Nick Rosen, joining the show from London, is one of the world’s premier experts on off-the-grid living. Rosen, a documentary filmmaker, was shooting in New York City in 2003 during the infamous East Coast power outage, and it really opened his eyes to society’s reliance on a constant energy stream. “I’m not sure if [electrical grid power] didn’t exist these days that we’d need to invent it, because technology has moved on,” Rosen says. “It’s quite possible to generate energy locally now. We don’t even need the grid the way we did 100 years ago… I’m not sure we even needed it then.” Rosen experimented with wood-burning stoves, rainwater capturing and solar panel electricity and found it a transition of ease. He even felt a sense of green pride, and felt some economic relief as well. Rosen cautions that living off the grid certainly isn’t for everyone, but it is important to know that it is available, even if you choose to work your way up to it.