Permaculture - Oil Peak

So, I'd never heard of the term "oil peak" before, so possibly you haven't either. Basically oil production in the world is beyond its peak. We've used more than we've got left. Infact, for every 5 barrels of oil that we use - we are only finding one barrel of new oil. So, we definitely need to get smart about energy alternatives.

We saw an interesting documentary about life in Cuba. During the early 90s, trade embargos to Cuba meant that the country received hardly any oil - so had to totally adapt. Environmentalists believe that we can look at what happened in Cuba then to get models for how we can adapt to the oil peak.

Things were pretty grim in Cuba to start with.. power cuts lasting 16 hours per day - no refrigeration for food - no air-conditioning - busses that were out of fuel and unable to run.

As nothing was reaching Cuba from the outside, solutions had to come from the inside. People began to use bicycles and grow their own food. The country started to develop organic methods and everyone became a gardener or farmer - with plentiful produce being grown on rooftops and in all available urban space. Today the country is 80 per cent organic.

I think the message is clear. It's time to become resourceful and trade in consumerism for something more wholesome. Every little thing we do is something positive!

I'm thinking of how much money I could save if I grew all my own produce (as my diet is about 80 per cent fruit and veggie and grain based - my food shopping needs would be very minimal). If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend Barbara Kingslover's "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" - all about a year of eating only local food.