Control the Change

It’s a valid question and one that begs looking at. What I mean by the question is “are there reasons to be concerned and take greater heed of what’s going on in the North American and Global markets (food, economic, energy)” than we have been told?

Well, if one were alarmist, they might suggest you get out of town, move to the hinterland and all that (alarmists here could be both extremes of the equation, ones who are environmentalists and believe the world is doomed or people who think governments are just designed to control us all, are evil and are controlled by secret paranational organizations bent on world domination). On the other hand, you have the media and governments telling use varying degrees of “it’s fine, we’re just going through a rough patch here”. I would suggest that neither end of this spectrum is a wise idea to be on. You want to be part of society and yet build up reserves and be prepared for disaster (whether that be a flood, storm, major power outage, loss of a job) or just to reduce your connection and reliance on the existing system.

So, though I’ve been reading and listening to numerous websites and podcasts on sustainability, self-reliance, growing your own food and generating your own power; I have still to act upon it seriously. What I would need to do are the following:

1. Evaluate my home’s energy usage and reduce it where possible; a good resource to help with this is from the HomePower website (a site dedicated to power generation via wind, solar and micro-hydro); beyond the plethora of information, there is this article Starting Smart (warning, this links to a PDF) that will help you with gauging your home’s electrical load profile. **I’ve already done this and reduced my home’s energy usage (on a daily basis, from 16.2Kwh in 2006 to about 8.8Kwh over the past couple of months (February-May, 2008)).
2. Have a home inspection done (if you need to find out what fixes/solutions are best for your house, consult a professional energy/home audit firm) to determine the best and most cost effective improvements for you to perform. **In my case, this involved air-sealing my home and adding signficantly to the attic insulation (when from R30 to R50 (though I might have it boasted to R60)).**
3. Look at your yards (if you live in a house; if you like in an apartment or condo, you can still try this and use containers) and figure out how, what and where to plant food plants. To this end, beyond loads of internet based resources or books (check out my other post Off the beaten garden path that will give you a starting point for websites and some books), check out your local library and garden centre. **Don’t forget to be wise also with water and if you can, harvest rainwater via rainbarrels (I have 3 225L (50 US gallon) connected into my eaves around my lot) as it not only is free; but also saves money because you don’t have to a) pay the city/local municipality to filter and deliver it and b) it’s already warmed to outside temperatures, so it won’t shock plants.
4. Inside your home, beyond the energy/home evaluation changes, you’ll want to store extra food, water, emergency medical supplies, a radio, phone (that doesn’t need a powersupply (you knew a good old phone would be handy, didn’t you) or cell phone, flashlight, and other things. There are numerous preparedness sites to look at, like Peak Oil Crisis or Life after the crash (both may seem sensationalistic (and they are); but it’s the essence of the information that you should look at); but a good starting point would be your local municipality or Red Cross website for information (here are some sites to start you off: ICRC, Canadian Government National Preparedness Guide, American Red Cross or the Equipped to Survive site; all of these focus on disaster preparedness). For the food, you could go and buy a mountain of army rations or prepared food (but would you actually use it?); but a better solution would be to add a couple of staple goods to your weekly shopping and increase it as you can afford too. Think of canned goods (beans, fish…) or pastas, for example. If kept in a cool, dry and easily accessed location in your house, this stuff (the food, emergency items (flashlight, etc), water…) will be readily usable. Also with the food, cycle it into your normal food on an as needed basis (just remember to replenish it or what use is an emergency preparedness “kit”).

Beyond all this, you should also look at having some cash on hand, safely stowed away for critical situations.

I will also mention that there are a number of podcasts covering this type of issue preparedness and also ones that get into the survivalist aspect of it (some to go off the deep end). One that I listen too (though I might not always agree with the presenter on (but it does make me think and broaden my horizons)) is The Survival Podcast; the host touches on preparedness, as well as using the mantra of “Helping You Live the Life You Want, If Times Get Tough, Or If They Don’t”, which I think is a pretty smart idea. Check it out and if you like it, let me know (and you might want to let the presenter know). **I have no connection to the presenter, just enjoy the show and thought you might too.**