The off-the-grid paradox

The New Scientist has a short interview with off-the-grid guru Nick Rosen, who explains why it's getting easier than ever to live minimally. Turns out, it's because the gridders have developed so much awesome technology:

Is living off-grid today very different to how it used to be?

In the 1970s we had the "back to the land" movement and in the 1980s and 1990s, the survivalists. In the last five years a much more sophisticated and multilayered off-grid population has emerged. These days, technology makes it quite comfortable, thanks to wireless communication, low-energy appliances and, of course, renewable energy, which has come a long way since the 1970s.