Well, I suppose it's reasonable to consider Oz as a benchmark for worst-case scenario. Still, I maintained running water and refrigeration for 3 days while all the mains-connected folk had to throw out their perishables, and flush their toilets with buckets of water from rainwater tanks - those who had tanks, that is.

It's not a gimmick when the cost of connecting to the grid is more than the cost of an off-grid system - it's simple economics. BTW, we recently had a cyclone go through the district (South-east Queensland, Australia) - mains power was out all over the place - including services like water - so people "on the grid" not only didn't have electricity for days (goodbye to the contents of your fridge/freezer), they didn't have flushing toilets. We "off the grid" types managed to avoid such unpleasantness.

That's an interesting point - I have some 55 watt panels on the roof that are over 20 years old, and probably not producing at the rated spec anymore. I want to replace them with newer technology panels - I wonder if the rare earths in the old panels make them a worthwhile "trade-in" option? Anybody know much of the various elements are present in panels?

Switch to LED lighting. Leave the manufacturing energy cost out of the equation for the moment and just concentrate on the day-to-day energy consumption of a traditional tungsten-filament bulb, compared to a halogen equivalent, compared to a CFL, compared to an LED - all with similar or identical output in lumens/sq. metre. The energy consumption drops off dramatically. Of course you now have to consider total energy costs over the lifetime of the device including manufacture, transport, distribution, etc, and how long it will take to deliver a nett "profit" in energy consumption compared to previous technology. My own experience is that reducing your daily energy consumption makes a surprising difference when totaled over a year.

"A world out of time" by Larry Niven. None of the usual "kill your grandfather" paradoxes, but a well-thought-out and entertaining story about a man catapulted a L O N G way into the future.

Next to Tumba-bloody-rumba, Ulla-bloody-dulla and Beula-bloody-dealah.

An interesting strategy, and I hope it works out for you.
 
Coonabarabran doesn't have that sort of reliable rainfall - it's not in or near a rainforest, you see.

Good point - I think it's local, though. I won a consolation prize, once - 2 smoke alarms, a fire blanket, backpack, cap, AND a Garmin Nuvi!. When the next call came I told the caller I'd be happy to buy double tickets, because of the prize. He started talking about what a great little package of items it was, and he had been given the package for some reason - so that makes me think it wasn't outsourced to a city call centre.

2 reasons. The size of the area to be burnt, and funding.
 
When you have limited funds, you have to be very selective where you spend it doing this years' choice of burns. Rural Fire Brigades (at least here in Qld) have to do a lot of fundraising to stay afloat - they're volunteers, and one of the few charities I always support when the phone rings to sell me raffle tickets.

You might be right - but it's your choice whether to eat that sort of meat, or not. I'm prepared to pay more - sometimes a lot more - for free-range meat. Doesn't have to be "organic", just not raised or fattened in pens or feedlots or cages.

I like your open-minded approach - no, that's not sarcasm, I mean it. Yes, electricity from nuclear fission is cleaner overall than most other so-called baseload sources. It's still scary when something goes wrong - it doesn't matter about new designs, assurances, technological advances (which ARE impressive) - human fears are a factor, and must be dealt with, whether based on solid evidence, or FUD from greenpeace.
 
I live off-grid using subsidised solar PV, and a petrol generator for backup when it's rainy. If I was really strict about appliance usage when the weather is less than ideal (e.g. turn off the kids' computers), we wouldn't need the generator very much at all. Let's put aside the environmental impact of manufacturing solar PV for the moment, and focus on whether it's possible to live off-grid with solar PV. Is it possible to continue a high-energy-consumption lifestyle with old-style incandescent light bulbs, air-conditioning, electric clothes dryers, electric dishwashers, electric coffee-makers, electric ovens and stovetops? No, it's not. Is it possible to minimise your consumption of fossil fuels and still enjoy life? Hells yeah. No aircon, occasional use of the clothes dryer run directly off the generator, wood-fired stove (also supplies hot water and heating), hand-wash dishes while listening to internet radio, 2-3 major appliances at any one time, e.g. 2 computers and a washing machine, or vacuum cleaner and washing machine, etc. It can work, if you want it to. Right now, I'm typing this on a laptop, on a sunday evening, listening to internet radio (B.B. King, if you're interested) via another laptop amplified through an old boombox, my daughter is watching some silly movie on Nickleodeon on a 55" LCD TV, sourced via a HD decoder from a satellite dish, my wife is playing minecraft on her laptop with an external 24" LCD screen, and my son is doing the facebook thing on his iPad - it's about 5:45pm, so house lights will be coming on soon - they're a mix of 24VDC halogen, and 240VAC CFL. All it takes is willpower, and (gratefully acknowledged) Govt subsidised PV - yes, I DO pay my taxes, BTW. Mind you, even if it the gear wasn't subsidised, it still would have been cheaper than getting the mains extended to my place.
 
Not the right solution for everyone, obviously, but saying it can't be done is simply not true.

'bout time somebody mentioned Oz. We gots big flat expanses, and bucketloads of sunlight for the PVs needed to offset the energy needs, everyone likes us, and the native critters can provide security services.
 
Oh, and we've got Michelle Jenneke to keep the lonely scientists entertained.

Oh god yes - she's such a national treasure. Any politician, no matter what else I think of them, gets a bonus point for being prepared to look silly on national TV. Intentionally silly, that is. Not when spouting party policies. And Barnaby Joyce just makes my day whenever I see him giving a sound bite. I can't tell whether he's a master troll or just an idiot, and that's not sarcasm - I've actually heard some well-reasoned words escape his lips.
 
Offtopic - anyone surprised about the outcome of the Peter Slipper court case?