Years ago, living off the grid had a very anti-social connotation that left many people that chose to live a more resilient lifestyle in a category of societal outcasts. More recently, the work being done by the Resiliency Movement has helped to shed a more favorable light on sustainable living solutions.
One of the biggest contributors to the success of our efforts is technology. We are able to leverage new advancements to create sustainable solutions in just about every aspect of our lives.
No longer do we feel compelled to retreat into the wilderness in search of our preferred lifestyle. People are successfully using technology to live “off grid” in just about every region; including urban areas of the country.
Reliable Technology
If you’re anything like my, you’ve enjoyed the increased standard of living technology has brought us over the past 7 decades. And you’re not about to just give up the quality of life you have in order to prepare yourself for the tough road ahead.
That’s why we research ways to leverage technology to not only maintain our quality of life, but improve it and make us more resilient. It’s not about giving things up. It’s about finding these transformational technologies to assist us in our goal to be able to bounce back from any major shift in the economy, weather or political decision.
In recent months, we have covered drones, 3D printing (and its impact on the local economy), solar PV advancements, crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter, and improved farming techniques that can be used practically anywhere.
Solar PV is an excellent example of technology working to our advantage. The invention and mass-production of micro inverters means that solar power is now a reality for almost everyone. Alternative energy is good for the environment and a necessary part of a sustainable lifestyle.
Is creating a vertical garden in your closet or kitchen window a ground-breaking advancement? No – but it is an efficient way to implement our understanding of agriculture into a model that can be adopted everywhere.
Other technology, such as drones and 3D printing, may seem like science fiction fantasy but are having a real, quantifiable impact on society right now.
Unlike many survival or prepper communities, we try to use these technologies to improve our lives now. These improvements often lead to less dependence on an infrastructure that is waning inevitably into failure.
More importantly, many of these advancements allow us to live without fear of imminent disaster. Not being dependent on the failures of government, local supply chains, or even the economy as a whole, we have positioned ourselves to thrive even in the most adverse conditions – and we do it without negatively impacting the environment.
Why is this Important?
It’s easy to notice the differences between previous generations and our own. The early 1900’s demanded that families across the United States had some degree of self-sufficiency inherent to daily life. After all, the infrastructure that we now take for granted wasn’t available.
Following World War II, our government took steps to create a massive infrastructure which we still rely on. The problem is that this system has become a crutch for modern society; a crutch destined to fail in time.
We often talk about the “big reset” – when life as we know it now ceases to exist. The how and why is still unknown but the recent failures within our government should serve as a reminder to us all that an imperfect system could be reaching a climatic turning point guaranteed to impact future generations in unfathomable ways.
As we watch our infrastructure slowly collapse, we need technology to create new solutions. Where the government has failed, we can thrive as members of a resilient community that do not accept our current system as the answer to long term sustainability.
Years ago, a self-sufficient lifestyle was considered by many to be a minority movement practiced by those wishing to exclude themselves from society. Today, we know that resiliency helps build communities into thriving micro-economies that are capable of withstanding even significant external changes.
Similar to how the Earth heals itself with massive weather changes (think Ice Age), society can heal itself by using technology to create viable alternatives to a broken system.
Whether it is a new solar PV implementation, a vertical garden setup, or a new way to recycle greywater, the actions we take now are our only defense against imminent failure.
It may not be in our lifetime or even that of our children, but at some point – the technology we leverage now carries the promise of large dividends. We should look forward to learning about many new technological advancements in the coming months and years; all aimed at creating a lifestyle that is comfortable, self-sufficient, and community-centric.
