Some of us dream of living off the grid, trading modern civilization for the physical hardships and isolation of pre-modern living. Here are a handful of people who, by design and by circumstance, found themselves living in seclusion for years or even decades.

Real talk: Between diminishing stores and oil wars, fossil fuel-dependance is officially a bad deal. In the future, as these resources get scarcer, we're going to have to figure out how to live in a little more harmony with Mother Earth. Here are 21 houses that are already doing it right: eschewing the power grid for…

How far would you be willing to go to minimize your impact on the planet?

Designer Damion O'Sullivan created a concept for a solar lamp with 36 solar cells, each connected to an LED bulb. Hang it outside during the day to collect its energy from the sun, and then bring it inside via its carrying handle for use at night. Or just leave it hanging on a tree for an interesting garden…

British design firm Sybarite aims to develop a modular treehouse concept that the company says could encourage a more organic approach to country living. The plan is to pre-fabricate modules of the house, quickly assembling a dwelling with up to five bedrooms.

If you're longing to get yourself off the grid, the Air-X is a personal wind turbine that gives you 400 watts of power when the wind is blowing at 28mph. When it s not, you can use batteries, and Air-X helps out there, too, with its charge controller that s smart enough to figure out when batteries need charging and…