Energy, Food and Water

Given Molly's post on Peak oil? Peak Food? .....and now peak water?, I'd thought I'd do a little comparison on our energy and water consumption with where we were at this time last year. We've been trying to reduce our consumption over the past year and we've just received our end of financial year bills, so it is a good time to compare.

Water - over the past 12 months we have used 58% of what we used the previous year. Most of this saving came from over summer, when our water consumption fell to less than half of what we used the year before. Given I've got more food growing, I'm rather surprised at the result, but very, very pleased.

Electricity - comparing this quarter to the same one last year, we are using 59% of what we used the previous year. A lot of this saving is probably due to installing a solar hot water system and replacing our old electric oven and cooktop with a gas burner, electric oven stove (which is also lovely to cook on!).

Natural Gas - we are using about the same amount of gas as we did in the comparable quarter a year ago. However, since we are now using gas for cooking, this means our heating usage has definitely gone down.

Petrol - I don't have any accurate figures on this, but judging from our budget spreadsheet, we were filling up two to three times each fortnight and now we are filling up mostly only once and sometimes twice. We have been making a concerted effort to use the bus, so obviously our strategy is working.

Food - this is pretty hard to judge, as the children are getting older and are therefore eating more. However, I have more weeks where I don't need to buy any supplemental veges and so we must be heading in the right direction. Also, there are definitely less processed foods entering the house - we are pretty much cooking from scratch these days and snacks tend to be raw nuts and dried fruits or homemade treats, rather than stuff that comes in packets. Which reminds me - we often shop at the co-op where you supply your own containers, so we've reduced our packaging that way, too.

I know we still have a long way to go in terms of saving energy and water and growing our own food, but I'm feeling pretty pleased with what we have achieved this year. It will be interesting to see what our consumption is this time next year.

So here's the challenge - get out your energy and water bills and, if they record the information for you, see if your consumption has decreased. I think we will be trying to set ourselves some goals each quarter.

love and light
naturewitch

Survival into the 21st Century

I was reading Molly's post on the food crisis and thought I'd post some information I found in a book just this morning. The book is called Survival into the 21st Century: Planetary Healers Manual by Viktoras Kulvinskas, published in 1975. I inherited it from my father, a wise old Piscean who was definitely ahead of his time (or maybe behind it?).

Anyway, the book discusses how to survive in the future and it is interesting that a lot of the issues raised are ones we are now talking about, although it is by no means a book on self-sufficiency. In preparation for survival, the author suggests (among other things):

• buying land at least 100 miles (160 km) away from major cities, preferably in the mountains or somewhere that people won't consider to be agriculturally attractive
• having hidden, underground storage areas for food, water, tools, books and seeds
• storing for each person: 25kg unhulled buckwheat seed; 50kg wheat; 12kg mung beans; 12kg unhulled sesame seed; 25kg navy beans; 15kg honey; 1L liquid kelp
• digging a well for water
• moving to your land at the first sign of unrest
• using a car, but always carrying a bike

The list of food may seem a bit strange, but the author was seriously into sprouted food. I'd like to see some veges on the list, but maybe you'd have vege seeds and grow them once you'd gone to your land.

Quite an interesting read, with a bit of a giggle now and again.

love and light

naturewitch

Feeding the World

Tonight on the ABC was a very interesting edition of Landline Extra. One story related to our ability to feed the world (click on the link to see transcript and view the video). The program was presented in the context of the growth in world population, the failure of crops in Australia due to drought and the increased use of grains for biofuel production.

They listed world population figures, which I have plotted up. As you can see, we still have a linearly increasing population growth, which is not predicted to slow down for another 20 years or so.

The program discussed how businesses and investors are starting to look to the rural sector as a potential cash cow. (It always worries me when big business gets involved in our food chain.) Also, in the past year, the price of corn has risen by 31%, rice has increased by 74%, soya beans are up 87% and wheat is now 130% more expensive than it was 12 months ago.

All this adds up to the need for us to take more personal responsibility for our food production. I think I'm starting to repeat myself - I'm sure I said this yesterday . . . So, I'll repeat myself again and say - go forth into your gardens and multiply! Put some seed or seedlings into the ground and start growing more of your own food. And while you're about it, teach your children how to grow food as well - their future may very well depend on it!

Don't mean to sound paranoid; I just think this is a very important issue. Who will feed us if we don't at least try to feed ourselves?

love and light
naturewitch