Peak Oil

[helwen]

gwynt_y_storm had an interesting link in her LJ today, about useful things one can do to live a low energy use lifestyle. It mentioned Peak Oil and although I could guess I wasn't sure of the details. So I went to the site's "Primer on Peak Oil" to learn more:
http://www.energybulletin.net/primer.php

Interesting stuff, and far down the page there are some links to sites with more practical how-to stuff on the individual level/local community level -- manageable, in other words. Our house uses oil heat, so we've been working on insulating and various other things to use less oil. Could be better, but could be worse. I'm happy to say that even with all the computers and stuff that we have that our electrical usage has gone down at least. Usage should go down a bit more now that we don't need the air cleaners anymore -- combination of dusting more and having ivy plants.

I try not to be an alarmist -- running in circles just gets you tired, eh?
But many of the suggestions at these sites about saving energy, different lifestyles, etc, are also useful for healthier living. So whether or not you believe that oil prices are going to go way up, that fossil fuel will or will not run out, etc., there are some useful things that will save money, and more.

We'll be trying out a few things over the next few years, seeing what works, what doesn't. One thing we'll be doing is growing more veggies and herbs. We can't grow enough for the year -- not enough land and too hard to grow all the different types of plants we might like to have, in sufficient quantities, next to each other -- inefficient use of land. But we can grow some, and maybe if other people want to do this too in our area, we can do some trading. I suppose it might even be possible to do some trade with people at events, if some people happen to have different crops that are coming due at the same time. Hmmm... and we'll learn about canning, too... tomatoes! Oh, and drying fruit. I have a dehydrator that I've used once, and should really learn how to use properly. I know, you can do that in the sun too, but I feel uncertain about that, so I'll start with the electric one.

I saved seeds from my different lettuces and will be starting them in the spring. I left the old lettuces in the ground (the sorrel is still green, but not the others), so they may re-seed anyway. But just in case... anyway, I plan on starting them and if I have a whole lot of them, if anyone would like to have some they are welcome to them. I have seeds for Romaine, Buttercrunch, and some generic Leaf lettuce, as well as Sorrel. Makes for nice variety in a salad, and all of them would do pretty well in a sandwich as well.

Comments

[ellid.livejournal.com]

If you'd share some of your expertise and advice, I might be induced to start an herb garden on my deck for next year. I haven't the slightest idea of how to begin, but I'm willing to learn.

As for me...I put plastic sheeting on my basement windows and have turned down my thermostat as much as I can. So far it seems to be working, so keep your fingers crossed. I'm trying to save as much energy as I can....

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Sure, we can start you on some easy herbs. Parsley's always good - hardy, can use it in soups, salads, spaghetti sauce, etc. And pretty easy to dry for winter, although I didn't really need to this year. Mine is still sitting pretty in the side garden, next to the sorrel. You'll like thyme as well. And some herbs are small enough that you can bring them indoors for the winter and not have them be any the worse for it.

Good luck with saving energy! Oh hey, have you checked for drafts around all your windows? Another good thing to do.