Living Off The Grid Persuasive Essay

Living off the grid can be defined in a myriad of ways, from unplugging from your phone for the weekend, to living in the woods with no internet or electricity. However you define it, living off the grid is often applauded for its positive environmental consequences. But how much of a difference does it really make? In the big scheme of things, not much of a difference at all. Living off the grid does have value for individuals attempting to save money and/or improve their mental health, but as a whole it is not a realistic endeavor for the everyday person and does not have the significant environmental impact that participants often claim it does, at least while it is being implemented half-heartedly.
Although having a disconnected lifestyle

A lot of the time, people who live off the grid still have access to wealth and still benefit from the global economy. They live off the grid as a means of avoiding the problems involved with the grid: pollution, poverty, inequity, etc. (Source E). This means as a whole, people aren’t truly committing to being disconnected from the modern world and therefore are having no positive effect on the environment. Source E argues that instead of running away, we should try to encourage a sustainable lifestyle in the places where pollution and environmental degradation are at their strongest. That means moving to cities not to the woods. This further illustrates that living off the grid is only valuable to the individual and not to the environment as a

As demonstrated in Source F, going off-grid has become more of a trend than a legitimate solution to helping the environment. We don’t fully commit, instead, we do it so that we can tell people we have. If we really want to make a difference, we have to start a movement by encouraging change where the problem is at its worst. Not everyone has the ability to go off the grid and not everyone wants to but for those who do, it can be very valuable on an individual basis. Returning to nature can help us appreciate the world around us as well as cut down on the cost of living. On the other hand, beyond individual value living off the grid doesn’t have a lot of merit. The only way for it to be truly beneficial to the environment is if a large percentage of people decide to go off the grid, the likelihood of which at this point in time, is