OK, I know I'm one of the few, but I have to chortle at the "LLL" label tossed around here. Though it bears no relevance to this article, it did in some way inspire it so I have to give a nod in its direction.

My family and I have become increasingly luddites, though without necessarily intending to. Being conservationists, the "back to earth" movement has always held appeal for us, and there is some joy in the fact that economic necessity has virtually forced us to live that dream (I have been unable to acquire a "real" job beyond the paper carrying, so we're getting by the best we can). While we don't so far have goats "mowing" our grass (yet...once the fence is up, we may be buying a kid), we have lived without television, without home computer access (I log on at the library in town 12 miles away almost daily), with a growing compost heap and with outbuildings being planned using scrapped/scavenged products. As one of my readers said on another article, we're becoming the most preeminent third world country. And I believe he is right, in a sense. By next winter, we expect to be using wood (all scavenged) for our primary home heating source, and are selecting a wood stove that will allow us at least limited cooking options to cut our expenses in that area as well. I am designing a solar hot water heater and a greywater recycling system as well. While this does help us in "green" living, it's practicality, not environmentalism (although there is an element of conservationism in it), that drives us. But, I can say that in the process, we're happier than we've been in a long time, and no longer feel we're living "lives of quiet desperation". So it does have its tradeoffs.

Oh, and we're also looking at a four seat bicycle with an electric motor for the hills.