We Have to Stop "Needing" Them!

Energy Independence and Food Independence

IMO, all of our climate/ecology/community/justice advocates and organizations must switch their focus from talking to doing. All of the protesting in the world will not change the minds of our politicians. Standing Rock (and I am sure there are others) is an exception because they were not just talking, they were doing. They put their bodies in the way of the pipeline. Shouting at Trump and others will not bring the desired result.

We must take action so we no longer need them. We must stop needing their oil, gas, electricity, or food.

On Wed, 11/16/2016 - 9:33pm — sorrowforhumans, published an essay titled, What the media, the banks, and the fossil fuel companies don't want us to know . . .

The author linked to this video:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxryv2XrnqM]

The video is almost an hour long, but it is excellent and merits more discussion. It outlines break-though technologies that either I did not know existed, or I had never combined them to reach these conclusions. I want to focus on the significance of the Tesla home battery and solar roofs.

This is a turning point. Before now, I have only seen off-grid home use batteries that have been giant, cumbersome things. Plus . . . so you have a few solar panels and some small wind. How do you all connect everything? Are there local electricians who know how to do this? My husband can do all manner of home wiring and plumbing, but has never considered going down this path. Probably someone here has done it?

Look at what Tesla has accomplished. https://www.tesla.com/solar They have normal looking residential roofs that are actually solar panels connecting to your home battery pack - a neat concise rectangular box that installs prettily on your inside or outside wall. If you have an average 2 bedroom home, one will do. The battery pack will also work with your other wind and solar. A professional installer will set it up = you don't have to be an electrical genius.

With the Tesla system, you no longer need a utility company for gas or electricity. What will happen to these oil, gas, and utility companies if we no longer need them?

There are other important ways to stop needing corporations, but I believe the most important first two are energy independence and food independence. This is mostly because of the problems we are likely to encounter soon with the climate crisis. Naturally, if we no longer need oil and gas, that will cut CO2 emissions. Food independence is important because crappy climate will mess with our food supply.

This article presents the important first steps that anyone can do: http://provideyourown.com/2011/food-independence-first-steps/ It mostly involves cooking more of your food from scratch and buying locally, therefore pulling the rug from in under processed big Ag food.

My personal home project is to grow my own food in Texas. I have always cursed Texas gardening since I moved here 25 years ago. Spoiled by the lush prolific gardens of my organic Iowa dairy farmer parents, my local Texas climate and soil seem straight from the gardens of Maleficent. Now I think this has been a good thing . . . forcing me to learn growing techniques that ignore climate and soil. I am not there yet. This year was my most successful year yet, but unfortunately based too much on luck.

Other ways to stop needing them? Bartering instead of banking?

What if all of these organizations like 350.org, Friends of the Earth, the Sierra Club, the Green Party . . . went full in on creating energy and food independence everywhere?

Sure . . . there still needs to be advocating, promoting, and legal actions somewhere. But what if their main focus was on action?

I look forward to reading your ideas below.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

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!

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

mhagle's picture

what kind of greenhouse you build!

We put up a greenhouse several years ago, but it is wayyyyy too small. Going to try to grow a couple of tomato plants indoors with grow lights this winter.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Raggedy Ann's picture

However, with Raggedy Andy working at a greenhouse, he is getting lots of ideas of what we will need and the size. I'm happy to share any and all information as we move forward.

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Raggedy Ann's picture

energy for our house. Although we are not 100% energy independent, we are about 85%.

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

mhagle's picture

Could you do an essay about all of your efforts??

Maybe you have and I missed it.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Raggedy Ann's picture

Smile

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Deja's picture

Also, when you are ready to build the greenhouse, might I suggest searching for a local salvage business for some of the materials?

My family has one, and they have everything from doors and door knobs/hardware and windows, to treated lumber and fans, to corrugated tin and untreated lumber, to circular staircases and claw foot tubs.

We're not local to you, but I know we're not the only ones in the country.

Also, I'd stay away from untreated lumber and any used corrugated plastic, if at all possible. (You'd be surprised what folks come looking for and what they intend to use it for around here, but as the saying goes - a stitch in time, saves nine!)

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Raggedy Ann's picture

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Elliot Coleman has several books out on it. If you plant cold-hardy greens in them, they won't keep growing all winter, but they will stay alive over winter. I think it's November to February that we don't get enough sun for more growth, but after that, some will start growing again under cover. Each layer of plastic gives you about one more growing zone. But more than two cuts out too much light.

http://www.acresusa.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=&q=Elliot+coleman

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riverlover's picture

My solar DHW system (dead and gone) was useless for much of Jan and Feb. Deep(er) snow plus cloudy days. I will look at the ideas. I just got a grow light and mostly hydroponic setup from AeroGarden. My basil seedlings are appearing!!

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My first attempt (unbraced) got hit with a November 15" of wet snow and collapsed. A few things still survived, but it's better to brace it.

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riverlover's picture

to do that. My off-the-grid friends thought the glass was old-fashioned, not very useful. Anyway, it went away.

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mhagle's picture

related fields.

Plus, frankly speaking, many of you are such eloquent writers, I know you can flesh out these ideas. Please do!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

on homebuilt Tesla walls using surplus laptop batteries that can be assembled for 1/10 the price. And a salvaged car alternator coupled to an oil drum wind turbine will power a garage shop.
Ed. Thought I'd better caveat that: alternator/drum will run a table saw OR lathe OR bandsaw, etc not AND at the same time.

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There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.

mhagle's picture

Wow.

Another good source for handmade alternative energy is http://otherpower.com/

They specialize in wind turbines.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Copy/paste stinks!
On YouTube just search homemade Tesla. I watch YouTube on Roku and clicked on one that happened to pop up in my feed. For about the next week two or three others would show up every day.
(Made the mistake of clicking on a 'God's gonna gitcha' link to giggle at the RW BS. Now everyday I have a dozen or so I have to scan past).

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There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.

Deja's picture

At work, I bag and box for recycling, any laptop battery that happens to be inside a laptop that I can't test - even if the battery is doing its job, but simply can't be tested because of the laptop malfunctioning.

I wonder if they would let me buy them. . .

Sorry for the noise of the gears in my brain lol.

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off eBay. Seems like a bunch of orders to make one wall (can't quite remember but I think like 60 batteries per). More than a couple claim the cost at $300. If you have ready access you may be able to cut a deal.

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There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.

Deja's picture

Not sure what I should say, but I certainly don't want them to know I could profit from it - because that's not my aim - at least not yet!

This is so promising. Thank you so much!

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Redstella's picture

Since my twenties, I have had a garden ( that's lot of gardens!) I have sometimes grown a little and sometimes grown alot of our food. I started in the 70's with back to the land and comtinued on, through the corporate jobs, kids and now, into our retirement with the idea that we need to be able to grow what we eat.

A draw back, and one thing we have had to train ourselves to, is to eat whatever is available in our garden and not the exotic food enticements found at every grocery store - out of seasons goodies, out of area deliciousness. Sometimes we grow weary of what is available ( zucchinis!) sometimes we have to wait for our beans to be ready and do not buy the plentiful beans at low cost available in the stores.

I find this not to be so bad, once trained. The payoff is knowing where your food is coming from, and that you did it.

We buy local meat and search out organic milk. We do buy bananas, tea and coffee - it would be hard (!!) to give this up. But, given enough notice ( a growing season) we could survive on our efforts (I think!). It is not easy, it seems sometimes to be more luck than skill. A crop that works fantastic one year does not so good the next, while it seems I have done just the same things. The longer I garden, the more this seems to be true.

In Oregon, we are allowed to grow our own pot, which means we could do without beer or wine, which we could do as well.

We use wood, electric and propane for heat. I wish we had solar -I wish we had tesla. That could be our next need to do.

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dance you monster's picture

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.

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LeChienHarry's picture

corner). There are some good projects already there.

I look around as we drive or go by train and see so many roofs with potential. I'm not sure what the square footage of easy pickins would be but from casual observation, it appears there is a lot of available roof space.

The problems with the pipe lines are obvious, but the sneaky corporate energy companies are finding ways to fine, yes, fine people in some states who want roof top solar. They prefer aggregated locations with mega solar farms so they own the means of production. This is a state-by-state battle, which has been lost in several already.

The idea of energy independence let alone being able to sell back production must. not. be. allowed. Solar companies are dealing with these rear guard actions and have been for several years.

With good battery technology and the barrel type of wind production on roof tops, private property, stored power becomes very possible. We could have some truly exciting and easy to reach sustainable energy options in a hurry.

Our legislatures are where these battles are being fought.

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mhagle's picture

Maybe we use content from http://www.resilience.org/ and discuss it.

Maybe we have projects that we all contribute to. Like, for instance, we are all going to figure out how to have a simple DYI solar thing. Maybe so small that we just charge all of our electronic devices on it?

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Radical changes in how we get energy/power and transport goods and people have a lot of potential, but there are three other elements that are critical as well: water availability, social skills and technological savvy.

Growing your own food consistently requires access to water that isn't terribly expensive. We went nearly two months last spring with barely more than 1 inch of rainfall. Just keeping the garden alive was expensive using city water. I'll have to tackle that by capturing more of our runoff--a good thing anyway--and maximizing the efficiency of our irrigation method. Both of these, as you note with regard to growing food in general, present some capital requirements that are not trivial for me. In addition, there are concerns about increasing privatization of water resources and pollution of older public water systems. Those are issues whose resolution lies in the political sphere.

You make an important point about the need to rely on others for food, the necessity to "do it together." Doing it together will entail regaining some of the social skills lost in our society over the last generation or two. Organizing a community garden can be a challenge in a world where fewer and fewer people have experience as members of a community organization whether it be a PTO or volunteer fire department or community church (not one of those mega-churches with a CEO and BoD).

Finally, technological savvy is necessary to participate in the coming changes, perhaps even to bend some of those changes in our direction. For example, what pisses me off about Uber is that some guys with money hire (and underpay) coders to build a platform. Then they buy a national advertising campaign. Once that's done, they collect rents in perpetuity or until the next disruption in that industry. I'd call them vampires. Enough technical expertise could build a similar platform that would be owned not by blood-sucking Capitalists but by the drivers themselves. Of course, that would implicate those social skills in order to organize the drivers and help them manage themselves successfully.

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mhagle's picture

We need SourceForge.net for food and energy...

No codes here so we pipe gray water to a couple of garden spots. It really helps!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

mhagle's picture

Community is key, but community maybe not defined in traditional terms.

I like the idea of being clothing independent somewhat too.

[video:https://youtu.be/w3LJICqN9dE]

And the things we do have to be inexpensive. That has been one of the big fallbacks of "going green" ... It costs too much. We need to do this stuff with salvaged materials and hard work. This will only work if the poor can do it too.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Even if, like this year, it was a disaster due to drought. Farmers are optimists! or why would they get out of bed? Maybe because they're dumb as dirt. Anyway, I have totally forgotten what it's like to be a city dweller, dependent on Trader Joe's or Safeway, 2 miles but 30 mind-numbing minutes away by car, to get decent food. In my area there are very few huge farms. Most are small farmers like me, 150 to 300 acres. There are now many CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture businesses). One organic CSA has acreage not only here in NY state, but also in FL. They are able to ship their FL produce to NY during the winter to supply their customers. Bravo! I lived in LA County for 30 yrs and I cannot imagine a way people there can become food independent. Even if every one of those 10 zillion red tile roofs was fitted up with a garden, no way in hell there'd be water enough to feed one family, much less several. But aren't those roofs absolutely perfect for solar power storage? Seems to me there is a solution. And it's a people to people one, not a top down "trust Us. We know what you need, and We will deliver it. Sometime." We need to talk.

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mhagle's picture

Not top down.... Yes!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

divineorder's picture

Have a personal example in my family. My brother was renting a house with his son and daughter in law and over a period of years they developed impressive gardens and chicken pen in Austin.

Now they have moved to separate apartments in the same complex with no place to raise food whatsoever. Rent is exorbitant and not sure how much longer they will hold out.

Variations on their story are becoming more and more commonplace. More power to those of us who have the wherewithal to do solar.

Jakkalbessie and I worked with another of my brothers who had no prior experience with solar but was an engineer and has some rudimentary carpenter skills like we do, used the internet and installed a solar grid tie with battery back system up on our old shack of a cabin in the TX Hill Country. Had to get an electrician to do the final hookup to the city. Back when we did this there were tax incentives and we had cash from a recent property sale. This system will never repay itself in our lifetime but we did it because we thought it was the correct thing to do. The cost of panels have come WAY down since then but we are no longer spending much time there so not planning to put on more. We spend more time in a condo in Santa Fe which so far will not allow us to install solar.

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

pswaterspirit's picture

For around $50.00. That would do a dozen 5 gallon buckets and a teepee for greens. I built a very nice 4×8 areophonic garden for my pot plants years ago for less than $100. The pump is the major expense.

If you are doing this inside I suggest trying out one of those LED lights. They are expensive but use far less electricity. There is also a 250 watt compact florecent that can be had for around $40.00 at home depot. It will work too.

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and do the research on led's, there have been no standards put in place to accurately compare energy(watts)vs light output(lumens). Same thing with light spectrum(full daylight, red/blue ratio, etc.). Also, longevity, how many plant cycles can they perform before losing too much efficiency/effectiveness.
Don't forget the inverse square law with artificial light, ventilation(plants gotta breathe fresh air, too), humidity control(think mold/fungus).
Hydroponics Can be the way to go, but can also be unforgiving of even minor mistakes.
Go ahead, Ask Me How I Know!
; }~

peace

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

pswaterspirit's picture

Not a huge one but one that was said to replace a 600 watt halide. It cut about 1/2 off the utility bill and seems to be doing a fairly good job. Hydro has been a hobby for going on 30 years. I have used it both inside and outside with natural light. Never really had problems with mold perhaps because I am a fresh air freak.

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That's enough to recharge a phone or a laptop or run some lights. We can be fairly comfortable with a lot less electricity than we normally use. The ones I've seen run a couple of hundred dollars. There are some for campers.

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featheredsprite's picture

South Carolina:
American Classic [which I like]
Charleston Breakfast Tea
Island Green Tea

Texas:
Cat Spring Yaupon

Hawaii:
Passion Fruit Na Pali Tropical Black Tea
Pineapple Waikiki Black Tea

Hawaii also grows coffee [Kona] but it is expensive.

ETA:
Apparently someone is trying to grow coffee in California, but it's early in the game and time will tell whether it succeeds.

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Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.

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riverlover's picture

I am East of Ithaca. In the trees.

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pswaterspirit's picture

If you google hardy anything you will find the seedsavers have been busy. I am experimenting with yams next year here in Washington. Fun times Smile

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Lookout's picture

at 4 min it's a quick watch -
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmnSFdk5ISg]

His idea is that the economics will drive us to clean energy. What is not included into his calculations is a large powerful fossil fuel industry addicted to their profits.

The real turning point will come with the developing battery industry. From what I understand, the idea is to have large (heavy) and cheap (hopefully clean) batteries at home hooked to your turbine and/or PV panels. They run your house and recharge the more expensive smaller more exotic material car batteries. Seba's concept involves self driving cars as well. That's coming right along.

On a personal level we grow much of our own food and supplement from local grown products as well. However I need the grocery store for coffee, bananas, and so on. There is no escaping our interdependence and globalism - it would just be nice to conduct it with people and planet in mind instead of profit as the only reason anything can happen.

Nice essay.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

mhagle's picture

And I like the idea of making your own!

I agree that the idea that economics will drive us to clean energy may be our savior. I meant to make that point in the essay.

We can hold a million demonstrations ... But if enough people quit buying oil and big Ag????

So ... I wish our ecology advocacy groups were promoting these actions. What if they take a portion of their donations and make a neighborhood in Detroit energy and food independent? What would that do? Would it catch on?

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

riverlover's picture

Two years after inoculating fresh logs (desirable) I have nothing. Maybe they will come, but I am growing shelf fungi, of questionable utility, on two live-until-cut logs. But I had a tree stump 6' tall ooze out Hen of the Woods, a short-lived fungus, prized by some. Got enough for me to freeze, that's it! It's more of an art than I knew. Still a work in progress.

Same size drill bit as for maple sap, a 2-fer!.

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mhagle's picture

Have not been successful yet but plan to keep trying!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

But seriously, how many mushrooms can you eat? I'm a grain farmer, but my "kitchen garden" and those of my neighbors supply us with more fruits and veggies than any family can consume. This is the time of year when farmers sit next to the stove and read through the seed catalogues. Next year, zero exotic peppers or zucchini. Seriously, I couldn't give them away! They ended up in the compost pile, and you have to remove the damn seeds so that's no fun. More multi colored sweet peppers and carrots. Delicious. I love growing things!

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There are solar dehydrator plans online. And if you dry shiitakes in the sun, gill side up, they produce vitamin D (also for winter, here in the North).

http://www.fungi.com/blog/items/place-mushrooms-in-sunlight-to-get-your-...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/tools/solar-food-dehydrator-plans-zm0... And many others ...

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riverlover's picture

And it fills a spice jar! I have only rehydrated a few. And I have been drying some mushrooms that I find on sale at the grocery. Portobellos dehydrate well.

My morel patch seems to be spreading, I have nothing to do with that, other than leaving leaf litter on the ground. Natural mulch. Like the woods. I don't even own a lawn mower now. No lawn, just green stuff and in a few areas I am encouraging moss. I don't mind goldenrods popping through.

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I've been drying goldenrods for dye, and for an herbal tincture. The green tips are tasty, too, steamed, raw, or pickled. A little spicy. You have to strip the mature leaves off the tender ~1 1/2" and pick a lot to get much.

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riverlover's picture

morels can be sliced horizontally and dried, and end up as cute little rounds. Like octopus in looks, not taste.

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pswaterspirit's picture

Innoculate by getting pegs. It is critical that they do not dry out. We kept our alders covered with plastic for the summer and watered it weekly with a bubbler for an hour. We were growing oyster mushrooms. Coffee grounds in a 5 gallon bucket are supposed to be good too.

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riverlover's picture

And I set the pegs at what turned out to be our worst drought year, ever. I am not giving up hope. My logs were fresh-cut maple, 8-10'. Oysters and shiitakes. Each to at least one log.

When I realized that we were coming into drought, I dared not water; my well is marginal and hoses tend to suck the well to air. My other new plantings suffered as well. The wet has returned now.

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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.

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studentofearth's picture

to various markets. Freedom from oil provides our government less leverage to control the world. I suspect the game plan for a massive transfer of political and economic power to a new model has not gone well. When the disruption happens there will be potential of disruption to the current elites.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

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?

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"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha

"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver

mhagle's picture

Those in rural areas can capture it. What is the answer for city folk?

Thanks for the encouragement. Smile

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

moneysmith's picture

In most of California, there is no water to capture. Nothing here in the desert, essentially zero rainfall, but that's true of just about the whole state. Our little community has actual aquifers, but millions of other people in the west are SOL. I can't imagine how the drought will end well. I think we're all hoping for a miracle.

So we're screwed on the water front, but doing a bit better in the energy sector. We are pretty much in the middle of an enormous solar AND wind effort here in Southern California (outside Palm Springs) -- windmills and solar panels everywhere. I'm not sure how much of the area's energy comes from those elements -- just moved here and haven't had a chance to look into much. We'll absolutely take advantage of solar down the road.

Growing food is going to be a challenge, though. Summer is so hot -- even some of the desert plants can't bear it. For the time being, I've signed up for a local farmer's co-op to get a box of local produce delivered every week. Since we're vegan, that eliminates some supermarket trips.

I agree with you completely -- it's time to stop giving corporations money. There are so many other good causes and people who could use it.

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Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare

dance you monster's picture

. . . I'd just remind Californians that kibbutzim, that socialist experiment in what is now Israel, were built in deserts. A bit of imagination and a lot of hard work (things the corporations eschew as reducing profits) can feed communities.

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moneysmith's picture

There's a small community garden nearby that has extra spaces available. Maybe that would be a good starting point. Other people have already figured out the basics, like working out the frames for shade cloth, and are already growing things. So it's not impossible!

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Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare

pswaterspirit's picture

Tomatoes and peppers in the winter in the town of Apache Junction, AZ. His pepper plant was a tree several years old. Look into your local native seeds. The Navajo and Hopi varieties are readily available.

Google waffle gardening.

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moneysmith's picture

Thanks, pswaterspirit! Also for the native seeds idea -- would love to try some new varieties of peppers, etc.

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Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare

They are covered unglazed clay pots set in the ground next to what you want to grow, that seep moisture just where it's needed. I read that people can grow watermelons in the desert with them. They are still too expensive (~$18) for clay pots, and you do need enough water to fill them.

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moneysmith's picture

by poking small holes around the bottle for slow leakage. Or maybe we can find some old pots at a garage sale. Either way, great idea and one I've never heard of before. Thanks!!

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Hell is empty and all the devils are here. William Shakespeare

In Bolivia, the drought has caused a state of emergency.
People wait in line with plastic buckets to receive water
hauled in on trucks.

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Mark from Queens's picture

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.

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"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"

- Kurt Vonnegut

Hawkfish's picture

This talk looks like many I have seen over a lifetime in tech. Much of it seems correct, but one of the things that constantly angers me about nerds is their complete political naïveté.

Let's start with uber. Uber has no interest in their gig economy workers. As he explains, these poor bastards who are making peanuts after you factor in wear and tear on their vehicles will be kicked to the curb once they get self-driving cars out of the lab.

And it's not just ride-sharing. As Gary Johnson(!) pointed out in the Travis Smiley debate, autonomous vehicles will also destroy the largest job description in the country: driver. How are these people going to earn a living? If you reduce the need for cars by a factor of 20, then car manufacturing employment will also drop by a factor of 20, as will employment for parking attendants, mechanics and so on.

Buggy whip manufacturers could retrain for an equal number of car service jobs, but disruption destroys labor opportunities.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

solublefish's picture

Why not practice "economics as if people mattered" -as E. F. Schumacher suggested?

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Hawkfish's picture

I've split my comments up by topic, so here is a second batch.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that a lot of these investor suits know just enough to be dangerous. A lot of what he says is correct, but some important details have been ignored.

Consider what he says about transmission costs. All energy is priced at different tiers depending on demand. So a house in Oslo may have access to 900 hours of solar per year, but in case you weren't aware it is effing cold in Oslo in January and there is no sunlight! The grid is not going away there any time soon, but I suppose if you live in the valley that would never occur to you...

A second bit of valley ignorance is his claim that cars "are just computers on wheels". No, cars are complex beasts with huge numbers of interacting components that give rise to strange unintended consequences. Even experienced car manufacturers make horrible mistakes like the Pinto. And no, these are not all part of the drive train.

Then there is the lithe assumption that everyone can charge at home. Yes, it would be nice if the grocery store will charge your car for a few minutes, but charge times are much longer than for gasoline and there may be physical limits to how fast you can charge batteries. My house has only curbside parking, so I have limited ability to charge my EV. Apartment dwellers will be athe mercy of lazy landlords who can barely be convinced to fix the plumbing, let alone invest in the charging infrastructure needed for their tenants.

So I don't think this is all as rosy as he claims. Maybe some of my objections can be worked around, but again, he assumes that everyone is living in the valley and making enough to move if needed. For large swathes of the world's population, this is simply not true.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Hawkfish's picture

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.)

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

pswaterspirit's picture

My in laws have been hybrid people since the first one hit the show room. When I was looking for my last car I considered one but didn't have the money for new. Since I am allergic to debt.

They talked me out of buying used telling me the batteries are only good about 7 years and new ones are almost as much as a new cars. This sort of put me off my feed. I am very much someone who drives their car until it decomposes into a pile of scrap metal. I have had my current one 10 years and expect at least another 5 out of it.

Have things improved any with these? I find getting only 7 years from a car horrifing. Call me a tight wad.....

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mhagle's picture

No EVs yet but have a smart car and a yaris with good gas mileage.

Seems like ultimately someone needs to invent conversion kits.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Hawkfish's picture

I think lifetimes are improving, but my hybrid is only three years old so I don't know for sure.

One of the true and encouraging things in this video is that battery prices are dropping rapidly. So I suspect that the replacement cost is no longer like this. I had a friend who was an early adopter and said the same thing, at the time, but I haven't heard anything lately. So I'd check it out again.

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

mhagle's picture

I loved the positive feel and hope of the video, but certainly there are so many other considerations and obstacles. It is important for us to have our eyes wide open.

Have you seen any work done on creating conversion kits for current vehicles?

People do it . . . like this guy . . .

[video:https://youtu.be/h9yD56Lfs1k]

But is there a conversion kit you can buy? It seems like a waste to throw away all of the vehicles we already have on the road.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Hawkfish's picture

Thanks for posting!

While it might be a nice idea to convert existing cars, a 1960s bug is a really borderline machine. I don't know if you watch any car ads these days, but 40hp is about ⅛ of what a typical car engine produces these days. Bugs are really simple machines too, so there are not a lot of other systems to run.

The thing about Bugs is they are really dangerous by modern standards, and the missing safety stuff all takes power either directly (power steering, air bags) or indirectly (seats).

So it's a fun exercise, but at social scale I think we would do better to recycle the materials and go for something less scary!

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We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

pswaterspirit's picture

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. --

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riverlover's picture

but excuse, excuse (and many more) and they ended up at the Salvation Army store here as a tax deduction. We call that place Sal's.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

pswaterspirit's picture

I happened upon a huge yard sale one Saturday. There were about a million ties 5 rows 50 feet long hanging up and several tables full. Many had the most beautiful fabrics I had ever seen. I had to ask why so many?

It turned out the 5 ladies were all widows of college professors from the nearby college. They were selling off their husbands stuff to fund a cruise for them all. At a quarter a piece I picked out the ones I liked the most had always wanted to make something from ties. When I was getting ready to leave they presented me with a second bag of ones that each of them favored. I still have some fabric from them. Someday I will make pillows out of the remains.

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riverlover's picture

I was the tie-buyer. He did not like to shop for himself, so... I picked them all after we became partners. And I have good taste.

Beautiful fabrics, more yardage would be unaffordable to most. The other complication for me was that the widths varied by time and fashion, hard to piece out, at least for me.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

elenacarlena's picture

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.

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Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

mhagle's picture

It was a great experience.

I gave piano lessons and let parents pay me with stuff they had sitting around. I got a basket of beautiful fabric, 10 bales of hay, and a mom with a MA in artistic book binding saved a beloved family storybook.

Hope to try it again!

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

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.

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riverlover's picture

I should check whether my LED magnifiers and be used as sun focus turned upside down (topsy-turvy). Good practice, also useful for ant-killing, a fun thing for my now-normal son when he was ca 10 y/o. I should really work on fire-starting skills. I kinda fail, a lot.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Even getting to the one-match fire start.

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Thanks for the insightful essay! I don't see the Tesla battery a good enough replacement for the older lead acid variety. The cost ($3.5K) plus inverter ($1.5K) still won't power all but the smaller and most energy efficient homes. I'm installing my own "off-grid" systems. The wiring is not too complicated. Now to work on that greenhouse..

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