Category Archives: Wind
Winter Solstice at Sunflower Farm
By Cam Mather Remember when you were a kid and your friends would come over to your place after Christmas and you’d show them all the neat new stuff you got, like the BB Gun or the Lego set? (Note that there was no mention of socks or sweaters in this memory.) Well, consider this …
Wind Turbines and Bird Kills
By Cam Mather Recently I was asked to speak to the Quinte Field Naturalists about personal steps towards sustainability. I knew this group had a great many “birders” in it, so I was a bit apprehensive. Birders in my area have been very outspoken against big wind. So let me state three things here first. …
Prepping for Hurricane Sandy
By Cam Mather After watching the news cycle as Hurricane Sandy ‘aka Superstorm’ approached, it was tempting to be smug about making preparations. But I won’t be. My system is still pretty technology dependent to ever be too cocky. I generally do have ‘back up’ strategies in place in case the whole inverter/well pump/satellite internet …
The All-In-One Independent Living/Preparation/Homesteading Workshop
By Cam Mather On October 20th we will be hosting the “The Living Sustainably and Independently, Ready for Rough Times, Hands-On, Solar-Powered, All You Can Grow Workshop” again here at Sunflower Farm. I think the workshop gets better each year. Every year we take more steps towards independence and self-sufficiency and so we have more …
I Do NOT Represent the Wind Industry
By Cam Mather A couple of Sundays ago I spoke to the “Transition Cornwall” group. There was a good turn out and it’s a great group with lots of great activities. They are very much committed to increasing resilience in their community. Resilience to peak oil, climate change and economic collapse. Oh sure, it’s a …
The Off-Grid/Green Myth, Part II
By Cam Mather When Professor and Canada Research Chair Phillip Vannini came to visit us recently as part of his research on people who live “off the grid” he had just come from an off-grid home north of Toronto. This couple had indicated to him that they had gone off grid for “environmental reasons.” I …
Professors, Performing Monkeys and the Off-Grid Green Myth – Part 1
By Cam Mather We recently had a professor come to visit us. Professor and Canada Research Chair Phillip Vannini is doing research on people who live off grid. He is an “ethnographer.” http://communication-culture.school.royalroads.ca/dr-phillip-vannini According to Wikipedia “Ethnography is a qualitative research method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system …
My Recent Reality Checks
By Cam Mather Once again I’d like to thank everyone who reads and comments on the blog. Yesterday I had one of those personal epiphanies thanks to our reader Amy. She was commenting on the video blog that we posted about how our chickens had faired this winter. She wrote: “What a great video! I’m …
That Little Voice in My Head
By Cam Mather I left my house the other night. Yup, it was a dangerous thing to do. ‘Cuz the voice that talks inside my head constantly gets just a little crazy when I’m out in the big scary world. Kind of like Travis Bickle from the movie “Taxi Driver” but without the guns. I …
Two of the Best Off-Grid Images Ever!
By Cam Mather Have you ever noticed that there is a fine line between terror and elation? There must be or else there wouldn’t be a constant stream of horror movies in theaters. Or theme parks. Those crazy roller coaster/death defying rides keep people coming back. There’s got to be something to it. I don’t …
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