"Camping’ on Your Own Land is Now Illegal — Govt Waging War on Off-Grid Living"

Getting off the grid usually refers to electricity but can imply any connectivity. In the US, getting-off-the-grid in no way means that a citizen is no longer responsible for fulfilling the law. For example, I own property in New York state where I do not live, but pay property and school taxes.

I really like being connected to electricity. The grid and other infrastructure that I pay for with my taxes and when buying utility services work very well for me. I take care of business online, use credit cards, and am recognized by the US government as a Trusted Traveler allowing me to proceed without too much delay through airport security and also to move to the front of the line at US customs. I inform my government (US State Department) when I am traveling in foreign countries. In the US, the government does not wage war on citizens because the government is citizens.

I agree that in many cases it could be seen that we are being regulated and taxed out of our pursuits to happiness, there is a lot of overreach in many areas of otherwise sensible regulation. Not being able to collect rainwater is ridiculous, but at the same time that rain water is also what feeds the local natural environment. The 'off the grid' topic has become very vast and can mean a lot of things and with that it has become a popularized fantasy like the 'prepper' topic. While I am interested in, learn about and apply various practices of both as a means to make life more efficient, environmentally sustainable, secure and for a hobby I realize I'm still part of the whole.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to live a more low cost, low maintanence, rural-like lifestyle being more self-reliant and independent. Why would the county want to stop renewing permits? Well, the county land use administrator explained that the permits were meant to be temporary. Buying land is interesting, of course it's awesome to think that a parcel is yours but really, legally and practically you buy the responsibility to be that area's caretaker or steward. The wild west-like days of homesteading are over, you can go out to places like where I live in northern CA where building codes and zoning regulations are pretty much unenforced but it doesn't mean that sooner or later the various county, state or federal agencies won't ever come to your neighborhood.

Having been to and worked on many different parcels in my area, some that follow the regulations, some that at least try to and are conscious of what they do, and of course those that just don't care, each has their own vibe and you can feel the difference when you're there. Obviously those that are in compliance are the most ideal, they look nice, they're safe, responsible but unforunately it can be very, very, expensive and take a lot of time to get into complete compliance. It can take months for a government official to come do inspections to grant a single permit for say a septic system, road, foundation, clearing, etc.

So, if only we could see how these 800 people have setup, what they're doing about water, with their garbage and waste, where they put their RVs, how and what kind of 'small houses' or camp style homes they're building and inhabiting. I've lived out on a parcel for many months at a time with up to 10-20 people being there at a time and even with less than 5 I know that all the water use, garbage and waste output, consumption of firewood and the desire to have more spaces adds up very, very fast.

Getting off the grid just sounds cool, but truly it's more expensive than being on the grid in most cases, but that depends on what you need.

Getting off the grid implies getting off the power grid, which means you're either using generators, solar, wind, or hydroelectric sources. My 3000w Honda gas generator was $2,000, gas can get and is often expensive expecially when it is up to 3-4$/gal, as a main power source I'd have to change oil every 10 days which adds up in cost but also produces waste that I have to deal with and basically just store up safely or take somewhere where they just burn it which isn't very nice. I've worked with 25-60kw diesel generators which cost anywhere from $20,000-$50,000, they burn so much diesel, require gallons of oil a week producing gallons of dirty oil a week, use coolant and other fluids, filters, exhaust a lot more crap, and can be an extreme fire or contamination hazard because you need to set it up with a containment tank under it and also contain your fuel storage cause they always leak and make a mess. A solar power setup with panels, battery bank, inverter comparable to my 3000w Honda costs close to $20,000. Wind and hydroeletctric I don't know much about just that they'd require the right environment. So unless you've got the money to fork out for solar, you're still on the grid and while it's nice to be in control of your power it comes with responsibilities.

Getting off the grid implies getting off the public water, sewer and garbage collection grid, which means you're either pulling water from a local river, stream, lake or underground, and your either containing, burying, or burning your garbage and waste. Just because a river or stream runs through the parcel you are responsible for does not make it yours to do as you please. You have to collect and create storage so that you're not taking in the dry season, which should be documented and registered so you know your own consumption and how you're affecting the natural wildlife, environment and others who are using it. You can dig a well but that can get expensive too so it's done properly, and common sense says that you should be aware of how much you're using and the bigger picture of where it's coming from.

I've seen some nasty septic systems where people just connect and bury 50gal plastic drums that eventually clog, fill up, leak and create a disgusting mess. Of course there is the classic dig a huge hole and build an outhouse, which you can throw lime or whatever on it, burn it but thinking long term these methods are not only just gross, but come with health and environmental hazards. Sure it might be off the grid but really the process having a septic system and getting it pumped and treated was created for sound reasons. Garbage is the same thing pretty much, everyone would have their own mini-landfills. You can compost a lot of things including your sewage but with this you also must know what you're doing and it should be done properly to be effective.

Getting off the grid implies getting off the financial grid, which implies having to produce or offer something yourself so that you can acquire what you need and want to live. I applaud not using the fractional reserve system because the money you let them hold they can loan out a comparatively exponential amount and collect interest on money they don't even have and this process alone is pretty much at the core to many worldwide problems considering that free profit off the interest could solve world hunger, be used to develope sustainable technology and practices, but it's all wasted on mansions, cars, jets, corruption in politics, corporate hegemony and plunder.

Being on the grid has it's cons too. Although we can praise our public water and utility systems all day for just the fact that we can have water and sewer systems on demand, it's pretty bad. The various chemicals they put into the water from fluoride compounds that can eat through concrete and basically lobotomize you but supposedly help your teeth and chlorine or other sanitizing chemicals, but also the chemicals and substances that are washed and flushed into that system that can't necessarily be filtered like pharamceutical and cleaning supplies. Then what about the old plumbing systems that are made of lead or other metals that end up in the water, and the mass treatment facilities and how they deal with and 'reuse' waste water? Then the power grids and infrastructure that in many places is vulnerable to failure and requires constant maintanence and increase in cost. The waste generated from nuclear energy alone is just mind boggling how it can be rationalized. It's really a no-brainer why people would want to get off the grid. Landfills, shipping garbage out into the ocean, enough said.

The sad fact is that for some people going off the grid seems to be the only option, and the legal battles with the government is something that will be occuring more frequently because unforunately the politicians are in the pockets of energy, banking, industrial corporations and the established global nobility so are the judges of the courts, and no longer represent the people. We have some serious problems on this planet, we always have and always will I suppose, but whenever the majority becomes conscious of problems only then will it force change but until then the collective conscious has been hijacked by false environmental movements and agendas about so called sustainability, climate change, emerging viruses backed by scientific misconduct and fear mongering, sensationalized exaggerations causing people to just give more to the same who are responsible for many of the problems to begin with who have no intention to do anything about unless there is profit, instead of actually taking their own responsibilty for what they are consuming and producing.

Snowy Aftermath wrote:

Yabuturtle wrote: It is as I said before that things are getting worse. They don't want people to live off grid who are self sufficient. They want people to be clustered together and have them become dependent on the government. Because people like that are easier to control.

The best way to go against any law that is unjust or unfair is to not follow it.

It is unwise to assume you know the motives behind these actions. I suggest asking open ended questions. Perhaps it is easier to explain than making up a conspiracy to scare yourself with.

I think it's even more unwise to deny what's right in front of you. This isn't a kooky conspiracy theory, it's been done before in the past. Different countries and situations but same results.

I'm not making it up. It's right there, clear as crystal. You have to read history, look at the patterns and find the problems. Lots of people I hear say "Well the government would never do that" and then it happens. People didn't think they'd make marijuana illegal, try to restrict guns or search you on the airport, but it's happening now. And now this is happening, as I thought it would.