Peak Oil 101…now with humor
Posted: July 2, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 4. Energy Security | Tags: Peak Oil, Transition Voice Comments Off on Peak Oil 101…now with humor
Love the folks over at Transition Voice, especially their post A Snarky Guide to Peak Oil.
Recommended reading.
“All this preparation stuff isn’t necessary”
Posted: June 30, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy Comments Off on “All this preparation stuff isn’t necessary”
…said a local acquaintance I happened to see at the pub.
He went on to explain to me why time spent growing my own food, developing a support network of neighbors for emergencies, and getting to know my local farmers was a waste. I should be putting those hours into my (previous) high tech career and making boatloads of money instead, he told me. Then I could “just hire those farmers to come work for me whenever I wanted.”
After almost spitting out my beer, I asked him a few follow-up questions:
- Do you have a wood pile to warm yourself in the winter?
- Do you purchase insurance of any kind?
- Do you take vitamin supplements?
He answered Yes to all three questions; I congratulated him on being a prepper. He conceded and bought the next round.
Building resilience into your life is no longer something you can ignore given the state of our economy and (more importantly) the state of our planet. Money will become less valuable as first-hand farming knowledge and personal relationships become more valuable.
Chickens aren’t the only ones who are sticking their heads in the sand, as my friend showed me the other night at the pub.
“Life goes on all around us, and it is good”
Posted: June 27, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 3. Food Security Comments Off on “Life goes on all around us, and it is good”
Pure wisdom by elder Shepherd Bliss:
“Life goes on all around us, and it is good.”
A long, rambling read and worth every moment.
Creating time to grow food
Posted: June 25, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 3. Food Security Comments Off on Creating time to grow food
Wisdom from Modern Victory Garden:
“What works best is to have the garden be a regular part of our every day lives (all through the year) and to do smaller amounts of work on a much more frequent basis.”
I could not agree more. Thankfully I can stack all my work phone calls into each afternoon and complete them while walking around the garden doing these daily light chores. I have other friends who can schedule their freelance work jobs around their garden’s seasonal needs; they work a lot in the winter, not as much in the summer.
I’ve also experimented with getting up earlier than normal with the sunlight and getting 20-30 minutes of scythe work in, cutting our pasture. It’s enjoyable and meditative…and knocks off one more item on my task list before the kids even get up!
Transition Town movement: US versus Europe
Posted: June 23, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 7. Physical Security Comments Off on Transition Town movement: US versus EuropeAn interesting insight by Lindsay Curren, publisher of the US-based Transition Voice website, commenting on the writings of Rob Hopkins, co-founder of the UK-based Transition Town movement,
In America there’s another incentive to build local economies and local resilience: the lack of a guaranteed social safety net, and the crumbling of the strained services that are available. In Europe, we “still have nets that catch you when you fall,” says Hopkins.
To be, “more survivalist based” is therefore more natural for the United States. That’s why we may see more of a desire stateside to balance family emergency and self-defense plans with community building, a reality of the culture whether it fits in with Transition’s gentler original intentions or not.
Get offline and get a life
Posted: June 15, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy Comments Off on Get offline and get a lifeEver stop to think about just how ridiculous (and useless) your social media life is? Here’s a wonderful visual of it…
The safety of energy
Posted: May 13, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 4. Energy Security Comments Off on The safety of energy
Don’t you love it when people smarter than yourself say exactly what you are thinking?
Especially when they do it in just a handful of sentences. Seth Godin brilliantly summarizes the energy debate between nuclear versus oil versus coal while riffing on this interesting graphic.
Life lessons from Leo Babauta
Posted: May 1, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy Comments Off on Life lessons from Leo BabautaWell said, sir.
Reclaim your independence, America
Posted: March 28, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy Comments Off on Reclaim your independence, America
No, we’re not under threat of invasion from a foreign country. But we are in imminent danger of losing some of our freedoms to corporations.
Annie Leonard, the brilliant storyteller behind The Story of Stuff, explores in her newest short film the history of the American corporation and corporate political spending, the appropriate roles of citizens and for-profit corporations in a democracy and the toxic impact the Citizens United decision is already having on our political process.
The animation, titled The Story of Citizens United v. FEC: Why Democracy Only Works When People are in Charge!, ends with a call to amend the U.S. constitution to confirm that people—not corporations—make the decisions in a democracy.
It is well worth your time.
Winter afternoons in the garden
Posted: March 4, 2011 Filed under: 1. Philosophy, 8. Wealth Management Comments Off on Winter afternoons in the garden
…digging worms with the ones most important to you.
What a blessing. I am truly wealthy in the best ways during moments like these.
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