The Sunday Read

Off-grid in the High Arctic, Farm from a Box, and more

As off-grid as it gets

Two Norwegian women (one of whom was raised in Canada) are living off-grid in a 215 square foot trapper’s cabin, in the High Arctic of Svalbard, Norway, about 78 degrees north of the Arctic Circle, reports the online publication, Treehugger. Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Fålun Strøm intend to live in the cabin until May 2010 to “study, educate, and raise awareness about climate change.” The women told Treehugger: “Most things here are done ‘old school’ because there is no running water of electricity.” The cabin is heated with a wood stove, and they use two, 60-litre tanks to melt snow and ice. Find the full story here

Off-grid? Not so much

Over at Architectural Digest, they’re pushing a story titled: 7 Off-the-Grid Airbnbs with Serious Architecture and Design Cred. Actually, though, only one of the seven properties appears to be off-grid; it’s another annoying case of the phrase “off-grid” being used to denote being away from it all. The publication calls the rentals “dreamy.” Ick. While most of them look plenty swell, the only true off-grid place among them is a two-bedroom house in California, which the magazine helpfully points out “is proof that off-grid living doesn’t need to be bleak.” Wait. What? Architectural Digest notes the house includes “some new practices to get used to, like the lack of plumbing, reliable electricity [er, they already noted the BNB is ‘totally’ powered by solar panels], or even a TV. Quelle horreur! If you must look, the link is here

Fresh food for remote and northern communities from a new off-grid facility

A new off-grid hydroponic food production facility is expected to provide Yukon communities up to 2,000 kilos of fresh fruit and vegetables annually. Ag1054 is the first off-grid, predominantly solar-powered food production of its kind, according to the University of Calgary. Established by the Arctic Institute of North America’s Kluane Lake Research Station, the facility is named for Mile 1054 on the Alaska Highway, where the research station is located. “Ag1054 produce will be sold in local communities, and researchers will examine the social, economic, and environmental viability of container food production for remote locations,” a University of Calgary news release added. More on the facility may be read here

Farm from a Box uses renewables to help battle drought from climate change

Farm from a Box has nothing to do with Cat in the Hat, although both do sound like they could have sprung from the imagination of Dr. Seuss. Farm from a Box’s simple name, however, belies its sophisticated technology and serious intent. The box in question is a container, and its contents are meant to help small-scale, rural farmers fight the impact of climate change and drought. Among other things, the kit contains a water-efficient drip irrigation system; 3kW of solar power; a solar-powered pump and filtration system; and all kinds of other tech, including Wifi connectivity, and cloud-based data control. Sounds like a growth industry in the making. Read about it here