Raggedy Andy is the plant person in our family. He works at a medium-sized greenhouse operation and has been growing most of our greens, on a small scale, for about three years, now. We want to have a larger garden this summer - time will now permit it - and we, eventually, plan to put in a greenhouse on the property. We currently grow garlic and plan to use it to barter for food we don't grow. Since we don't eat meat, this makes it easier, although, when we DID eat meat, we raised our own beef and purchased a pig from a local 4-H person. We have our own chickens for eggs.

That's our plan!

First off, I agree we need to stop needing the corporations, as much as we can.

Some of that will center on food independence and energy independence. The caveats with those are ones of scale and cost.

Most Americans cannot yet afford even the simplest of solar pumps, much less a whole house system of solar roofs, panels, or wind turbines, so we are talking to readers who are presumably rather well-off when we encourage installing these.

Most Americans, too, do not have the land to grow their own food, even with vertical gardening or hydroponics systems (which are costly as well). And even if they do have the growing space and the financial means to set something up, they may not have the soil or the climate or the sunlight to grow all the bounty they envision in the amounts that would merit the effort and outlay.

Eating locally-grown food seldom entails growing it all yourself. Indeed, it never did, even in the earliest manifestations of agriculture, anywhere. Markets (or more egalitarian or top-down constructs for distribution) were established in every culture for local growers to bring the things they could grow, or craftsmen the things they could fashion, and eventually merchants or traders the things they could bring by caravan or foot from farther way. When we talk of independence, it is almost never going to be the grow-your-own sort, but the networking of many who grow some things and trade them for things they cannot grow.

My point with this being: We should grow more if we can, but we also should be doing the networking and organizing on a local level to provide the bounty for everyone, including those who do not have the means to grow, or fashion, or import. We should be networking and organizing locally to provide housing, and rudimentary clinics, and workshops, and yes, markets, be they traditional exchanges, or barter, or co-ops. None of us will survive, much less thrive, alone. Our species did not evolve to do that.

I'd like to see the Resilience corner of c99p crank back up, to offer the Youtube videos that one commenter has mentioned, or the resources for seeds, know-how, and materials that others are scraping together in isolation in other comments. We here, most of us not under the poverty level, might be able to set up independent gardens or energy sources in our homes or yards or farms or roofs, but most who would most need this cannot. I humbly think we need to think about doing it together, not separately, with others who come to this site and still more, much more, in our various neighborhoods, especially in neighborhoods that are hurting the most. I don't mean to pick on anyone's ideas here, but I do think we need to think more substantially about the different world we'd create if we all separated ourselves from the corporations. That world could be a much, much better one if we think it through.

I watched it several weeks ago, pre Thanksgiving, and the analysis it contained was the main topic of conversation around the dinner table that day. Every new car to be electric by 2021? And cheaper by far than existing cars. Totally self driving vehicles, including semis and tractors, to be the norm shortly thereafter? Oil over, over, over for completely economic reasons? Such a plan altering moment for all of us at the dinner. We didn't even have time to argue about Trump. That vague oil free future is not some 2050 maybe, but right around the next corner and we better get ready for it if not ahead of it. So why the hell are our politicians, our representatives, our "leaders," so determined to protect and extend the horse and buggy technology we're living with now? $$$. Disgusting, but up to us to use our buying power to support the newer, cleaner, cheaper, more responsible technology and BTW to dump the bubble dwellers.

This is clearly the direction we should go.

Well, one of the directions, but it's essential.

Things that intimidate me the most as far as self-sufficiency goes: medical care and water. Water, water, water. Especially everybody in urban and suburban spaces--what do we do when they shut the water off?

I love this topic, and my mind is aflutter with sharing simple ways of at least beginning to participate in ways that lower your impact on the environment (the film "No Impact Man") and finding ways to circumvent the corporatization of our worlds.

Off top of my head with respect to food, if you can't grow your own learn to make things yourself and cut down buying processed corporate aggro food in boxes or cans. Stuff like beans and rice can be bought wholesale in bulk, you can make your own meals, buy and get familiar with various spices and herbs, learn to be able to cook what's left in the refrigerator so not to waste things (that's how recipes are invented and lots of "home cooking" comes about). We make our own vegetable and chicken broths, freeze tomato sauces, etc. Buy locally when possible.

Don't have the time at all to get into it now, but really would like to see this topic fleshed out here at C99.

Thanks for writing this up. It's a very important subject I think.

From the grubby piece of paper I was writing on:

Supply chain shortening could look like this: Elon Musk has been building a Tesla battery plant in NV, which also has some of the largest proven reserves of Lithium in the country. Just add a refinery, and you have a nice local industry.

In order for the working poor to benefit from EVs, you need a secondary used vechicle market. This will take a few years to develop.

Level 4 autonomous vehicles may actually be harder than level 5 because the ethical problems with city driving are harder than freeway driving. )Sorry about the paywall.)

2007 when I got ticked off and decided to pull into my area and begin buying what I need from local people. I try to buy the best quality I can afford. Additionally I have learned to repair things and have found a tinkerer who can fix what I can not. My toaster was made in 1952 I keep it around because I can rebuild it for around $3.00. If you need something seek out someone and propose the idea to them. I have a very cool outside fireplace made from a dead propane tank that a welder did for free. The idea for it which came from me is now a side business for him. My new dishes were made by a local potter. I buy my cloths at resale stores and the thrift store. Once worn out, jeans and T shirts become braided rugs, pot holders and grocery bags. My bath mat is made of old socks cut into loops hooked together and crocheted. The internet is a marvelous thing. Check out the garden in a barrel or how to make your own rotating composter.
Always make things as low maintainence as possible. Don't give up the frills. A few flowers, a carefully tended home grown mellon or a quilt made from recycled neckties can make life feel very rich. I am PSW and I haven't stepped foot in Walmart for 6 years. Just like the 12 step program. --

barter, but do move your money to a credit union. I've done so years ago and never looked back. Very bank-like except easier to deal with.

I was going to say, read through the Resilience group essay queue to the right, but it's gone! The group listings are gone! I think that's an oops, will check with the boss.

Whether it's a brief collapse (hurricane, tornado, earthquake, Yellowstone erupting) or a longer term one, can we make ourselves a shelter? Can we start a fire from scratch? Do we know what is and isn't edible? Do we know first aid and at least basic medicinal herbs? If you don't feel like studying reference books, the Jean Auel series of novels are practically manuals on how to live reasonably comfortably with what is around you., and fairly lively, to boot.