Yet another fabulous book chomped through last week. The author is the same woman who writes a very inspirational blog aimed at normal family folk like me and you but focused on the annoying fact that we in the rich west must change our naughty power hungry ways.

Sharon Astyk’s book ‘Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front‘ (or ‘One Woman’s Solutions to Finding Abundance for your Family While Coming to Terms with Peak Oil, Climate Change and Hard Times’) is a great read, an easy read and a truely life-changing read as it enables one to work out a personal transition plan (to a low energy future) with happiness and without hardship.

She’s a great author and I really like her slightly witty style. She’s made a name for herself simply by virtue of the fact that she is one of the only female contributors to the world of Peak Oil writings.

If nothing else please click though to her superb list: “100 Things You Can Do to Get Ready for Peak Oil”

Her blog is great too and despite having a time-depleted lifestyle with the all the low-energy choices she’s now making (growing food, burning wood, not driving too much) and four young children to look after she still writes great posts which as a fellow peak oil worried bloggin’ mama provides huge amounts of inspiration, tips and food for thought.

I’m already looking forward to reading her new book “A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil”

A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil, written with Aaron Newton, will be forthcoming in March of 2009. Our present agricultural system depends on heavy inputs of increasingly expensive and scarce fossil fuels, and is exacerbating our current world food crisis.  It warms the planet and depletes soil and water and contributes to every major problem we face.  Meanwhile, 100 million people have joined the starving and one in every 10 Americans requires food stamps to sustain them. But that doesn’t have to be the case – agriculture could help us regenerate our society.  We explore the possibility – and urgent necessity of creating a truly sustainable food system.  There is a short excerpt here: http://henandharvest.com/?p=166.  The book will be available for preorder shortly.

Photo by Mr Sardonicus

Ed Miliband makes no mention of peak oil in his review of his recent experience of being a ‘keynote listener’ at Transition Towns conference. In his review he talks of ‘climate change’ and ‘low carbon’ but to me it feels like a big important memo has gone round parliament telling politicians they are not under any circumstances allowed to worry the public by bringing attention to the small matter of fossil fuel dependency and how little time we have to prepare for a future without such an incredible resource.

I’ve been wondering for a while (since I first watched the very brilliant BBC 2 documentary ‘A Farm for the Future‘ made by Rebecca Hoskins – do please watch it if you haven’t already, it is absolutely brilliant and very thought provoking) WHY DO WE NOT HEAR ABOUT THIS IN THE MEDIA?

Surely surely surely if little old me can work out what’s likely to happen to millions of innocent UK citizens if adequate awareness programs and preparation programs are not started as soon as possible (errr I’m so sorry folks but we, you and our/your children are likely to starve, be very cold, go short on medicines and be without access to lovely clean drinking water) then SURELY the clever people elected to govern our country have also been tipped off on this trifling matter?

According to the Rob Hopkin’s Transition Culture website, his accompanying book ‘The Transition Handbook‘ was one of the top 5 books taken on holiday by *all* MPs last summer. I’ve got this book and there is little doubt that the subject matter is all about the very terrifying prospect that the one substance the whole of our society requires for most of things we do is not going to come out of the ground easily or cheaply anymore. The book aims to help towns across the country (or the world) to make themselves become ‘resilient’ to supply deficiencies which are inevitable as oil and its derivatives become less and less plentiful (and owned by Arab countries who may not want to sell their precious commodity to us nasty westerners).

So, this terrible fact is known to our lovely leaders. Yes it is. But, for some mysterious reason, ‘They’ are hell bent on keeping this knowledge to themselves. They seem to be going to really really great lengths to not have communities begin to prepare for life without global food distribution networks, without loads of nonsense high-tech jobs, without affordable heating, without affordable transport. Yes it would be of huge concern to all the electorate if the message started coming out but at least the electorate would have the opportunity to Do Something (like the electorate did in the war years when people grew food at home, adopted a ‘make do and mend’ culture and generally pulled together for the common good). For those of us who have figured out for ourselves what is likely to happen we all went through a period of shock, horror, denial, anger and worry but are also able to begin to take steps to mitigate disaster wherever possible.

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A ridiculous situation because I could write essay after essay on why western modern life is not sustainable (and how sadly for you folks and me that means IT MUST END), how far removed families have become from providing for themselves (food, skills, care etc), why Peak Oil theory is way more scary than climate change (and that’s pretty scary in itself), how thrilled I am to have the opportunity to help lead some brand new local food initiatives when we move to Cornwall, how inspired I’ve been by Sharon Astyk, George Monbiot, Richard Heinberg, Rob Hopkins, Barbara Kingsolver to name just a few of the writers I’ve been chomping up.

BUT

I almost feel I’ve got too much to write, too many different types of people to cater for (am I writing for people like my dear dad who is one of the few remaining climate change and peak oil nay-sayers left and trying to convince them that denial is a route which they may live to regret? am I writing for dear chums who have a similar view on what the future may hold for our cherished children but are wondering what they may be able to do to prepare themselves, their families, their neighbourhoods? Am I writing for people who like us have found themselves exploring an interesting new path leading them towards self-sufficiency? or am I writing for people who are intrigued by our opting to live in a newly established eco-village – or is it a commune with virtual strangers who are most likely to become the people closest to us in every sense as we live, work, celebrate and commiserate lifes’ events alongside one another?) and so am finding myself writing very little at all but with loads whirling round my head every hour of every day.

Perhaps just by ranting out tonight I have stumbled upon the answer (in permaculture we are told that ‘The problem IS the solution’). Maybe I just need to write whatever I fancy and then at the end will categorise it or tag it to be for one of the four groups above unless it is just random bimblings which may not be of interest to anyone apart from those just vaguely wondering how we are getting along.

Mike Ellis wrote a blog post yesterday entitled Too Cheap which relates to western society’s mass consumption orgy that is largely driven by goods being produced at a cost that is much lower than their real cost, in terms both of exploitation of the human resources as well as earth’s diminishing resources.

It’s a view that we plainly agree with here so I felt compelled to comment upon the post.

Part of my comment has grown upon me so I decided to reproduce it, slightly edited for grammar, here:

The Elephant in the room is there. Look it in the eye. It’s going nowhere and the longer it’s left there alone the pile of shit it’s leaving is getting bigger.

Wake up people.

The Introduction to Permaculture course Darren and I both took part in last weekend was brilliant and for those of you wishing to find a positive path in the heavy chaotic business of worrying about what the future holds for ourselves, our families, our friends and our societies and lifestyles this course delivered by Ruth O’Brien in Bristol comes very highly recommended by both of us..

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This week Ed Milliband launched the UK government’s Low Carbon Transition Plan and on balance I think it could have been a lot worse.

At 228 pages it’s a weighty tome but thankfully you don’t have to trawl though it all as Transition’s own Rob Hopkins has done that for you in his excellent summary of the plan.

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