> Even the food they grow themselves requires a lot of external inputs which are shipped in via far flung transportation networks The author of the article not

> Even the food they grow themselves requires a lot of external inputs which are shipped in via far flung transportation networks The author of the article noted they got their fertilizer from a neighbor. A lot of small farmers get dung of some sort from locals and spread it. >The distributed electricity and water and transportation are less efficient Many (most?) homesteaders are off-grid, so not sure this applies either. I think you might be conflating "rural" living with homesteading, which are different. That said, I imagine per capita efficiency is probably more efficient in cities as you said. It all kind of depends on what you do. If you are a rural homesteader and don't drive anywhere and don't fly anywhere, then that's already a big chunk of impact reduced.