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Hopefully we don't have to always be dependent on so many other people and services to have basic dignity and sanitation.
People who live off-grid, van/rv/etc., homestead, etc. lifestyles are pioneering a future where we don't need services that aren't likely that great for the environment - such as public sewage, our reliance on fossil fuels to power and heat our homes and electronics, or unsustainable agriculture that isn't in balance with the environment or even nutritionally-dense.
I am grateful to the people who enable our standard of living to survive with some semblance of dignity, and especially those focused on solutions, so we can get to the point of self-sufficiency, sustainability, and balance in our environment as a species and planet.
Shitting in a bucket in a van is less noble than you make it out to be.
Not everybody craps in plastic trash bags and throws them in the trash. There's a number of setups that do not rely on landfills/etc. to do the disposal. I think campgrounds or other parking spots for RVs/etc. and those who live in them, are a perfect first-target for regulation that rethinks waste disposal and the implementation of environmentally-friendly disposal, reuse, and remediation.
Off-grid living more environmental than proper municipal water treatment? How do you figure?
I'm of the opinion/understanding that we can't fully purify water at scale with current/emerging practices or meet increasing water needs with a shifting climate and lower precipitation using the means we rely on currently.
Off-grid/etc. lifestyles push the envelope on what is possible on a smaller scale. As most people have to get very creative to meet their needs, such as where their water comes from and solve their waste in a sustainable way. Some people have very primitive and environmentally-unfriendly setups (even when considering the small scale of their pollution/etc.) and I'm not pointing to them, I'm pointing to the people who eliminate their black water output (through composting or other means), and limit the chemicals/etc. that go into their grey water and find ways to reuse it.
I'm of the perspective that we put far too many things down the drain and that sewage/black water shouldn't be circulated in the way that it is, because it is too contaminated for further use - be it used for irrigation, as a fertilizer, or as a soil additive. Even grey water I doubt can be fully purified at scale with the amount of chemicals being dumped by the average person or industry.
I'd like to point to rising cancer rates and general levels of disease as evidence that our practices aren't sufficient. People aren't magically getting cancer at massive and increasing rates because they are simply genetically-prone, I believe there are major environmental factors and uncomfortable truths that are not being accounted for because our government is not operating in the best interest of the public that it serves.
The way I see it, people who implement these setups on a smaller-scale will be positioned to influence their local policies and governments, alongside the people they share their lifestyle and solutions with, for a better future.
I see what you're saying. I find it hard to believe vanlifers and offgridders are the vanguard of a more sustainable future though.
I don't see how all the world's people individually handling waste can work better than centralized expert processing, especially in more dense areas.
It's certainly not the very well-meaning capitalists, the fossil fuel executives who buy our governments, the "defense" industry, or the corporations who produce the products we consume that are driving the ship for a more sustainable and healthy future. It's incompatible with profit, their short-term goals, and their existing industries. Academics and researchers are neutered and mostly silenced and well-meaning individuals who try to effect change are only able to make very small strides to their causes because of the immense resistance our systems engage in to stop progress.
The only way things change is if people start taking personal responsibility, and extend that responsibility and care out to their communities. People who live off-grid/etc. lifestyles are probably more involved than the average person in their local affairs and I do believe they are raising their consciousness about their impact on the world around them and are taking responsibility at a much greater level than the average person.
We outsource our responsibility to people and entities who really don't care if we are poisoned; they just care that their products and solutions sound good on paper and don't sound alarms to those in the know. Like this: https://www.propublica.org/article/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-inside-story
Our water is absolutely full of PFAs (remediation is only just beginning to start) and our waste is being used to grow the food we eat https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/02/texas-farmers-pfas-forever-chemicals-biosolids-fertilizer/ (without proper testing, completely disregarding human health) - I can't imagine it's wonderful even as a soil additive.
There is so much pollution from our practices. When you look at the maps that show pollution, it's really hard to believe that we know about every little bit or even a small fraction when corporations knowingly poison our waterways/etc. en masse like this: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/wastewater-from-tyson-meat-processing-plants-is-polluting-u-s-waterways-report-says
As for denser areas like cities, of course some solution or slow evolution will be needed, but I don't think it can't be solved by simply filtering the water better or adding more complexity to broken systems. I think it will take a lot more than that to truly ensure clean water in areas that already are very unhealthy to reside in.
I'd say putting caps and restrictions on what chemicals we can produce (that we cannot meaningfully dispose of) and limiting household and commercial chemical use (because there is no proper way to dispose of them) is the bare minimum. Moving essential industry away from densely populated areas and waterways might also be necessary because these companies cannot be trusted and regulation is broken (or functioning as intended because the cost benefit analysis decides people should just get sick and die instead of corporations losing profit like with asbestos).
Who said anything about capitalism? I'm talking about centralization. Expecting countless individuals to be able to do something as well as specialists can do it just doesn't make sense to me.
"Personal responsibility" is a red herring used by those in power to try and shift the blame off of institutions with real power. We need institutional change first and foremost.
Off-gridders are primarily dilettantes who have the money to pretend they're disconnected from the system.
I’m talking about centralization. Expecting countless individuals to be able to do something as well as specialists can do it just doesn’t make sense to me.
As far as I know, there is no existing and modern example of centralization that I am aware of that isn't some form of state authoritarianism with capitalist or other class/status-based elements. So in my mind, the concepts are at least loosely interlinked, unless we are framing this in the context of the world already being at least slightly utopian or having overt socialist elements. Which I'm happy to entertain, or just purely entertain the concept of centralization in a vacuum.
I overall agree that centralization could be made very efficient, but in its current form, people are limited/controlled in a number of ways (such as lacking ownership of their property), and those that control centralization efforts are not designing cities or economies of scale that are even remotely healthy and in the best interest of humanity or the planet.
If we have no meaningful way of getting rid of or utilize biosolids besides landfills and other, more harmful practices, it doesn't seem like the most amazing thing to do in the tried and true way moving forward.
“Personal responsibility” is a red herring
If I have to give my power away to external entities to meet my needs and tackle all of my problems, and they persistently show a pattern of wanton disregard for my health and safety and of those around me, I'm going to find ways of taking matters into my own hands and show others how easy and inexpensive it is - that you don't need to be an expert to tackle certain realities of life that are vastly over-complicated by those in power.
Off-gridders are primarily dilettantes who have the money to pretend they’re disconnected from the system.
Of course nobody is truly disconnected, on the contrary, we are all connected. It is, however, disingenuous to imply that you need vast sums of money to accomplish such a lifestyle. The system is also, in my view, not solely responsible for all existing innovation and culture that off-gridders/etc. benefit from.
The modern world is moving along at a very slow pace, and it's doing so kicking and screaming at every small step of progress because of concepts like "expense" and the diminishing/false quantification of value of people to excuse inaction or the blatant disregard of the health and safety of those that reside in it.
I'm of the view that unless a city/centralized location is able to support its basic needs in the geographic region its occupying (and moving forward), it's probably in the wrong spot. Am I against centralization or proponents of it? Of course not, but there has to be a valid reason for specific projects and solid grounding for it besides what is best or convenient for capitalists.
From my perspective, there also needs to be guiding principles, a universal bill of human rights that is never eroded, and a commitment to ending/creatively solving polluting practices and actively remediating said pollution.
Alot of that just isn’t something we can do inside cities
Unfortunately, I don't think the world's emerging situation will allow people to live en-masse (in ever-growing numbers) in cities in their current form for too much longer.
Cities are more efficient than rural communities. Concentration of people is better than spreading everyone out. You’d see much more environmental destruction if everyone moved rural. Plus it’s much harder to get resources to rural communities. Modifications should be made but everyone pooping in the woods in a bucket isn’t a good idea either.
Cities are more efficient than rural communities.
They can be in some respects, sure. They are also vastly more unhealthy to reside in, will likely fail to meet energy needs and water needs in the face of a shift in climate and in precipitation, and are suffering from vast amounts of pollution in every direction.
Concentration of people is better than spreading everyone out.
I disagree with your opinion, but in a more healthy world I would probably agree with you.
You’d see much more environmental destruction if everyone moved rural.
With today's world and consumerism, you are probably correct.
Plus it’s much harder to get resources to rural communities.
This country is ripe for high-speed rail infrastructure for freight. I think local communities should be less dependent on the global/national economy to meet their needs. If we can put Walmarts everywhere and stock them to the brim with junk from China (etc.) we can provide people the basic necessities.
Modifications should be made but everyone pooping in the woods in a bucket isn’t a good idea either.
I don't think we need to poop in buckets and I wasn't suggesting it. Overall, we need completely new systems that are known to be safe and effective, regulatory bodies that are functioning and on the side of the people (or humanity as a whole), and a mass banning of chemicals like Europe.
I apologize for the quick and perceivably chide responses, I think we both want a better world and we likely agree on a lot of things. I see your good intentions. Thank you for sharing your perspective and I really do appreciate your responses and time - I just don't personally see the path forward in ultra-capitalist hellscapes like cities. There is too much complexity, mindless dependence on the existing systems, and too much overarching parasitism standing in the way in those areas for meaningful progress unless there are vast shifts occurring which I do not have the foresight or eyes to see.
Modern sewer systems are safe, spreading everyone around the country side and connect with high speed rail isn’t feasible. We need to work on our communities and make cities safe for people to live in, get rid of cars etc. spreading out isn’t the answer
Modern sewer systems are safe
They produce biosolids which are probably very contaminated and are presently jammed into landfills if they are not (from my understanding) unsafely repurposed. I'd like to see people openly entertain the various uses we could have for our waste. Our systems aren't good enough quite yet to close the book on.
connect with high speed rail isn’t feasible
From my perspective, high speed rail is very feasible for freight and transportation. Does it make sense to connect to every remote and mostly uninhabited region? Probably not.
We need to work on our communities
Hard yes. I just feel that it's very difficult to connect when you are so vastly disconnected in current cities.
and make cities safe for people to live in
We'll have to get very serious to tackle our pollution and polluting practices to do so. I think a large number of cities will have to naturally relocate/rebuild as the situation shifts in the coming decades and that is what I was attempting to touch on.
get rid of cars etc. spreading out isn’t the answer
I'm not explicitly arguing against centralization or arguing for dispersion into rural areas, and I do agree with you largely. I think accessible high speed rail is one way that we can get rid of cars and other vehicles.
Well we should recognize cities and rural are basically different countries that needs different laws, policy and governance.
We already do. Lots of rural communities already use septic tanks for waste management instead. And there really isn’t a good alternative for landfills. You can compost food but that’s only like half the waste.
We will have to ban single-use plastics (and plastics being used unnecessarily), planned obsolescence as a concept for product development, non-repairable/disposable electronics/products, etc. to really make a dent on landfill usage. But as you say, it's hard to get around landfills completely when capitalism is this out of control.
We need to produce products that can actually be recycled (without the use of toxic chemicals or PFAs), produce more products locally vs. shipping them across the world (using glass to replace most plastic use). We likely need to reinvent garbage collection (what's acceptable to throw out), a revolution in recycling and product design, education campaigns on recycling and proper garbage disposal, and DIY movements to restore older electronics to their glory using open and free solutions.
It’s fun when someone comments something you completely agree with :). My only response is “yes”
I have been planning to homestead for close to 20 years, and just jumped into the lifestyle 2 months ago.
My wife and I are living in a tiny SUV with our cat. We have a fridge, twin bed, warm blankets, plenty of food and water. We have an outhouse tent for our business. It has a $4 bucket with a $15 toilet lid. I added a container and a funnel in there for liquids, and we use bags for the solids. Works for us.
We have explored the state and went to some really cool places, until we found land we purchased.
As soon as the septic is installed we can legally live in an RV, we can start a compost pile, start a garden, get chickens, and try being as self sufficient as we can.
I also want to make and design my own off grid things, for example making a wood gasifier. Then in an emergency we can run gas things from wood (generator, truck, tractor, etc).
I plan to share my experience on YouTube once we have an RV, hoping I can help people to live a more sustainable life.
Thanks for sharing!
If you haven't already you may wish to read The Humanure Handbook by Joe Jenkins. It outlines a practical diy composting toilet system that is low-odor and sanitary when maintained properly.
I have that book in storage, soon after septic is installed I plan to get my stuff here, need the tools to build.
We have been planning on a composting toilet in the house.
The septic will be used for the kitchen sink (it’s considered black water here) but everything else can be used for plants if we use safe soaps for the liquids and compost the solids long enough.