But the world is not in good health, with many scientists giving repeated warnings that it is sick and getting sicker. James Martin in his book The meaning of the 21st Century says,

“The most dangerous consequence of our activities may be that we upset the way that our planet regulates itself. The Earth is a small but immensely complex entity sitting in endless black emptiness. Its great forests, oceans, weather patterns and ecology enable it to regulate itself, as it has done for 3 billion years. It’s complex mechanisms of regulation provide a breathable atmosphere, a pleasant climate and conditions in which diverse plants grow. The Earth is like a living thing-a green and beautiful sphere with immensely complex biology and weather. It is generally stable, but we can interfere with it. If we interfere with it gently, it will adjust and return to stability. However, if we interfere with it too much, it will change to a different state, and this would be disastrous for a population so excessive that only a portion of it can survive in decency.”

• by cheque
• by paying by credit card over the phone (tel. 01430 410070)
• or paypal on line (credit card or paypal account)

Food
1. Build a pantry, and stock it with food — probably 300 pounds or more
2. Enlarge our vegetable garden — now it is over 2,500 square feet (see TopVeg for information on this)
3. Plant fruit bushes and fruit trees — clearly these need more care than we were used to providing
4. Fill deep freeze with food
5. Found and started shopping at local farmers market, and buying eggs left around from neighbor’s pet chickens
6. Purchased various books on gardening, including permaculture, as well as cook books

Home Heat
1. Insulate under outlet covers (still probably have a few to do)
2. Insulate hot water tank
3. Insulate over attic hatch (I think this one is done, I will check.)
4. Put up heavy, thick curtains over almost all windows and sliders (a couple still need to be put up)
5. Buy plastic to put over windows if there is a winter emergency
6. Install two ceiling fans (one more to go)
7. Set programmable furnace thermostat lower
8. Replaced 500 gallon LPG tank with 1,000 gallon tank
9. Make sure to have extra clothes, for warmth on cooler days

Water
1. Purchase collapsible camp jug, 2.5 gallons
2. Keep 1-2 gallons in fridge at all times
3. Case of bottled water in garage (needs to be replaced, I think we drank it all)

Electricity
1. Install low wattage fluorescent lights in almost all fixtures, extra bulbs in storage
2. Replace old desktop computers with very low wattage laptops, and LCD monitors
3. Turn off all lights except ones we are using at that moment
4. Make sure freezers and fridge are full (they work much harder when 1/2 full or near empty)
5. Replace dead fridge with Energy Star fridge
6. Purchase lots of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries & charger (still looking for good D size)

Money
1. Set aside $100 emergency home fund, small bills and coins
2. Paid off house — we considered how much the bank would give us, and borrowed only 1/2 that, so we could pay it off in half the time — also means lower taxes
3. Paid off cars — keep driving them (they are both over 230,000 miles now)
4. Paid off credit cards
5. Keep somewhat high balance in checking account
6. No cable TV or dish – we get free DVD’s from the library, and a basic NetFlix account

Transportation
1. Kept original cars, about 25 mpg each — will probably replace with newer used car
2. Fill up car fuel tanks once down to half full
3. Bought five 5-gallon gas cans (only three have gas in them at the moment.)
4. Buy Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer (I have yet to use this, but plan to at next fill up.)

Security
1. Keep doors and windows locked as a habit
2. Started talking to, and getting to know, neighbors
3. Starting a peak oil awareness group to meet more people

Education
1. Attended three “Peak Oil and Community Solutions” conferences
2. Attend one ASPO-USA Peak Oil conference
3. Bought and read over a dozen books on peak oil and related topics
4. Took college course on macro-economics
5. Watched dozens of documentaries related to peak oil and related topics
6. Started web site and online journal, to keep myself thinking and taking action
7. Attended two state level renewable energy fairs
8. Attended various other talks about energy and the future
9. Prepared and presented talks and a video about peak oil

What have you done?