Preparedness for when

Butterfly_Brain

mac2008 wrote: »

I don't blame your friend's not wishing to involve the government either - I wouldn't be surprised if the government tried to either backtrack on the feed in tariff, or get pressured by the large generators to introduce something stupid like a tax on sunshine - don't laugh, it's happening in Spain! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24272061


Mac.

It is also happening in the USA

http://www.alternet.org/environment/now-solar-capacity-soaring-koch-brothers-demand-tax-sun

THIRZAH

We walked up some mule tracks in the Alps recently-I'm amazed at where they could go.

Frugalsod

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

It is also happening in the USA

http://www.alternet.org/environment/now-solar-capacity-soaring-koch-brothers-demand-tax-sun

TBH if I had the right home and money I would still go ahead and make my home completely solar and wind powered. Even if I did not sell my surplus to the grid I would have one crucial advantage, in that I would not have to pay any more for energy, I will still need to set aside money for maintaining the system and its eventual replacement but I would be completely energy independent of a corrupt political society that fleeces its citizens to profit politically connected energy firms.

Frugalsod

I do not know if any of you read this?

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2014-06-04/interview-“are-we-going-see-massive-confiscation-wealth-banks”

or saw this



I do think that they are wrong about those nations that are safe. Switzerland has a significant banking sector much larger than the ability of its government to save it, so depending on the recklessness of its banks it could be lower. German banks particularly Deutsche Bank are as insolvent as RBS or any of the big French banks. The fact that they had some of their bad debts guaranteed by the nations that they lent to like Ireland does not mean that they are out of the woods. The Netherlands and Canada have also had spectacular housing bubbles and could be very problematic for their customers as well. Australia likewise has a big housing bubble and they are incredibly dependant on Chinese buyers keeping the prices up like in London. Personally I would rank Norway and Singapore as much safer of those named.

[Deleted User]

The weather here is very odd at the moment we have a stiff breeze blowing but it's as warm as mid continental europe the sky is beginning to cloud from the south and a lot of the clouds are those flat round ones that look like saucers then there is a higher layer of mares tails and then milky sky above that. I'm thinking that given how strong the wind is now and the trees are in full leaf after a wet winter and the water table is still very high here we might get a lot of fallen trees if the wind picks up in the predicted storms. I wonder how much of the just set fruit will come down as drop? I've just been out into the garden and picked my gooseberries just in case and got 2 and a half pounds from 3 second year bushes, which are processed and now in the freezer. I'm not going to risk losing them to the weather. I've also stationed a solar lamp in our bedroom and another one down in the lounge just in case we get power problems, better safe than sorry.

GreyQueen

Hmm, back from the allotmentino. Phew, what a scorcher.

Haven't been to the allotment for 10 days due to work, being away for a long weekend and Nan's stroke and my stinking cold, so thought it would be worse than it is.

My autumn-sown broadbeans are starting to look a bit tired around the leaves. I'm allowing their pods to develop to the maximum and dry out on the plant a bit before harvesting them to dry and store in that form. The spring-sown broad beans are catching up with them in height and are now only about 1 ft shorter. These I will eat fresh and freeze some of.

Blackcurrant bush is burgeoning with fruit and the first few have started to flush with a hint of colour, but only the first. Straws are wee transplants this year so only expect a few - ate half a dozen today and nomnomnom. Spuds are looking very lush and lovely but as I sidled along the baulks looking for the horsetails, I could see the first tiny hints of the oldest and lowest leaves starting to yellow.

I haven't been able to let the potato haulm die back naturally for at least the past 3 years, due to blight coming over and me having to de-top them in a hurry. I'd much prefer to let nature take its course and then you only have some dry brown twists of haulm, not great green masses of it.

Some of my potato tops are about 30% taller and lusher than others. These few are across several rows in an approximate oval and this puzzled me until I recalled that this was the site of a bonfire last autumn and must represent the boost from the potash.

I have been building up and drying out a supply of couch grass and other nasties on one side of the allotment, with a view to biking them down to the tip when they'd dried and thus were lighter, but I have now rethought this plan. I want to keep drying them out and get them as dry as possible with a view to having a burn up at the start of October when the burn ban comes off.

Thus I save energy, burn up things which will otherwise survive composting like horsetail, couch grass and bindweed, and return some minerals to my soil. I'm pretty pleased with the notion.

I'm also going to follow a tip I got from a fellow allotmenteer last year, but when I heard it, it was too late to deploy it. Basically, cut down your sered-up broad bean haulms at ground level and remove and the plants will send a second flush of growth from the roots. You're effectively getting a (much smaller) second crop. I like that idea lots.

I notice that the edged beds and grassy paths between way of working an allotment seems to find more and more fans each year. Nearly everyone who starts one now goes down that route. The lottie neighbours who make a go of it have goodlooking plots but they do spend a fair bit of time grass-cutting with petrol strimmers. This is putting a fossil fuel input into an otherwise manual-tool world.

It's not for me; I don't have anywhere to keep a petrol strimmer and no one is fool enough to keep them in their lottie sheds, despite what the burglars might think. Plus I detest the racket of them. I shall continue with 'old boy stylee' which is a path up one side and then long rows going widthwise across the allotment.

Urg, written an essay, I need tea. Nuuuurrrrrrrrrssssssssssseeeeeeeee!!!

[Deleted User]

2tonsils wrote: »

My scooter would run as it has a kick start for the motor. It is only electronic start only vehicles that would be useless after and EMP.

I'm afraid you are wrong there.

An EMP attack will neutralise any device which contains one or more microchips.

If your vehicle has computer engine management, or an IC controlled ignition system, it will be susceptible to an EMP.

Ideally, you want a scooter with points ignition.

And keep a couple of spare condensers and points sets, on hand

[Deleted User]

mac2008 wrote: »

if the grid power is down and someone is trying to fix it, they really don't want a couple of kW's coming down that cable from a solar PV 'island' on someone's roof when they think the cable should be dead!

Surely, before starting work on a cable, they would open the switches, and earth it?

[Deleted User]

mac2008 wrote: »

Also is BB finds the Solarpod too expensive, I note Maplin currently have a neat little battery/inverter/usb/light thingy for £55:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/portable-power-pack-with-200w-inverter-and-usb-charging-socket-a10hz

Only a 5Ah battery, so couldn't run a fridge, but good for charging mobiles, radios, lighting etc.

I already have something along those lines.

It consists of a Car Jump Starter Pack (17Ah), and an inverter, albeit only 80W.



I use it to run a small CFL, and my Laptop, in the event of a power outage.

nuatha

mac2008 wrote: »

You're right - I'm sure there are better ways of doing it, but as well as automatic local isolation you'd need some kind of load control as in fully off-grid setups - you can't just generate power without it being used or stored. As solar output fluctuates so much you'd need batteries and/or some kind of dump load to use it effectively and it'd all get a bit complicated. I'm sure its not beyond the wit of man (or woman) to invent a plug & play solution that could be retrofitted though.

I've seen instructions somewhere on the net that give a walkthrough on exactly what kit is needed and what to do - these are geared as a permanent grid failure solution though. Designing a switchable interim solution would certainly be doable and will be something I consider in the next property (we now plan on relocating in the next 24 months)

I don't blame your friend's not wishing to involve the government either - I wouldn't be surprised if the government tried to either backtrack on the feed in tariff, or get pressured by the large generators to introduce something stupid like a tax on sunshine - don't laugh, it's happening in Spain! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24272061

You can always trust a government to change the rules. Though a tax on rain would probably be more productive in the UK.

VJsmum wrote: »

I only saw them over about 2 days. The horses were certainly worked, but not cruelly treated (I.e no beatings - i realise tht isn't necessarily the extent of it). I was a bit shocked at how commercial they were - and a little "holier than thou".

There's a lot of rose tinted spectacles views of the Amish and a lot of views that might have been valid 30-40 years ago (or might have been equally biased)
I found the "holier than thou" attitude and wondered about it in relation to their rejection of "pride" (and wondered the same about their pricing of goods)
I've never seen evidence of animal abuse - but agree the animals (and humans) were worked hard.

Having said that, I think there are probably some lessons we could learn that would be useful in the future.