This article is about an area near where I currently live.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/10/realestate/in-one-arizona-community-an-oasis-in-a-toxic-world.html
It's about 20miles North of me, to be precise. This area
is popular with "preppers," and "off-grid" folks, as well
as people that just want to be left alone. There's a lot
of cheap land around here, especially out where there
aren't many roads or amenities. Presumably, that's just what
these people want.
Some of these people also experience what they call "environmental illness,"
which they correlate with electro-magnetic fields, among other things. Some
of them coat their walls with tin-foil, and turn off all electrical currents
in rooms they are in. Others require all visitors to bath with special
soap, and change into provided clothing.
In doing a quick search, this type of experience isn't new; even during
the 1800's people complained of ailments caused by the telegraph and other
new technologies. I'm not sure when chemical sensitiviy was first believed
to be the cause of major health challenges.
Now, science and society may or may not agree with what is causing these
people's problems. I'm not sure that matters, at all. What I find interesting
in this whole thing is that people are searching for alternative ways of
living their lives, without harming anyone else, and actually finding a
measure of success.
I don't experience any physical problems because of the way that society
"forces" me to live, but I certainly face some emotional challenges.
I'm not that interested in living a conventional lifestyle. Things like
tiny homes, yurts, and off-grid intrigue me. But I have found it difficult
to find a community, county, state, etc, that accepts people living the
way they want to live.
I guess for now I can count myself lucky that I'm living in a place that is
tolerant of alternative ideas.
