Once we decide on how much electricity we would want in hard times we can look at the most practical way to build up a system. Let us say we want to have twoway global communication. We know telephone service could go down for extended periods so we would be better off with a satellite internet service and perhaps ham radio transceivers or cell phones as back ups. I like battery back up systems. Something that could store power enough for my basic needs for a day or two without the need to recharge. This allows one to service or replace equipment such as combustion generators without disconnecting power to the house. It allows a small charger to cycle instead of constantly running. It also optimizes the use of photovoltaics and wind generators that do not have constant outputs.

A small to large combustion generator might help you build a wind generator at your convenience especially if you require arc welding. The right combination of wind and photovoltaic electric with a large battery bank would allow you basic electrical use when there was no corporate electricity or wind and only a small 300500 watt photovoltaic array would give the batteries a few kilowatts on a sunny Winters day. You could make a few gallons of distilled water without drawing from the battery bank. On a rare cloudy still day one would use the stored power. When the wind blows the battery bank is charged. The need for a combustion generator would be minimized and we would not need to spend on a heavy duty unit designed for continuous operation. Nor would we be tied to large scale fuel storage to run a generator.

Fuel that could be scarce or expensive. Bio diesel and ethanol would allow us to store much more stable fuels than gasoline at little additional costs. Think green. Think renewable. Some 600 sugar beet farmers are upset about competition from Central American sugar producers. Sugar beets would seem to be a better source for ethanol than corn if Im not mistaken and the new energy bill is supposed to promote ethanol production. Its easy to modify a gasoline engine to run on ethanol and if push comes to shove you can make your own ethanol bio diesel and methane..

While commercial hydrogen fuel cells will not be cost effective for many years yet the doityourselfers will probably have relatively cheap units we can build in a few years if they are not available now. I would still want a battery storage system if I added a fuel cell. This is a power source to keep our eyes on. We are supposed to believe it is expensive and difficult to produce hydrogen so we will buy it from the oil companies. I am convinced we will be able to make cheap hydrogen fuel at home and on the road by the time the corporate energy companies have invested billions in hydrogen infrastructure. Isnt life grand

Partner Power

Those who choose to opt out of the corporate rat race will likely need revenue to pay off debt and to prepare for hard times. It would be good for them if there were local partnerships they could join to produce that revenue. If those who have left the corporate world create expandable partnerships the means to create revenue for new partners will be in place. These partnerships can take many forms. Labor oriented cooperatives wholesale buying clubs mail order businesses.

Community gardens local home delivery businesses and local interest based hobby groups can all be run for profits to be divided for revenue organizational growth and expansion. The idea is to present options the more the better for those who will be dropping out of the corporate money lover life in the near future. Doing so could be very profitable at the same time a global counter culture is established or expanded. This is a ground floor opportunity if such there ever was. Once wage and salary slaves can see decent alternatives some will want them.

Anyone can plan an expandable partnership or group association in any area of interest either on paper or computer. They can circulate the proposal to like minded folks who will provide feedback on the plan and may join the partnership. It only takes two people to start a partnership that can grow to include hundreds. Otherwise the only option for most would be corporate drop outs would be self operated business or contract labor. Expanding the options through wide ranging partnerships is the best option I see for those looking for a way out of the corporate war mongering money lover madness. This supports an already flourishing underground economy that pays little tribute to the money lovers.

Partnerships can be so superior to corporate employer employee relationships it can only be the greed of employers determined to harvest half or more of the fruit of anothers labor that prevents partnership from being the dominant business model in the consumptive West. Employee ownership in the corporate world has become a popular buzz phrase

but a few owners are still in a position to rip off all the others. This is much less likely in partnerships. A partnership can be organized to please regulators and tax collectors or the bottom line and social concerns of the partners.

If we find we dont function well in partnership one can still be used to launch a project with the understanding that partners will be bought out at a fair or set price by a given date. There will always be people who love start up operations others who seek growth opportunities and others who just like status quo operations; so temporary partnerships have their place. Partnerships allow self interest and group interests to be balanced and expanded. Most of all we are looking at the alternatives to the corporate money lover life. This is the essence of the Homestead Revolution. Non violent separation from the control threats manipulation dependencies economies force deceit and injustices of the Old World Order.

Political Partnerships

If we wish to organize for political reasons such as local control social justice and affecting global politics by modeling there is a little used system that comes from the book of Exodus in the Bible. Moses was wearied by the people asking him to settle petty disputes making him the judge of more than a million people. His fatherinlaw suggested a cellular system of organization he called captains of ten. We now see this system in terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda. The fact that it works well for violent revolutionaries does not mean it will not work for non violent revolutionaries.

It can work for all partnerships and civic associations. The great potential lies in the fact that it is a republican style government that can be built by the people no matter what the official forms may be. That is you can organize a Communist cell and the interest of the cell members takes first priority. Another cell can opera