Livin’ the high life “off-gird”

Rooms inside an off-grid house

The push for becoming environmentally friendly and responsible has now taken a new turn. Its not just reducing your carbon foot print or disposing your recycling in the appropriately marked bins.

There is more to it than taking three minute showers or using a plant based product as popularized by Jennifer Aniston. Some Canadian households are turning to a completely different lifestyle. They are going “off the grid”.

The EPIC Vancouver, Sustainable Living Expo is to be held from May 08- 10 at the New Vancouver Convention Centre. The three day event features everything “Green”. From Eco-Supermodel Summer Rayne Oakes talking about sustainable style and beauty to Vancouver’s top Green chef’s it is a one stop shop for eco-friendly good samaritans.

Initially the term “off-grid”  brings to mind visions of dark communes and societies that exist on bare essentials without plumbing and eating raw meat, but this is no secret cabal. It is just a human connection and the urge to save our planet’s dwindling resources.

” For a person like me who had never gone camping in the most scenic locations with all the Mopark accessories, the idea of living off the grid seemed outrageous.” said Nathan Barbosa.

Then he got hired as the Business Development Manager for a Vancouver renewable energy company, and that proved to be iconoclastic for his thought processes.

” It was not easy to leave my beautifully equipped penthouse and move to a solar panel equipped house in the suburbs, but it was worth the effort.” Barbosa reminsces.

Now he lives independent of muncipal electricity system without any power lines hooked to his house.  The roof of the house is covered in solar photovoltaic panels and evacuated tubes. These store natural renewable energy in form of batteries for running his appliances around the house.

Solar Panels on an off-grid house.

Given the BC weather it is bad news when there is no sun to store energy in the solar panels, but this is when Barbosa switches to a propane generator, especially in the winters. 

This lifestyle is not cheap. It costs between $40,000- $50,000 for a four kilo-watt hybrid solar and wind system. People seem to be latching on to the idea. 

For those who are not familiar with the concept there are many websites such as www.treehugger.com and http://www.off-grid.net/ that can entice people into starting to recognize the importance of renewable energy.

” When the adjustment period is over it is a healthy lifestyle.  If my TV stops working, I rely on my iPod to keep me energized ” joked Barbosa.

Homelessness in Vancouver to triple by 2010

Vancouver’s homeless population is growing at such a fearsome rate that it could triple to 3,000 people by the time visitors arrive for the 2010 Olympic Games, says a report released by an advocacy group Thursday.

A homeless man soaks up the sun in Kitsilano

“Without immediate action, the estimated 2.3 million visitors who come to our city to see the Olympics will find a Vancouver in the midst of an urban epidemic of poverty,” said Pivot Legal Society spokesman David Eby as he released the report.

The burgeoning homeless population would be “clear evidence of a broken commitment to address the impact of the 2010 Olympics,” Eby said.

When Vancouver bid for the 2010 games, federal, provincial and municipal governments pledged to protect the city’s rental housing and ensure no one would be left homeless because of the Games.

The city estimates that about 1,200 people currently sleep outside without shelter on a nightly basis.

A room in the Burns Block of Vancouver’s downtown east side was home to Veronica Crow Eagle for eight years. It wasn’t a home she was proud of. People urinated on the floor of her shared bathroom and garbage, including used hypodermic needles, piled up in the public spaces.

But the 61-year-old, who suffers from arthritis and a painful intestinal inflammation called Crohn’s disease, was hard pressed to find replacement lodging when the building failed a fire safety inspection. She and the other tenants were forced onto the street.

Crow Eagle, who has found a new place to live, considers herself lucky.

“Most of the rents run $400 to $465,” she said.

Not everyone can afford those rates. The standard shelter allowance for welfare recipients is $325 dollars a month. The rate hasn’t increased in 12 years.

“There’s hardly anyone who’ll give you a rent for $325,” said Crow Eagle.

Homelessness has been a prevalent issue in the local media. Here is more coverage on the issue:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061204/vancouver_homelessness_061204/20061204/

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/housing/homelessness.htm