Going green, going organic, the green wave. It is the new buzzword across the globe, and that, of course, includes Bermuda. Reuse, recycle, reduce your footprint in respect for your own environment. Going green is more than a buzzword and more than living off the grid (means you live in a self-sufficient way in terms of energy, water, heat and other utilities).

This is a serious message that if everyone used less, made less of a mess, and cleaned up after themselves, we would have a healthier happier community. Is it that easy? Can it be done?

Back to the land and the sea. This isn't the first time that a green movement has surfaced. According to Wikipedia, the social phenomenon of migration from sophisticated cities to rural life has been a recurring pattern since Roman time.

Back in the 1960's and 70's, thousands of young people, particularly, in North America rejected the notion of a dollar earned for day's work, deciding instead to go back - to real values, hand made, homegrown, independent of government interference (and bailouts), freedom of relationships, visualisation of the real raw homestead living. If you found your real identity in the process, then the positive benefit was even better (another day, another dollar came from nautical lore when sailors vied for the longest voyage, thus guaranteeing - barring shipwreck or commercial collapse - steady wages for the time at sea. Once back on dry land, the promise of work was far more elusive).

The back-to-the-land movement conveyed the message of living simply (leaving a fleeting footprint on this earth) so that others may simply live. In many conventional circles, the message became obscured, however, as multimedia latched on to the more fascinating and inflammatory facets of these new lifestyles. It was for the young a complete repudiation of their parents rigid post World War II values, those of working for the company store, acquiring a small home á la Levittown, New Jersey, the little woman in the kitchen raising three or more children, the men with retirement and a gold watch at 60. Instead, the words back-to-the-landers (or 'hippies') implied alternative lifestyles of free love, mind-enhancers, commune living, non-consumerism, vegetarianism, natural home grown, home made, avoidance of pesticides and adulterated products, work as you go, rejection of government and its interference in personal issues, and anti-war sentiment. This way of living was diametrically opposite to the rapidly approaching all encompassing consumer era of the last thirty years.

The embrace of the back-to-the land brought some successes, but as with any challenges and changes, many failures. The decision to live without electricity, running water, spinning your own wool, weaving your own fabric, then sewn into clothes, burning detritus forest scrub for heat, raising crops and livestock in a harsh remote areas is incredibly hard work and still faces the everyday issue of cash. Barter can only take you so far.

I remember clearly an individual narrative of a young women living in the Northeastern United States. She was the outside breadwinner in the family. Every day: hiking three miles in deep snow down an unplowed dirt road to start up (hopefully) an ancient second-hand car, arriving at the restaurant where she worked, red-faced cosmetic-free, clothes soaked with ice-repellent and sweat, to serve wealthy clientele who had just spent the afternoon skiing, at the spa, now dressed for dinner in the latest fashions. Then when the shift was done driving back home in a repeat of the process. It just became too hard to live the simple life.

Whatever the perception, it was certainly not reality for the most well-intentioned and overshadowed the achievements of the real authentic back-to-the-landers, the original green people, such as Helen and Scott Nearing whose personal philosophy (dating to the 1930's) of the living the good life (four hours of labor for four hours of leisure) was lost in the shuffle. The Amish Mennonite communities have survived (and thrived) for hundreds of years in their devotion to God, care for the land, their community, and voluntary simplicity in their personal lives.

Forty years later - going green has new awareness, new visions, new messengers and considerably more sophisticated ideas and plans for achievement whether you embrace a small or big step.

What did our thrifty Bermudians forebears do before all these modren (Bermudian fractured English) conveniences There was no fancy name for going green pre-consumption lifestyles. Our ancestors lived simply, it was a matter of pure survival.

They raised what crops they could. Families kept chickens, goats, the occasional duck or turkey. Food was closely connected food to the original ingredients - no frozen orange juice or processed cereals with packages containing BHA. Oats were oats and took hours to cook.

They paid cash for everything, and bartered when they had no cash.

No electricity; they used kerosene lamps. Water was bailed from cisterns, or hauled from tanks. Indoor plumbing was just coming into vogue - most houses had an outhouse, managed inadvertently organically with lime and soil.

Buckets hauled water to large tubs, clothes were washed by hand and hung on clothes lines to dry. Salt water soap kept (and used) for those times of drought to bathe in the sea.

Everyone that could learn or had access to a sewing machine knew how to sew. Any fabric, whether from grain sacks, or other product covering was recycled into children's and adult clothing. Nothing was discarded if it could be reused.

Fishing was easy and common - hand to mouth, little to no pesticide, little processing from sea to stir fried.

The heat was endured. Shutters in by noon to keep the house cool no fans, no air conditioning.

Many did not own cars; they rode bicycles or the bus or rowed across the pond, or heavens, walked miles to their destinations.

How did we get from our tough ancestors to where we are now? Is this called modern living? The discussion in a future article.

A penny saved is a penny earned (translation with inflation to a dollar saved is a dollar earned). Living green should not cost more; the benefit to you is more dollars in your pocket and more independence and control over your environment.

Can it be done? Going green and living off the grid will mean some work on your part, co-operation with your neighbours, commercial support from business, political and regulatory commitments from government. The rich and successful are no more insulated against environmental damage than you or I. We are all in this together - prolonging a sustainable green world for future generations is the only choice. What a positive goal that holds the promise of uniting communities and establishing individual lifestyle serenity. Is that too much too ask for?

In future articles, we will visit those who practice what they preach, and businesses who help the green movement while compiling a discussion resources network with interested parties on green wave living in Bermuda.

Please contact me at martha.myron@gmail.com">martha.myron@gmail.com I am searching for your individual and family stories. How do you live off the grid now? What did you parents, grandparents, and great grandparents do to survive hard times to make your easy living. We can use your name, or publish anonymously.

Sources: Wikipedia, Homegrown, Living off the Grid, OffGrid-Free Yourself, Off-Grid YouTube Channel

The author makes no representation or endorsement of these sources.

Martha Harris Myron, CPA, CFP(US) TEP(UK) JP - Bermuda is an independent fee-only cross border planning specialist in investment, tax, estate, and strategic retirement planning services for Bermuda residents with cross-border and multi-national connections, internationally mobile people and US citizens living abroad. For more information, contact martha.myron@gmail.com">martha.myron@gmail.com or 296 3528 at Patterson Partners Ltd.

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