So I've heard numerous arguments against growing some of your own food in an urban environment, arguments such as: “It's a lot of effort for an insignificant contribution to the environment.”; and “You still have to use fertilizers and lots of water to grow stuff so it's a negative energy gain.”, and those were just the comments by people who were suppose to be environmentally conscious. So before I get to documenting my work on balcony gardening, let's be clear about why this is important. First we need to consider that the world is heading towards the post-industrial era and what this means.

• Primarily it means that everyone, rich and poor could suffer greatly from the loss of industrial supply chains and industrial farming.

• It means that the money you currently spend in a month on a wide assortment of food may only buy you a 50 pound bag of rice with which to survive for the following month.

• It means that even if there is an abundance of food in other parts of the country, you may not have the means or ability to travel there to buy it.

So, how do you keep from suffering severe malnutrition if all you have to eat that month is a 50 pound bag of rice? Read more...

So we've briefly covered some basic ideas about the cost of solar kit installations that tie into the local electric grid and sell unused power to the utility at wholesale prices. They are game changing home modifications, with major long term implications about what it means to own a home. But, maybe you aren't able to spend tens of thousands of dollars all at once, but you still want to get started doing a conversion a little bit at a time. In that case we'll start exploring alternative energy options that are completely separate from the electric grid.

These closed loop systems can be used to power specific devices or a small separate circuit in your household and are far more affordable than traditional grid tie kits. They scale down more easily, and for the DIY enthusiast, these systems are almost all entry level hands on installations. Non-grid tied systems are usually best suited for particular applications like hot water heaters, cell phone/mp3 player recharger's, AC/Heating unit boosters. But with a little ingenuity the systems can be expanded with battery packs and DC/AC inverters to power specific appliances that see infrequent, high wattage short term use, or long term low power use, like microwave ovens, laundry driers, dish washers, blenders, coffee machines, fans, radios, etc... In fact, you can slowly scale up a non-grid tie system until all your household needs are met and the grid is just there for backup.

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