Peak Oil - Long Range Preparation for a Slow Decline
Two years ago, a newspaper reporter interviewed me about peak oil. She asked me a question that caused me to feel a bit foolish.
"What have you done at home to get ready?"
At the time, I hadn't done much. I was still trying to understand peak oil, and focused on the long term implications.
Now, two years later, I can say with some certainty that we have actually done quite a few things. We have talked about doing much more, of course, and my previous articles attest to that.
So what have we done thus far?
Food
1. Build a pantry, and stock it with food -- probably 300 pounds or more
2. Enlarge our vegetable garden -- now it is over 2,500 square feet
3. Plant fruit bushes and fruit trees -- clearly these need more care than we were used to providing
4. Fill deep freeze with food
5. Found and started shopping at local farmers market, and buying eggs left around from neighbor's pet chickens
6. Purchased various books on gardening, including permaculture, as well as cook books
Home Heat
1. Insulate under outlet covers (still probably have a few to do)
2. Insulate hot water tank
3. Insulate over attic hatch (I think this one is done, I will check.)
4. Put up heavy, thick curtains over almost all windows and sliders (a couple still need to be put up)
5. Buy plastic to put over windows if there is a winter emergency
6. Install two ceiling fans (one more to go)
7. Set programmable furnace thermostat lower
8. Replaced 500 gallon LPG tank with 1,000 gallon tank
9. Make sure to have extra clothes, for warmth on cooler days
Water
1. Purchase collapsible camp jug, 2.5 gallons
2. Keep 1-2 gallons in fridge at all times
3. Case of bottled water in garage (needs to be replaced, I think we drank it all)
Electricity
1. Install low wattage fluorescent lights in almost all fixtures, extra bulbs in storage
2. Replace old desktop computers with very low wattage laptops, and LCD monitors
3. Turn off all lights except ones we are using at that moment
4. Make sure freezers and fridge are full (they work much harder when 1/2 full or near empty)
5. Replace dead fridge with Energy Star fridge
6. Purchase lots of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries & charger (still looking for good D size)
Money
1. Set aside $100 emergency home fund, small bills and coins
2. Paid off house -- we considered how much the bank would give us, and borrowed only 1/2 that, so we could pay it off in half the time -- also means lower taxes
3. Paid off cars -- keep driving them (they are both over 230,000 miles now)
4. Paid off credit cards
5. Keep somewhat high balance in checking account
6. No cable TV or dish - we get free DVD's from the library, and a basic NetFlix account
Transportation
1. Kept original cars, about 25 mpg each -- will probably replace with newer used car
2. Fill up car fuel tanks once down to half full
3. Bought five 5-gallon gas cans (only three have gas in them at the moment.)
4. Buy Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer (I have yet to use this, but plan to at next fill up.)
Security
1. Keep doors and windows locked as a habit
2. Started talking to, and getting to know, neighbors
3. Starting a peak oil awareness group to meet more people
Education
1. Attended three "Peak Oil and Community Solutions" conferences
2. Attend one ASPO-USA Peak Oil conference
3. Bought and read over a dozen books on peak oil and related topics
4. Took college course on macro-economics
5. Watched dozens of documentaries related to peak oil and related topics
6. Started web site and online journal, to keep myself thinking and taking action
7. Attended two state level renewable energy fairs
8. Attended various other talks about energy and the future
9. Prepared and presented talks and a video about peak oil
Doesn't seem so shabby in retrospect. I could now look that reporter in the eyes, and tell her that we have made progress, but I know it is not enough. What would happen if things got bad fast? What if peak oil hit us like a winter blizzard, knocking out power and leaving us stranded at home? In that case, we are not at all prepared, and still have a long way to go.
"What have you done at home to get ready?"
At the time, I hadn't done much. I was still trying to understand peak oil, and focused on the long term implications.
Now, two years later, I can say with some certainty that we have actually done quite a few things. We have talked about doing much more, of course, and my previous articles attest to that.
So what have we done thus far?
Food
1. Build a pantry, and stock it with food -- probably 300 pounds or more
2. Enlarge our vegetable garden -- now it is over 2,500 square feet
3. Plant fruit bushes and fruit trees -- clearly these need more care than we were used to providing
4. Fill deep freeze with food
5. Found and started shopping at local farmers market, and buying eggs left around from neighbor's pet chickens
6. Purchased various books on gardening, including permaculture, as well as cook books
Home Heat
1. Insulate under outlet covers (still probably have a few to do)
2. Insulate hot water tank
3. Insulate over attic hatch (I think this one is done, I will check.)
4. Put up heavy, thick curtains over almost all windows and sliders (a couple still need to be put up)
5. Buy plastic to put over windows if there is a winter emergency
6. Install two ceiling fans (one more to go)
7. Set programmable furnace thermostat lower
8. Replaced 500 gallon LPG tank with 1,000 gallon tank
9. Make sure to have extra clothes, for warmth on cooler days
Water
1. Purchase collapsible camp jug, 2.5 gallons
2. Keep 1-2 gallons in fridge at all times
3. Case of bottled water in garage (needs to be replaced, I think we drank it all)
Electricity
1. Install low wattage fluorescent lights in almost all fixtures, extra bulbs in storage
2. Replace old desktop computers with very low wattage laptops, and LCD monitors
3. Turn off all lights except ones we are using at that moment
4. Make sure freezers and fridge are full (they work much harder when 1/2 full or near empty)
5. Replace dead fridge with Energy Star fridge
6. Purchase lots of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries & charger (still looking for good D size)
Money
1. Set aside $100 emergency home fund, small bills and coins
2. Paid off house -- we considered how much the bank would give us, and borrowed only 1/2 that, so we could pay it off in half the time -- also means lower taxes
3. Paid off cars -- keep driving them (they are both over 230,000 miles now)
4. Paid off credit cards
5. Keep somewhat high balance in checking account
6. No cable TV or dish - we get free DVD's from the library, and a basic NetFlix account
Transportation
1. Kept original cars, about 25 mpg each -- will probably replace with newer used car
2. Fill up car fuel tanks once down to half full
3. Bought five 5-gallon gas cans (only three have gas in them at the moment.)
4. Buy Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer (I have yet to use this, but plan to at next fill up.)
Security
1. Keep doors and windows locked as a habit
2. Started talking to, and getting to know, neighbors
3. Starting a peak oil awareness group to meet more people
Education
1. Attended three "Peak Oil and Community Solutions" conferences
2. Attend one ASPO-USA Peak Oil conference
3. Bought and read over a dozen books on peak oil and related topics
4. Took college course on macro-economics
5. Watched dozens of documentaries related to peak oil and related topics
6. Started web site and online journal, to keep myself thinking and taking action
7. Attended two state level renewable energy fairs
8. Attended various other talks about energy and the future
9. Prepared and presented talks and a video about peak oil
Doesn't seem so shabby in retrospect. I could now look that reporter in the eyes, and tell her that we have made progress, but I know it is not enough. What would happen if things got bad fast? What if peak oil hit us like a winter blizzard, knocking out power and leaving us stranded at home? In that case, we are not at all prepared, and still have a long way to go.