We all know it's coming, and there is likely no chance to stop it. Write your congressman and all that, but this blog is about SURVIVING through and THRIVING throughout the end of cheap energy. Let's toss in global warming, economic upheaval, and various other major calamities facing civilization.
My Mom and another friend said they wanted to learn more about Peak Oil, so here's a nice little overview that I think fairly and quite succinctly describes the situation.
posted by Todd @ 8:58 PM
We all know it's coming, and there is likely no chance to stop it. Write your congressman and all that, but this blog is about SURVIVING through and THRIVING throughout the end of cheap energy. Let's toss in global warming, economic upheaval, and various other major calamities facing civilization.
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Just checking out what's new with "peak oil". I'd say that, in a way, a "peak oil" type thing has already happened in Slovakia. Milan's mom had a healthy pension when she retired. When she was working she had a great job. Now she makes $150 a month and the only thing she has in the world is the house she bought right before she retired. Inflation doubled prices basically. She gave up her car a long time ago. Most people in Slovakia only use heat when it's absolutely freezing. Of course, we have the garden and a well. We don't really stockpile exactly, but I'll tell you that during communism, things, for example bike parts, were hard to come by. So, Milan's dad has like 7 bikes and he just keeps taking parts off the old ones. They're getting pretty old now. Another example though, we built the entire chicken house for about $150. It's solid concrete with a clay tile roof. Most of the cost was in the concrete. His dad is like a hardware store. He supplied the roof, the wood, nails, tools, insulation etc.
One thing I have learned about canning that might be important to pass along is that canned foods do not last forever. Unfortunately, foods like canned meats have shorter shelf lives. You might check the details on this, but when we can at home, we throw everything we don't eat out after a year or two. That's home canning though.
Also, we raise animals. This helps, but is a toughie as well. Only one person in the entire family is willing to kill an animal. Chicken, pigeon or rabbit, Ivan, Milan's brother, kills everything for us. When you keep chickens for eggs, they're great for all your spoiled food and anything you would normally put down the garbage disposal. We even let them eat the walls we knocked down in our bedroom last summer. They eat everything. Unfortunately, they're only good for about two years as well, and then you get to eat them, but then you need new ones. Baby chicks are hard to keep alive unless you really know what you're doing. Baby rabbits too. Milan's brother is an expert. Rabbit is really yummy. I like 'em alive, and I like 'em on my plate.
The biggest downfall of all of this is that some things you only get for like a week out of the year. You work and work, and you have a week's worth of all the strawberries you can eat. You make jam and after awhile and then nothing... It's the same with cherries, lettuce, broccoli, green beans, potatoes etc. You're just not going to have all that much in the winter. We lived on cabbage my first winter here. I mean, that was the only green thing we had. Saurkraut. I know, Calypso's favorite, but not people who never ate it until... they moved to Slovakia. I thought I was going to slash my wrists.
I've been casually learning some of the tricks to living here, but it's really quite a lot to take in. Even though I'm surrounded by it, I want to keep it at somewhat of a distance because it's a little too much for me. Sometimes I feel like I need a vacation from it all. I know enough now though that I can take some things and put them into practical use for my family some day. Let me know if you want to come visit. It's paradise in June.
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