced with a national shortage of oil, the comfortable lifestyles of middle-class people are threatened by an austerity not seen since the post-war rationing of the early 1950s.

Richard and Karen Hathway with Sugar, one of three lambs they reared
Richard and Karen Hathway with Sugar, one of three lambs they reared as part of their sustainable lifestyle

This is Britain in 2012, according to 54?year-old Richard Hathway and his wife Karen, who live in a family home in a sleepy Worcestershire village. They are convinced the country is heading for the worst oil crisis it has ever known, so this year they have decided to change their lifestyle for good.

The couple are now well on the way to making their lives “oil-proof” from the energy shortages they believe are inevitable. The biggest change is disconnecting their house from the mains (known as going “off-grid”), but they have also bought five acres of land for growing vegetables, chickens for eggs and meat, goats for dairy products and a generator for emergency energy.

“In four or five years’ time life is going to get so much harder,” says Mr Hathway, whose plans for the miniature farm include wind power and a rainwater butt. “So it’s going to be very important to grow your own vegetables when the supermarkets stop being able to import. People will start stealing fuel - it could even lead to looting.”

The Hathways are part of an increasingly vocal movement of “new survivalism” taking hold among ordinary, rational people, who have started to panic about the future of a Britain unable to source enough energy. Many are worried about the theory of “peak-oil”, believing that the world’s oil extraction has peaked and the precious commodity will soon be too expensive for everyday use. What would happen, they ask, in a world where oil becomes scarce? Would your family be able to survive an energy famine?

“Survivalism” refers to a trend, seen during the Cold War of the 1970s, to bulk-buy in preparation for chronic shortages of essential goods or impending nuclear doom. The original frenzy was sparked in Britain by the Middle East oil crisis of 1973, which led to a serious bout of panic-buying of petrol that emptied garages of fuel.

Interesting story, from Reuters

With energy prices going through the roof, an alternative lifestyle powered by solar panels and wind turbines has suddenly become more appealing to some. For architect Todd Bogatay, it has been reality for years.

When he bought this breezy patch of scrub-covered mountaintop with views to Mexico more than two decades ago, he was one of only a few Americans with an interest in wind- and solar-powered homes.

Now, Bogatay is surrounded by 15 neighbors who, like him, live off the electricity grid, with power from solar panels and wind turbines that he either built or helped to install.

“People used to be attracted to living off-grid for largely environmental reasons, although that is now changing as energy prices rise,” he said, standing in blazing sunshine with a wind turbine thrashing the air like a weed whacker overhead.

Spry and energetic, Bogatay makes few sacrifices for his chosen lifestyle. He has a small, energy saving refrigerator, but otherwise his house is like any other, with satellite television and a computer with Internet service.

“Electric and gas are going to skyrocket very soon. There are going to be more reasons for doing it, economic reasons,” he said.

Bogatay and his neighbors at the 120-acre development are among a very small but fast-growing group of Americans opting to meet their own energy needs as power prices surge and home repossessions grow.

Once the domain of a few hardy pioneers, the dispersed movement is now attracting not just a few individuals and families, but institutions and developers building subdivisions that meet their own energy needs.