In these economically tough times, it might not be a bad idea to think outside the box when it comes to saving money. In fact, I wonder if wandering away from the principles this country was founded upon hasn't proven to be our downfall. These principles were pulled outside the box long ago and the box given to us by big government controlled by multi national corporate interests became very comfortable. I believe they felt we would completely forget about the "quaint" ways of our forefathers and succumb completely to their domination if they made us comfortable enough. I believe we really missed the boat in a lot of ways, but that's okay, there's always another boat scheduled to leave port at some point in time.
We have become a nation dependent upon many "biggies." We depend on big government for too many things to count. We depend on big agri to keep the shelves filled in our grocery stores. We depend on big finance to provide us with currency and credit to finance lifestyles we can't really afford. We depend on big pharma to provide us with medications to improve or extend our lives. We depend on big oil to provide us with cheap energy. We depend on these things and others and we put our trust in these institutions. Many invest so much emotional energy into depending upon and trusting in these institutions that when they are exposed to the truth they don't want to hear it and refuse to believe it.
There are ways to break your dependence on all these institutions and more. The problem is, many of these solutions aren't necessarily easy, yet. That's how these institutions work, they rope you in with promises of "cheap and easy" and then put the whammy on you when you become dependent on them. It's kind of like drugs, alcohol or smoking, in order to quit you have to really want it. You have to really bend your will toward achieving your goal. Otherwise, it is too easy to slip back into dependency. Excuses are a dime a dozen, and I'm not talking about a pre 1964 silver dime, I'm talking about the extremely cheap dimes of today. Sometimes, breaking dependence can be very difficult, but the pride and self esteem that one instills inside one's self when they break dependence and learn to live in a truly free manner is likely well worth the effort.
When one talks about energy independence, one often discusses the cost of such a venture. One often hears figures thrown around in kilowatts created per hour and how solar or wind power is not worth the cost because fossil fuels or nuclear power is so much cheaper. I am very leery about such claims. Here's a little experiment for you if you've been living in your house for ten years or more. Take a look at your electric bill. Now see if you can find your bill from ten years ago, the same month if possible. Have the rates gone up? By how much? Can you remember when the rates were raised? If you can figure out how much you've spent on energy over the last ten years, could you have bought a system that would have taken you off the grid for that amount or less? If not, how many more years until you reach that amount? What if there is another rate hike?
There are a lot of variables when you try to figure this out. It's not always as simple as the cost of kilowatts per hour as set today. But even if the established system can provide you with energy for much less than the cost of an off the grid system, there are quite a few other things you should take into consideration. For one thing, I don't know about you, but the house I used to live in used to have the power knocked out quite often, at least once a year, sometimes for two or three days and possibly as long as a week. Finally, we went out and got a gas powered generator to at least keep our sump pump, water pump and refrigerators going.
That cost about $400. It was for local emergencies only, however. I certainly wouldn't want to have to keep it going for more than maybe a week. Then there's the question, what if there's a wide spread disaster? What if the power is off for hundreds of miles around? What if a massive solar flare goes off and the whole grid goes down for a month or more? What if we can't get gasoline to run our generators? What then?
That's why I advocate energy independence. That's why I think every house should be powered with solar panels and wind generators hooked into a rechargeable bank of batteries. I know that the energy companies want to keep us dependent on them for our power. They want to keep that money flowing into their coffers. If they had their way no one would be allowed to have power except through their wires. I believe there are technologies that will provide cheap or free energy to the masses that are hidden because of this reason. Until such technologies are released, we must take what is available on the market. Right now, that seems to be solar and wind.
Right now, as things stand, there have been tremendous improvements in performance, materials and price in solar power. Wind power has also improved, but unfortunately many municipalities won't allow the towers in neighborhoods and smaller, more visibly pleasing units remain elusive. A determined consumer would be able to find solutions to becoming energy independent if they so wished. These solutions might not be perfect, they might not get you completely off the grid, but the more people that seek energy independence, the more likely it will be that the marketplace will come up with better, cheaper, more complete systems to meet that demand.
At the very least, for the purpose of disaster preparedness, one should have an emergency solar generator to power necessities such as water pumps, sump pumps and refrigerators in the wake of a major disaster such as a category 5 hurricane or a direct hit from an X class solar flare that knocks out the power grid. Equipped with such a device, you might end up enjoying potable water, toilets that flush, a dry basement and food that isn't rotting while your neighbors have to depend on unreliable government agencies or have to drive dozens or hundreds of miles to find gasoline to power their noisy generators days after a disaster has struck. Who knows, in the wake of an even wider spread disaster, such a device might save the lives of those in your family.
Watch for costs to keep rising. As the cost of power goes up, your investment looks more and more intelligent. What if the costs double, or triple. With the ongoing problems in the world's financial sector, the economy looks as uncertain as ever. The establishment news wants you to believe that everything is rosy, but looking about the real world that view is very difficult to accept. Those at the top have the jitters. An attack on Iran, be it American or Israeli led, could be catastrophic. Just the threatening postures taken on all sides has led to increases in the price of oil. It is perhaps time to put the cost comparisons in the back seat and to ask yourself how much the extra security would be worth to you.
The establishment does not want you to be independent. The mob of established corporate interests want to continue to use big government to help keep you dependent on them so that they can continue to collect their monthly tributes. They don't even want you trying to learn more about recent advancements in residential power collectors. They will keep pumping out the propaganda and misinformation as long as they feel they can prevent you from seeking energy independence. It is up to you to dig deeper and figure out for yourself whether such systems are right for you or not because those who control the system now certainly aren't going to help you figure out how to stop paying them. By becoming energy independent and getting off the grid, you at least disempower a portion of the mob and empower yourself.
Hopefully no disaster ever strikes. Hopefully the worst case scenarios remain at bay. Still, as time goes by, we need to make ourselves independent of big government and corporations if we are to live free. We need to find ways to power our homes so that our fates aren't dependent upon the skills of others. The question is, are you going to be one of the first, or are you going to wait on others to take the first steps, perhaps waiting until it's too late. The choice is yours to make.
If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of "The Edge of Sanity" by Matthew Wayne. It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. I have also released "The Ouijiers" at smashwords.com. The download is also $2.99, but you can get the first 20% of both books free. "The Ouijiers" is also available for the Kobo Vox and Diesel.
I am working on a book. The working title is "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century." I am offering this work as a serial for those who are interested and can't wait for the book to come out. I hope to publish a chapter every couple of weeks or so. I will offer the chapters for sale exclusively at smashwords.com as I finish them. The price is $0.99 for each chapter as it comes out. Here is the link to Chapter 1: "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century" Chapter 1. Here is the link to Chapter 2: The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century" Chapter 2 Keep an eye out as further chapters will be announced as they come out. I wish to thank everyone in advance for their support in this endeavor.
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