As many of you probably know by now, one of the most violent times in American history, and the period of time that helped to create the modern day mafia (organized crime), was created because of “Prohibition”, the law against the manufacture and sale of alcohol and fuel. The oil companies, bankers and government were behind prohibition because it was intended to prevent farmers from making their own fuel and alcohol from farm products. Prohibition was instituted as a means to expand and maintain control over our nation's energy supply, and eventually, facilitate the monopolization of international power with the dollar and oil.
It was an explosive period that led to the expansion of the black market (speakeasies) and bootlegging, which by the way helped the Kennedy family become rich, along with the mafia.
We now have another chance to do the right thing and this time government won't be able to stop us. The average person, not just farmers, but people who have access to a small piece of land, your typical suburban home (¼ acre), can produce his own fuel, fertilizer, clean water and food, completely outside of the destructive interdependent monopolies we have today.
The power over energy can be decentralized among the people who use it instead of foreign powers and the costs will drop to nearly nothing. The following demonstrates what you can do, either some or all of what is listed here, to regain this power and enrich your own lives.
If you want a turn key solution, you will want to order the “HomeBioGas” digestor from www.homebiogas.com
If you want to do it yourself, you can use an “IBC”, an Intermediate Bulk Container and it looks like this:
IBC Biogas System, from Solar Cities, http://solarcities.eu/education/388 has produced a nine minute video that shows you how to make your own:
Square Foot Garden
Imagine having your own fresh vegetables right in your backyard. Imagine planting fruit trees that produce fruit within 12 – 18 months. Look here to see what fruits and vegetables you can grow in Florida. You can order some seedlings for fruit trees such as the banana, lychee, blueberry, and Carambola that will produce fruit within twelve to eighteen months, and be sure to order non-hybrid, heirloom seeds for what you want to plant from seeds.
Water & Rain Catchment System
Water falls from the sky. Why don't we collect it? This is money. We can easily add a rain barrel to the gutter systems on our roofs and instead of piping into one or two places in the lawn or garden, add it to your gray water reservoir and use it evenly for your gardens. You can even filter it and pump it back into your home for use in the kitchen and bathroom all over again.
Composting or High Efficiency Toilets
Composting toilets do not require water or plumbing, and high efficiency toilets do, but use far less water than the traditional toilets. I've researched this quite well and concluded that Biolet has the best composting toilet, the price could be better, but it's probably worth the cost over the other brands.
Biosand or Reverse Osmosis Filter
You can make your own biosand filter from components at your local hardware store. If you just want something off the shelf, two brands that I really like are Berkey and LifeStaw, you can find those online.
Water can also be treated with ultra violet light, iodine, Adya Clarity (black mica) and tablets, and of course hydrogen peroxide and chlorine. You can only remove chlorine, arsenic and fluoride with a biosand or reverse osmosis filter.
Constructed Wetland
This is used for purifying “gray water” from your home. Gray water includes water from your shower and sink, but not your toilet (black water). You can avoid having black water by simply using a composting toilet. Search youtube for great examples of how to create your own constructed wetland and you will see that the best place for one is in your front yard, it will be a beautiful garden with a variety of flowers and plants that will purify your gray water. You then collect the run-off from the constructed wetland and either use it to water your gardens or pump it through a filtration system (biosand or reverse osmosis) and back into your home for use in the kitchen. Yes, this takes some plumbing and it changes the way we've been doing things for years, but remember that it's your house and you need to decide how to manage your own resources.
Here is an example of a constructed wetland used to treat gray water.
Replace Dryer with Drying Racks/Desiccant and Clothes Line
Imagine the impact it would have on the energy system is just a fraction of people resumed using the same methods we used in the seventies and eighties to dry our clothing, a clothesline. Remember those? And it doesn't have to be that perpetual awkward looking aluminum square frame in your back yard. Just hang a clothes line dispenser from your house in the back hard and extend the lines to a pole along the fence line only when you want to dry some clothing.
You can also pick up some drying racks that can be affixed to the wall in your laundry room or bathroom, or stand alone in the garage, that will dry your clothing as well, mostly out of site. Add a desiccant such as “Damp-Rid” and collect the water to add to your constructed wetland reservoir. Try not adding to your energy load with a dehumidifier though, unless it's on solar.