The Long Fingers of Petroleum is an interesting overview of the sort of impact peak oil will have on our lives. I was just describing something like this to Kate the other day so it was fun reading another take on the same idea.
Peak Oil
I’ve been reading more (and plan to read more yet) about peak oil. It is tough topic to look at because it has forced me to reconsider the future. It is not going to be the future I imagined. I’ve always been a big science fiction fan but once again it looks like the science fiction authors are going to be off in a big way. There isn’t going to be any grand space-faring civilization spreading out to other planets or space-based habitats. Energy is the key and our civilization at the moment is based on cheap fossil fuels. The “cheap” part of that is ending. We’re at the peak more or less now. Our current civilization model has a lot of momentum that will mean it continues for awhile yet.
It’s getting late in the game to change our lives. For a long time now we’ve planned to be more self-sufficient, homestead, etc., but we’ve gone along as if there is a great deal of time. Now I feel a much greater urgency. At this point we’re encumbered by debts and bad habits. It’s difficult to shake the consumer mentality of wanting things. Even though we don’t watch TV we still find ourselves buying video games, movies, etc.
Well, we just have to do better. I need to do better. To start with I have to stop spending money on things that don’t provide us a step towards our future. Maybe they’re fun and entertaining – but I have plenty of outlets for entertainment. I want to get our debts paid off as soon as possible. Once we’re debt-free then I’d like to buy land and just pay for it – no mortgage. We can build as we go, grow our own food, and work on our self-reliance. Even as we reach the peak there’s still some time. After we all start down the slope it’s going to get harder and harder as prices rise. Time to get busy.
Wind Storm
Yesterday we had high winds. Really high winds! At least for us. We lost power at one point for awhile. One of our tomato cages kept blowing over – uprooted out of the Earthbox. The row covers were tied to the cages so I guess it wanted to act like a box kite or something and take off. Fortunately the Thai tomato that is up didn’t seem to suffer any damage. The other plants that are up seem okay as well.
Z-Coil Update
I’ve worn the Z-Coils for a couple days now and I’m happy I bought them. I’m able to walk without the pain I’d been feeling. Yesterday I was on my feet all day and by the end my right foot was still sore and tired – but much less than it had been before. I’m going to try and take it easy over the next week and give my feet a chance to recover.
The Z-Coil shoes may look odd but I don’t think I’d be at work without them. When you first put them on it does feel weird to have that shock absorption but it’s nice. I think it’ll be a big help to be wearing them while I have to work at the library. Hopefully it’ll give my feet a chance to heal.
Partial covers
The row covers arrived the other day – but it turned out I’d only gotten enough to cover the tomatoes. To go up and over those cages and have room to anchor them down took quite a bit. But it does wrap them up nicely. I’ve ordered additional covers for the rest of the boxes.
More plants
After McCoy’s attack on the porch garden yesterday we noticed that in addition to the tomato plant there is basil, oregano, and sunflowers coming up now. The dirt has gotten moved around so much in the herb box though that there is no telling what type of basil is where. I may have to replant (again). The row covers should be arriving and that’ll help warm things up so hopefully we’ll be seeing more plants soon. It’ll be nice when the plants are more established.
