Doing It Different:

Industrial Agriculture, Peak Oil and Truly Sustainable Living

(Part 2)

 

The fossil fuel age, which started in earnest in the beginning of the 19t^h century, is coming to a close. The availability of cheap energy, especially with the discovery and use of oil, has not only increased our population from one billion to over six billion, but has transformed our world from a wide variety of sustainable cultures to a homog­enous mega-culture. The planets energy use is so enormous it is almost impossible to fathom. If you add together all the energy use intrinsic to modern American lifestyle it would require the energy equivalent of 50 humans laboring 24 hours a day, for each person in America.

 

The trappings of modern life are all made possible by the availability of cheap energy. Fossil fuels exist in finite, non-renewable supplies and are starting to become in short supply; the prelude for running out. As fossil fuel resources become in shorter and shorter supply, the effects on the so called "modern world," which rely on them, will be catastrophic. The coming decades are ones of impending famine, disease, and economic collapse, despotism, and resource wars. This is inevitable as our population is so artificially large and resource base so damaged and depleted when the temporary fossil fuel energy gift is taken away, our house of cards will come tumbling down. The fabric of modern society and exorbitant oil use are inseparable, couple this with the cornerstone of our economic system being perpetual growth, and you have a recipe for disaster. Neither growth not our lifestyle can be maintained without cheap energy. Even energy shortages, which will happen long before we run out of oil, will be enough to send our country, and the world, into an economic tailspin and onto the road of economic collapse.

 

 "Impossible," you say, "not in the U.S." Consider this: Our country is not only the largest debtor nation in the world; we also have the largest trade deficit in the world. "But we export tons and tons of grain right?" True, but overall, we import 60% of the food consumed in this country. We depend on many other nations to feed us. Also consider this: the U.S. government not only borrows trillions and trillions of dollars every year to finance the interest on our massive accumulated debt, but is also borrowing 500 billion dollars per year, short term, just to pay the day to day bills. All this borrowing is coming from foreign countries, with China responsible for a large percentage of these loans.

 

Now, let's look at personal finances of average Americans. Personal debt is at an all time high; savings rate is at an ' all time low; credit card industry is bigger than ever, financing the perpetual consumer orgy that feeds the economy. Bankruptcy filings are at an all time high. What we have is a population that is living paycheck to paycheck (through embracing the materialis­tic mantra one step away from bankruptcy. All that has to happen is gas hitting $5/ gal, which it will soon, and all these people who are on the edge will start to default on their loans. Keep in mind a doubling in the price of gas will also cause the cost of all other consumer goods and services to skyrocket also.

 

When enough people default on their loans, banks, thanks to banking deregulation, will begin to fail. Once enough banks fail, a domino effect will be set into motion, causing the complete collapse of the financial industry, including the stock market. The FDIC will not be able to back up a large number of failures, as it is only a symbol of security, not true security. Once this occurs, foreign nations holding U.S. paper will get nervous and want to pull out and get paid. The problem is we can't pay. So either the government prints worthless dollars to pay, causing run away hyperinflation, or defaults on its loans. Either way it will result in the collapse of the U.S. currency.

 

A similar scenario will unfold for the electrical power grid. People forced to choose between food and power will stop paying. When enough people are not able to pay, the utilities, caught between skyrocketing costs and plummeting income, will massively cut back on the scope of the electrical grid. Ultimately only small pockets that can be profitable will remain and eventually even these will be shut down as large industry winds down for good due to consumer base being non-existent. Nobody knows for sure what exactly will happen next, but the great depression will seem like the good `ol days in comparison!

 

So what do we do? First of all, we need to get back to basics. The endless growth materialistic binge is over. We need to live sustainable lives. Not just in one area of our lives, but complete sustainability in all facets of our lives, or human civilization will not survive in any form.

 

What will a sustainable human civilization look like? It will most certainly be intensely rural with the huge majority of the population involved in farming. The primary power source for sustainable farms will be humans in partnership with draft animals. Soil fertility will be maintained by judicious management of animal manure and green manures. Ninety percent of all foods will be locally grown. Only a few necessary items such as salt and spices will be brought in from outside. What manufacturing there is will be small scale and pro­duced locally as well, such as clothing, furniture, lumber, shoes, wagons, nails and iron parts to mostly wooden items. What little heavy manufacturer there is (horse farming equipment, wood stoves, pipes) will be done where there is a large natural water power resource and will also be headquarters for trading and commerce.

 

Communities will once again be close-knit with neighbors joining together to get big jobs done such as haying, harvesting grains, ice cutting, barn and house building, materials for building, furniture, wagons, clothing, shoes, mattresses, fencing and tools will be produced right on the farm or nearby (wood, flax, cotton, wool, leather). Energy also will be locally secured mostly in the form of wood or charcoal, and animal fat, beeswax, or alcohol for lighting. As far as transportation, people will either use horsepower, walk, or in some cases utilize waterways.

 

I don't know about you folks, but I would rather live in this sustainable community of the future than the self-centered, money-hungry, materialistic world we live in now. For now we are stuck here, but we folks who love farming, simple living, and commu­nity have a special job to do. We need to be beacons to the lost masses and show them the way to a meaningful, rewarding and sustainable future. How can we do this? Leading by example, we must live as if we are already in this sustainable future to show people not only is it possible, but actually enjoyable and preferable to their crazy rat race.

 

Truly sustainable living for the long haul must necessarily entail major wholesale changes we need to adopt now, not when major crises are knocking on your door. If you wait until then, it will be too late to implement them.

 

The following are skills necessary to live in a sustainable future:

 

· Living without electricity in all facets of our lives, electricity pre-supposes an industrial base that will no longer exist.

· Farming with no outside inputs to maintain the health and fertility of the soil.

· For power: using hand tools, horse power, or in some cases water power.

· Using basic, non-motorized, farm machinery that can be repaired by you in your own shop.

· Growing all of your own feed for your animals and food for your family.

· Storing and preserving food for yourself and your animals.

· Have a supply of fresh water that is obtainable for you and your animals using only hand power or gravity.

· Saving seeds for everything you grow.

· Living without using gasoline, kerosene, propane, natural gas, diesel, acetylene or products that are made from oil.

· Have a complete line of hand tools for your shop and actually use them.

Learn a traditional trade such as: tanning leather, shoemaking, harness making, coopering, candle making, bread baking in an outdoor oven, blacksmith, etc. Encour­age other friends, relatives and neighbors to adopt one different from yours.

 

Small subsistence farms used to be the norm in this country and were not only the foundation for multi-generational families but also the mystic for close-knit communi­ties and the cornerstone of our nation. Let's get back to basics and become self­-sufficient in every way possible. Encourage your friends, neighbors, and relatives to do the same and revitalize our rural communities. Help lead our nation back to its senses!

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