tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78933211379828849792024-03-21T10:50:11.720-07:00Future Reference FarmHelping the individual attain personal security through sustainable food productionTimothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-46424661304526230012015-04-28T18:30:00.003-07:002015-04-29T07:06:32.195-07:00Condition and Control - How the Governments and Corporations Will Use the Energy Crisis To Maintain the Police State While Selectively Starving the Population<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">What's The Problem? </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">To put it as simply as possible, there are too many people on planet earth. Because of that fact we are now dealing with the following issues:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1) Weather related crop failures and infrastructure destruction from the effects of Anthropomorphic Global Warming. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2) Risk from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) to our health and the environment. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3) Loss of species (extinction) averaging more than 600 times the normal background rate. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4) Ocean Acidification and ocean dead zones due to agricultural and waste water runoff. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5) The triggering of several (possibly irreversible) climate warming/atmospheric composition changing feedback loops. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">6) Food scarcity/cost increases and the health and political side effects. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">7) Our food is grown, processed and shipped using fossil fuels that are depleting fast. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">8) Increased energy and material costs as well as decreasing quality of remaining energy and mineral deposits. </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Population pressures not only become apparent in relation to resources. As a society, we face many mental and physical difficulties when dealing with population pressures.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">No species has been able to grow beyond the naturally set limits and not face population collapse or extinction. We are no exception. While we have currently exceeded the natural limits for our species, we are on borrowed time. We have used our intellect to 'cheat' nature and in doing so, we have created a predicament. A predicament has no solution and neither do we if we look at the problem with the same mindset that caused it. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The problem is not how to keep a growing population of 7+ Billion people alive. The problem is determining how many people we can keep alive at any one time without running out of necessities or destroying the environment. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Governments are not lost on this. People in high places are well informed by experts from many different fields of study. So assuming the government knows that there is no solution and that economic collapse and famine will be on our doorstep possibly as soon as tomorrow, how can they and how would they respond? </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Currently the military in the USA is the largest consumer of fossil fuels in that country. It's dependency on fossil fuels is nearly one hundred percent. In a shortage due to economic collapse or other factors that prevent the availability and affordability of fossil fuels, the military would be directed home. At the same time, rationing would begin here in the USA and all kinds of hell will break loose. Unemployment will be skyrocketing as well as prices for everything including fuel. </span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Renewable energy will and is falsely being touted as the saviour of industrial civilization and the government will jump on it when it is left with no choice in order to maintain command and control. Corporations will go along to get along, manufacturing these technologies. Meanwhile the food situation will deteriorate as brownouts and fuel shortages continue to hamper the operations of industrial farming. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Is the government prepared to resolve this issue? No. It's a predicament. Are they prepared to react to the issue? You bet. The government has already contracted for and built expansive facilities designed to contain (imprison?) hundreds of civilians. Members of the armed forces are already being employed at these facilities in preparation. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The most intriguing question surrounding these facilities is whether they were designed for protecting the few or imprisoning the rabble rousers. We can almost be certain that with America's prison system already maxed out, the need for more prisoner housing will be paramount in a crisis of this proportion. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">What then of the prisoners? With food scarce, will the government see to it that these troublemakers are fed? Would you feed the 'bad guy' while your children are crying tears of hunger? I think it is highly likely that hundreds of thousands of prisoners across the nation will face starvation and cannibalism in the coming crisis unless they are fortunate enough to be imprisoned in facilities that have the climate and grounds to produce food year round. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Entire cities may become open air prisons where meager supplies are brought in by the government, but nothing and no one gets out alive. The countryside is too vast and disconnected from command and control systems for the government to be rounding people up. Besides, the population concentrations are where the greatest need for control lies. Get out of the city while you still can.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">No, the government will not actively starve the population, but since they, or society at large is not freeing the food system from the ravages of fossil fueled soil degrading monocultures and GMOs, they will have to manage the starvation that is certain to ensue. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">What is the solution?</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">As I said earlier, we are in a predicament so there is no 'solution', only triage. And the sooner we accept that, and make sacrifices, the better off we will be and the better our chances of not starving to death. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Of course, in the long run, this depends on how much damage we have already done to the environment and how much more damage is done as a result of the collapse of our industrial civilization. </span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><br /></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Here is the best way to prepare yourself:</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">1) Small communities (150-200) of like minded individuals working together for the following:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">2) Learn and acquire the necessary skills and hardware to defend yourself</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">3) Obtain land that is in reasonable condition to support agriculture</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">4) Learn and acquire the necessary skills to practice permaculture principles as they apply to agriculture</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">5) Develop a strict policy regarding reproduction and immigration into your community. </span></span></div>
<br />Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-70276602055778124962014-10-08T01:13:00.003-07:002015-04-26T17:25:51.130-07:00Why energy itself, not the lack of it, is the nemesis of our modern existence<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Any energy that we ‘create’ or produce in excess of the total available energy of the sun will express itself in exponential growth until the point at which the ability to produce the excess energy is not possible or the unusable byproducts of that growth destroy the environment that enabled it.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We cannot carve the earth up and live as if energy is something we might have to be bothered to conserve or use cautiously. We cannot have the energy intensive lifestyles of our current paradigm without sacrificing our environment.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Much of the damage has already been done, but in the process, humanity discovered many wonderfully useful sciences that do not need high-tech infrastructure and processing to be relevant. Through simple breeding techniques and organic, permaculture styled food production, we can feed quite a lot of people with much less energy than is being used now with fossil fuels. Also, the food will be much better for you and for the land when being produced, guided by these low energy methods.</span></div>
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</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We really do need to live fairly low tech, productively active lifestyles in order to fit in with the earths requirements for successful organisms. Yes, we are smart, but being smart, and being successful are not always the same. Sometimes we do things that aren’t that smart for minimal, short term advantage which threatens the long term success of the species.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is an equilibrium, a place where human civilization can live happily, with and about nature. But there will never be a condition where we can live </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">outside</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of nature*. We will find this equilibrium eventually, and when we do we will be very different people from who we are now. Those of us that are still around when this great change has been fully realized will tell stories of the technological wonders that once existed, practically anything you wanted to know could be answered within seconds from a small device in your hand.</span></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some technology will survive, but in the long term, it will not last, not without the abundant resources and complex monetary/global trade structures to support repairing and replacement of parts. Unless we can figure out how to do amazing things </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">organo-chemically </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with every day resources like rocks, wood, or dirt, we aren’t going to be able to keep our technology.</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have plenty of ways to use these types of resources as infrastructure, and thus they then become an energy sink, requiring energy, either human, animal, combustion, or electricity from Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Tidal, etc. to extract, form, transport and assemble. But we can’t use rocks to produce energy, say by simply polarizing their atoms (I am totally making this up as an example) which suddenly causes the rock to produce electricity in the company of light.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Electricity itself requires a carrier, or conduit, and a source. Normally the source is a hydroelectric, nuclear, or natural gas/coal powered plant. But with the alternatives like solar and wind, you run into intermittency problems as well as load distribution issues. So you fix that with batteries, but batteries are expensive, require many rare materials, are usually toxic or corrosive, and do not have a long life span. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The introduction of excess energy into the biosphere from humanities discovery and utilization of massive amounts of ancient solar energy in the form of fossil fuels has created one of our greatest conundrums. We are a pulsing and adaptable species which works well to keep us going, but in an energy rich lifestyle, that skill inadvertently turns to growth and our whole life becomes about earning wealth and accumulating products and investments.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The very fact that the majority of people in the developed world have not or do not often eat something that they themselves have grown, or harvested shows how deep this is. We need to get back to food production being a large employer of the population, and something that only a few would have little experience with. We cannot afford to mine, refine, form, assemble, treat, package, transport and consume our way through life with the merits of a credit economy and infinite growth. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is a difficult position for politics to address. Ultimately, it becomes a choice between giving up our chance to escape earth rather than die with her. Now if I was alive and this was a choice right now, like an earth killing meteor is going to hit and there is a spaceship taking off with a hundred thousand light year capability, I would be on board.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think we all know that just isn't going to be a possibility right now and in the mean time we are losing our hold and heading toward disaster in the face of energy decline.</span></span>Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-2274852889233871312014-10-02T00:22:00.000-07:002014-10-08T01:26:32.246-07:00Culture and Value<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i style="background-color: black;">Initial assumptions:</i></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-a0ccd682-cfb3-d09d-8689-cf2ed967f023" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
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<ul>
<li><b style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is real</b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Environmental destruction due to pollution, resource extraction and human habitat expansion is real</b></li>
<li><b style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overpopulation is real assuming current consumption trends continue</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">
</span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;">
</span>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Culture is a product of individuals collectively engaging in certain activities. The activities that these cultures engage in is how we identify and discern them from one culture to the next during a specific time frame or across the entire span of human existence.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In order to better understand the initial assumptions and what they mean for humanity I am going to use a cultural 'lense'. Over time, cultures appear to be dynamic and elastic, as well as being very short lived in some cases. The dynamism, elasticity and longevity of cultures is determined by many factors such as environmental conditions, resource availability, access to information and much more. There is no question, however, that cultures can and do change or disappear entirely.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is a new culture that has arisen recently in the human experience and that is the culture of consumerism. Now we normally do not think of ourselves that way in the developed world. When we think of our culture we might think of things like Baseball, Rock & Roll, fast cars, etc. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But there is a level at which our culture is something more than the sum of its parts and this is what we fail to see when we consider the way we live our lives. We want to have the many things that we take for granted and we want to create them with the least cost and greatest efficiency and expediency. We don't have time to wait for fast food, there are so many things we have to do in our day, so many places to drive and resources to expend. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some have less hectic lives, but exist within the same cultural paradigm so in one sense, they cannot extract themselves from the responsibility or the burden entirely. But they can begin a shift in our culture by leading the way in less consumptive behavior and more resilient living. Like most people, culture does not change just because a certain inconvenient truth is realized. Culture is slow to change and must start at the local level. You cannot force cultural change without serious social consequences. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We cannot continue with the culture of consumption and thus our culture must change and it will. How and what causes the change is the key to knowing and understanding the culture that will emerge from the ashes of consumption. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is certainly desired that the change be voluntary and that it does not shock the population with such drastic changes in a short amount of time. A gradual shift into this new culture would be much better for society in general. This seems to be what is happening now as movements like Transition spring up and grow around the world. So there is an idea of how we would like to live beyond consumerism, an expectation. But there is no guarantee that these transition communities will survive the changes expected to occur within the next two decades with the rapid decline of fossil fuels and the increasing tensions and conflicts around the world.</span></div>
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But the best we can do is to try to build the world we would prefer in the absence of mass consumerism and the infrastructure and energy that drives it. Resilience is the key to the success of these movements. Resilience is also key to the success of culture. Until the expansion from the industrial world into the jungles of south america, resilient cultures of native Americans existed in large numbers for thousands of years. They were resilient because their culture was simple, there were few rituals or requirements beyond hunting and gathering. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We can simplify our culture but it will require sacrifices that many are just not ready to make. There is still a large number of people led to believe my initial assumptions are false. Misled by propaganda provided by those that profit most from the continuation of our consumer society. It comes down to what Gandhi said, we need to ‘be the change’ that we want, or rather that we know must happen to survive as a species. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black;">Thoughts on anthropomorphic reasoning and the concept of good and evil.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-19e025e6-cfb5-4b26-95ff-9149f6757bcc" style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is difficult to embrace life and to envision meaning without imparting the learned values and self advancing tendencies that accompany the thoughts of a conscious mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We spend the majority of our efforts in acts of self preservation, eating, working, sleeping, etc are all activities that we engage in for the purpose of self preservation and they tend to take up a majority of our time. It is easy to see why our thoughts would include something of a looping mechanism that always returns us back to the question of self interest. Any idea or thought we have is weighed to some degree by this looping mechanism.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact, why should we wonder, worry or concern ourselves at all with anything that does not immediately benefit us in one way or another? It would seem pointless on the surface, but just below that surface is a world of understanding that easily eludes us. But we have proven effective at this throughout history. Many of the great thinkers and scientists of the past have unwoven a stunning story of our existence and many without recognition until long after the fact.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So in what other ways can a lack of human-centric thought lead us to new understandings of our reality and our place in it? If I only knew. The idea though is that it allows us to think outside of the human box.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We don't usually think of the concepts of right or wrong when we think about nature or the cosmos. But realistically, the relativistically loaded concepts of right and wrong can easily be extrapolated to the concepts of order versus disorder, and in the natural world, this is a battle that never ends.This then brings us back to 'us' and the evolutionary processes that brought us into being. We have been fighting an ongoing battle to lean toward order or 'right' and away from disorder or 'wrong'. This is not just a metaphorical example, it is ingrained into our very being by millions of years of evolution driving us toward more cooperative social behaviours.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We devised the concepts of morality and the theory of ethics not simply as an experiment or wishful thinking, these premises were expressions of what our social evolution was doing and continues to do. Morality, Ethics, Right or Wrong, whatever we think of these concepts, they are not 'man made'. They are simply expressions of the universe being spoken by one of it's creations. We can quantify them and express them in varying degrees, and this is where anthropomorphism comes back into play.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The biggest setback to purely human-centric thought and pursuits is that humans are programmed to seek the greatest reward in the least amount of time. This conflicts with reality in many ways as we approach the limits of our physical world and this is where we need to think in a systems mode. The earth, the solar system, the universe, are all part of a system based on a few simple laws. Now the biosphere and the earth system are quite a bit more complicated than large bodies pulling each other this way and that in the vacuum of space.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The earth has many complicated mechanisms that maintain just the right conditions for humans and the rest of life to exist. We need to first and foremost protect those systems so that we can continue to survive as a species, but the earth is large and seemingly unlimited to a single mind living a single lifetime and with much more to worry about right now rather than what will be happening a hundred years from now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So right and wrong are concepts that can be observed in nature with the right kind of eyes. It is not a conscious right or wrong, but it is there and it does influence our existence. It is like the black hole, we cannot see it directly, but we can see how it affects all of existence.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back to 'us', from an anthropological point of view, good and evil, right or wrong, are concepts used and useful to humans alone. The elemental products of nature do not and cannot concern themselves with the concepts of conscious minds.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="background-color: black; font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So I hope I have at least imparted on you the idea that right and wrong are not owned by humans. Their many variations are spread across the cosmos.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Order versus disorder in a world struggling endlessly against the effects of entropy easily seems pointless. And without a doubt, so is life. Pointless. We create the meaning in our lives and very much of that meaning comes from the core foundations of what we as individuals observe as right or wrong.</span></div>
Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-56527851019730092102014-06-21T03:44:00.002-07:002014-06-21T03:50:47.600-07:00Why Solutions Are Illusions or There Is No Way Out of This<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.karuna.org.uk/userfiles/images/FOREST%20GARDENING%202010%20PT2%20047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" src="http://www.karuna.org.uk/userfiles/images/FOREST%20GARDENING%202010%20PT2%20047.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">On the idea of Top Down vs Bottom Up solutions, It appears
that both fail to relate to what will be possible in a world of decline and
localization.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Since the current form of trade and commerce depends on cheap
fossil fuels, it will be crippled by rising energy costs. This will eventually
bankrupt nations and lead to revolution or dissolution as they are forced to
localize.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">From the Bottom Up perspective, it forgets the true
dependency of the masses. It only works when there is enough land in the
locality to support the population living on and around it. Food will become
very local.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">But that assumes we survive the mass exodus that will occur
as food stops being imported into major cities and their starving masses begin
to spill out in search of anything edible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">It will be amazing if deer and boar survive the decline. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">So from a resources and ecology point of view, neither
approach can work for the amount of people currently living on the planet. The
complexity and energy requirements of that kind of governance would not be
possible. Culture is the only thing that can provide any hope. But it will not
avoid the pain. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Small farms, permaculture projects, and other natural food
production oriented lifestyles and the people those systems support will be the
only thing that survives. There will be no city or urban lifestyle where
electricity powers almost every aspect of daily life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Water and food and the ability to utilize and transport them
ultimately determine what is possible for civilization. There is a definite
maximum at which we could utilize the most sustainable and hospitable areas of
the planet in an agriculturally formed lifestyle. If we were doing more then
simply trying to find a solution for our cultural paradigm and instead,
thinking about a solution for the long term, we would be focusing more honestly
on what is possible by cataloging what is available in finite form and
renewable form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">Let’s get the numbers, but I am afraid the numbers would not
provide the answers needed to walk the current population through the resource
bottleneck. This is the reality that we must accept. Once we do, more
reasonable approaches can be made as to what is possible in the long term, and
how we can mitigate the crisis in the meantime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">The primary goal is to increase organic, sustainable
agriculture and thus increase the amount of people occupied with that
particular activity. This is where culture plays an important role. We can
pretend that we can keep being a culture of consumers, or we can accept the
culture that is available to us via our realm of possibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: black; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;">But alas, the current culture is deeply engrained in the modern
human psyche of developed nations. Often people speak as if humans never have or
could survive without the luxuries of only the last century. Given the entirety
of the human experience, our modern experience is a mere exception to the rule
of what has been and is possible for life on earth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">In the evolution of life, there are many dead ends, and
Industrial Man is only one. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-46502319006661965562013-11-16T09:00:00.002-08:002013-11-16T21:02:15.883-08:00ENERGY PRIMER<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>INTRODUCTION</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">The what is energy, the question is not who, when, where, or why, but how.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">This is a quick and dirty primer on our energy situation. It is simplified, but I have tried to cover the most important concepts and explain them and their relationships compared to one another and to society. I believe the energy issue is somewhat complex, but it is THE critical ‘issue’ for our globalized, growth based, consumer society and that will become painfully obvious in short order. We need to have informed awareness about the problem if we expect solutions.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">This is not politically suggestive, nor does it propose solutions on how to deal with the energy issue, I leave that up to you. This is strictly observational.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>EROI/EROEI</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">“It takes money to make money” – Energy Return on Investment / Energy Return on Energy Invested is fairly straightforward. In the first years of commercial oil production, it took one barrel of oil energy equivalent to produce one hundred barrels of CRUDE oil. Now days it is between ten and twenty to one and getting worse. The difference is that EROI focuses on the monetary investment where as EROEI focuses primarily on the actual physical energy required (usually measured in btu’s).</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">EROI or EROEI, in a sense, represent the profitability of oil extraction, or the economically recoverable amount of oil (or any finite resource) that can be extracted.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>ECONOMICS (Supply & Demand)</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">“I can’t afford it.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">“Well then I can’t afford to produce it.”</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">This is the cycle that plays out as the EROI number goes down and the economy struggles to grow with the high costs of energy. As the costs get higher, the oil industry can invest in more production and so ‘excess’ energy is once again delivered to the economy. But soon the abundance drives the price back down and the oil industry can no longer afford to discover and drill for more.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">At some point this imbalance could level out, but always with energy availability in over all decline. As the Super Giant fields around the world that still provide the vast majority of the worlds Crude oil continue to decline.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">The economy depends on a growing and cheap supply of energy to feed the machines of modern industrial society. The problem is that the supply is getting smaller and less productive.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>ENERGY DENSITY</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">The different types of fossil energy sources vary, but they can be broken down into Gas and Oil. Each have their own subtypes but are the primary differentiators when it comes to their use in our civilization.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">The “Low Hanging Fruit” applies to all energy exploits. People go after the mother load that is easiest to get to. But also there is the issue of Energy Density. As some resources are mined, such as coal, the resource contains less of the material that makes it energy useful, and more of the material that does not. In short, it doesn’t burn as hot.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">So as we expand our reach for fossil energy, we are forced to resort to lesser and lesser quality sources of energy that are more and more costlier to extract and refine.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>ENERGY USES</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Knowing the different types of oil is a prerequisite to understanding their uses.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Conventional Crude Oil is the black gooey stuff we all think of, but it is ‘fully matured’ and energy dense, where as the ‘Oil’ like substances coming from Fracking are not always fully ‘cured’ and require expensive treatment to make them available as gasoline or other useful oil based byproducts.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">The process of Hydraulic Fracturing (I am lumping Tar Sands in with these fuel types even though it is strip mined) (Fracking) produces Gases like Methane and Butane as well as ‘tight oil’ and gas that is trapped in rocks and must be blasted out. There is quite a bit of energy available around the world with this method and resource types. However it still only buys us a few decades, and that is if the economy can continue to adsorb the increasing costs of the energy.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Our primary uses for Crude and some types of the Fracked oil is transportation, as well as other things like plastics and pesticides.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Our primary use for gas (Methane, Propane, Butane, and many others) is in some small and larger vehicles as well as fertilizer, cooking and heating and producing electricity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">It does not contribute to transportation in any significant way and our infrastructure isn’t set up for it.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Though we have a ‘lot’ of natural gas in the US, Natural gas does not have the kind of global market like Crude oil and therefore is primarily subject to local costs. Although there have been talks about building more Natural gas ports. But Natural gas is expensive to transport due to it needing to be very cold and under very high pressure.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">We are setup to run on highly energy dense, combustible liquid fuel, or Gasoline.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>ALTERNATIVES</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Alternative energies such as wind and solar have the potential to provide energy for a few decades longer, but only in limited areas, and subject to sunlight and wind variations. We would have had to divert all of our efforts for building our infrastructure around that type of energy decades ago.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">It is highly unlikely we will reach that level of renewable capability before the costs of energy make it impossible. Developing these technologies requires that the fossil fuel dependent backbone of the global economy continue to be greased with cheap, abundant energy.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">>CLIMATE CHANGE</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Climate Change forces us to look at the humanity side of the coin. And it doesn’t tell a pretty story. The climate changes naturally, the Sun has warm and ‘cool’ phases, we can see it in the data. But the data also tells another story. A story of rapid acceleration of many recent data points that do not occur in the available historical data, ever.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">Humans are certainly impacting the climate, but whether or not we are causing the damage, Climate Change is still a game changing issue, not merely for our convenience, but for the survival of almost every multi-cellular life form on this planet (which includes humans).</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;" />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.46875px;">The newer methods of extraction and fossil sources not only prove more expensive and of less quality, but they contribute more of the chemicals that scientists tell us are the main culprits of our environmental and climate impact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: none;">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Video of the farm</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-12998129732230182762013-11-07T19:11:00.001-08:002013-11-07T23:52:02.384-08:00<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cell Phones - A Preppers Guide</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">by Timothy Dicks</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The short:</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">1) GSM device</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">2) Full knowledge and operational control of all of the devices communication capabilities</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">3) The applications and databases that will be useful in a long or short term prepper scenario.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Technology is always adopted slowly in the prepper community. It’s an instinct to stick with what works and can be easily maintained and controlled. But admittedly, technology works much better in some ways to ease the burden of temporary or even long term distress.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cell phones fit the bill, they are definitely a, if not the most important tool in an emergency situation in which someone elses assistance is needed who is not currently available.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">However, there is a perspective in which cell phones can easily become our worst enemy, tracking our every movement, purchase, communication and interests, knowing all, all the time. It is the same world that brings us all the wonders of technology, but demands our obedience.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is the system we have created for ourselves, the very system that is teetering on the brink of <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/06/environmental-collapse-now-a-serious-threat-scientists/">ecological</a>, <a href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-11-05/the-propaganda-campaign-against-peaking-fossil-fuel-production">energy</a>, <a href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2010-06-08/exponential-growth-meets-finite-resources">resource</a>, <a href="http://guardianlv.com/2013/08/u-s-monetary-system-in-major-collapse/">monetary</a>, <a href="http://www.gulf-times.com/business/191/details/368493/dollar-credibility-affected-by-us-political-deadlock">political</a>, and <a href="http://www.center2000.org/u-s-a/">religious</a> upheaval. It is a very delicate system that depends on the quivering masses, struggling to keep it afloat, meanwhile we give it more control with every new submission of indulgence.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So how do we take advantage of a cell phone in a safe and effective manner? With any technology, the issue of security mainly comes down to what you don’t let the system do, or in other words, turning the machine off is THE MOST secure way to operate the machine. Now this is very basic, but that is really all it needs to be to understand the cell phone.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">What you do not ‘allow’ the device to do is what determines how secure it is depending on the situation.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">To cut it short for those using feature phones or lesser cell phones, your best bet is to simply keep them off unless you need to use them and giving up your location and identity are not a concern.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">For the more advanced phones like the iPhone, Android devices, or the myriad of other devices with cellular and wifi capabilities, we need to exercise a bit more control.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">These amazing devices with life saving information storage capabilities could be priceless in certain scenarios. Many of the preloaded apps have several useful tools for practical tasks, such as a calculator, level, barometer, and temperature, and many more can be downloaded and operated locally on the device.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The trick is in what information is stored on these devices versus what information you are remaining vulnerable to severing by way of the internet.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">So lets build a survival Cell Phone, and lets assume we want maximum security at all times.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Maximum security implies that we are at the highest level of security and our location cannot be given up at any time without actively engaging a known risk communication.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Security -</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As stated, we are operating at Maximum security and we must be able to retain control at all times. In this case, you have done the first and most important process of removing your sim card. (If you had a CDMA phone, you would have already known to get a GSM phone without the identifying hardware built in by skipping down to the hardware section.) Once the SIM card is removed from the GSM device you would no longer have your device be at risk of being identified by the surrounding cell towers. However you are not in the clear. You will still need to disable the wifi. If there are any open wifi networks in the area, your device may connect and ‘identify’. Oh, but wait.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">RFID/NFC,</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Yes, RFID is old news in the tech community AND the prepper community by now, but NFC is the new RFID, and it’s out there offering up its conveniences at the price of our willing submission. Keep your eye out for the NFC functionality of your device, and believe it or not, the RFID ability. It was rumored a while ago that the new thing in phones would be RFID, but hey, the RFID tech could already be there simply for inventory purposes, so look out for that. I couldn’t find anything specific to my phone on a quick Google search, oh wait… ;)</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The point is to know what your device is capable of and make sure you can maintain control over that ability at all times. Having a cell phone with you but hidden, could still jeopardize your security in close quarters, even if it’s turned off.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Applications -</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">What we are looking for is applications that can provide extremely quick and useful results to queries that we might have relating to a range of issues including medical, location and survival, among others. Applications that involve communications, and remotely stored databases are of lesser importance and can take up valuable space.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The best advantage in terms of the technologies interactive features is the GPS, hands down. You can download the app, download the maps for your region and never even need a network connection. You would have a fully zoomable GPS mapping device. You can determine your location without risking your location.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">There are many information databases available online, but make sure their databases are downloadable and that you have plenty on and off device storage. At this point, entire family albums, modern DVD collections and valuable information can be stored on a handful of small microSD cards.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Think utilitarian and even think outside your thinking box by downloading advanced apps that you might never use but could be useful to advanced tinkerers and other brainiacs you may run into in the new world.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hardware -</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Choosing your hardware usually means choosing something you want more for it’s communication abilities than it’s ‘unconnected’ abilities. But this is really the least important feature in a long term survival scenario. Assuming the worst, your cell phone/tablet becomes a repository for information and a tool for advanced mathematics. Oh and even a GPS. That is if you can keep it running that long without grid power. So you’ll need a portable solar charger, (or two) to keep it going.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Long term you want a powerful processor and possibly a decent way to document the new history that arises out of the ashes of our technocracy.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In the way of security, a GSM device is your priority as you can simply remove the SIM card to no longer identify you to the Cellular network. With a CDM device, it will attempt to identify itself as soon as you power it on.</span><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A Cell phone is a computer today, and a computer is an awesome thing to have. But it’s functionality has long since been overlooked by its ability to perplex humans with endless, random, and sometimes just downright BAD information. In a long term collapse scenario, that ability will more than likely subside as the remaining technology is put more and more to use as a tool rather than a playground.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/" style="color: lime; text-decoration: none;">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" style="color: lime; text-decoration: none;">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Video of the farm</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs" style="background-color: #141414; color: lime; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a>Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-74042397851106965512013-10-30T19:58:00.003-07:002013-10-30T21:31:39.019-07:00Environmental InactivismLet's face it, Environmental Activism is dead. It's not for lack of effort, rather it is because Environmental Activism is an oxy-moron in a growth based system running up against the limitations of a finite planet.<br />
<br />
I propose that we align the name and the tactics to fit what would for all intents and purposes be a more accurate description of the movement and it's goals. So, I came up with an easy change, Environmental Inactivism.<br />
<br />
Why? Because it makes sense, why else?<br />
<br />
Think about it. Let it settle in for a moment.<br />
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All of these various NGO's exist to protect the environment, but what are they proposing to protect the environment from? It would appear that they are intending to protect the earth from the same system they are actively engaged in and in effect, supporting.<br />
<br />
What should I do to protect the environment? Should I give money to organizations that proclaim to have the environments interest in mind? Maybe I should start my own NGO?<br />
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Both of these paths of action involve supporting and contributing to the same system that is causing the issues we are concerned with in the first place. So how can you be an Environmental Inactivist?<br />
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Stop supporting the system, stop supporting all industrial, non-local systems. Stop spending your money. Grow and preserve your own food. Provide for yourself. Do everything you can to NOT be an active participant in our decaying industrial society.<br />
<br />
Being a conscious and concerned citizen has much more to do with what you DO NOT do than what you DO do.<br />
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DO less, BE more.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/" style="color: lime; text-decoration: none;">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" style="color: lime; text-decoration: none;">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Video of the farm</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs" style="background-color: #141414; color: lime; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a>Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-44739960886840593062013-10-17T00:45:00.000-07:002013-11-21T23:39:04.134-08:00Peak Oil ResourcesThis is a post mostly to provide a list of websites that focus on Peak Oil and the coming collapse of industrial civilization. They are sites that I visit frequently. I will put them in order of hopeful to hopeless (Sort of).<br />
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<a href="http://www.resilience.org/">http://www.resilience.org/</a><br />
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Resilience is a great site for what is known as the 'Transition Movement'. The transition movement aims to provide ideas and actions around the concept of transitioning into a low carbon future. There are many good articles on this site, but it primarily assumes that much of the current operating paradigm will remain as is.<br />
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<a href="http://ourfiniteworld.com/">http://ourfiniteworld.com/</a><br />
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Our Finite World is the blog of Gail Tverberg. Gail is an actuary for the insurance industry. Her articles are factual and concise. No nonsence, just the facts mam. Mostly they are based on the idea that Peak Oil will cause financial collapse long before said resource is in terminal decline.<br />
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<a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/">http://www.shtfplan.com/</a><br />
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Shit Hits The Fan Plan is more of a scare tactics kind of website but they do have interesting information from time to time. The comments on this site really aren't worth reading in my opinion as the majority of posters are severly right-wing, overtly religious, and lack the general understanding of things like climate change and resource depletion. They (the posters) mostly think the current resource and energy problems are simply a matter of liberal interference in the market and foriegn policy.<br />
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<a href="http://kunstler.com/">http://kunstler.com</a><br />
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This is James Howard Kunstlers blog. He has written several books concerning Peak Oil and resource depletion.<br />
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<a href="http://www.doomsteaddiner.net/">http://www.doomsteaddiner.net</a><br />
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Doomstead Diner is probably one of the best sites for intellectual reading and the theories and issues surrounding resource depletion and societal collapse. All manner of issues are discussed and they have an excellent podcast page as well as an extensive forum.<br />
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<a href="http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/news-alerts">http://www.collapsenet.com/free-resources/collapsenet-public-access/news-alerts</a><br />
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Collapsenet (From The Wilderness) is the site originally created by Michael Ruppert, author of Crossing The Rubicon. Michael may have been the leading Peak Oil prophet of the nation at one point. They have a good free article collection related to the energy predicament updated daily. However they are a pay site for other features and discussion.<br />
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<a href="http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/">http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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This is Dimitri Orlov's blog. Dimitri is an established author of collapse material and his work is based on his extensive experience with the collapse of the USSR.<br />
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<a href="http://cassandralegacy.blogspot.com/">http://cassandralegacy.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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This is Ugo Bardi's blog and is an excellent source for Peak Oil/Resource depletion related articles.<br />
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<a href="http://guymcpherson.com/">http://guymcpherson.com/</a><br />
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Guy is the guy who thinks it is the last inning for the human race and nature, being the bigger opponent is going to win out (Due to climate change) over man leaving him in the large dustbin of failed species.<br />
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<a href="http://collapseofindustrialcivilization.com/">http://collapseofindustrialcivilization.com/</a><br />
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This site publishes new articles regularly that are well written with excellent tid bits of information here and there.<br />
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And finally...<br />
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<a href="http://dieoff.org/">http://dieoff.org/</a><br />
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This is Jay Hansons site. It is worth visiting and reading in its entirety. There is a lot of useful information that is well referenced. He even has a plan for how to deal with the issues we face although his plan is a bit communistic for my taste.<br />
<br />
_____<br />
<br />
As this list may evolve, other sites may be added in the future so check back often.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/" style="color: lime;">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" style="color: lime;">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Video of the farm</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs" style="background-color: #141414; color: lime; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a><br />
<br />Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-9303612179994597322013-02-07T13:00:00.003-08:002013-02-07T16:40:34.035-08:00Who’s To Blame For The Coming Collapse?<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREBtzV-0aNjyLSwXsvyi2ficAo9MG3-WHvZYFlgY7VbXRivb3ong" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREBtzV-0aNjyLSwXsvyi2ficAo9MG3-WHvZYFlgY7VbXRivb3ong" /></a>The short answer is, we all are. We have all been willingly led
down the path of progress and unending growth. We continue to push the limits
of our environments ability to provide for our needs.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many people like to blame poor governance, lazy people, or even go so far as to blame a conspiracy of
central bankers and the elite. But reality would suggest something much
different and more fundamental.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Energy. Plain and simple. It has been <a href="http://ourfiniteworld.com/2013/01/24/how-high-oil-prices-lead-to-recession/">shown through studies</a>
that our ability to grow and expand is directly proportional to the
availability of affordable energy. <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is understandable
that people want to blame politicians, governments or elite cabals for the
worlds problems. They want to place the blame anywhere but upon themselves and
the lifestyles of never ending consumption and debt that they have chosen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now why we are not being encouraged to live more simply and
sustainably can easily be blamed on the powers that be as they will milk us for
every consumer dollar they can while the dollar (or money in general) still has value. But they are
not forcing us to buy their products or to take on debt. That is our choice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor">Occam’s razor</a> states that: ‘All things being equal, the
simplest explanation is usually the correct one.’ Energy IS the simple
explanation and it makes perfect sense.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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So if you are looking for someone to blame, look no further
than the closest mirror. Ask yourself how much you can provide for yourself
rather than depending on the energy hungry systems of transportation,
manufacture and global exchange for your needs.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks</span><span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/" style="color: lime; text-decoration: initial;">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" style="color: lime; text-decoration: initial;">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #141414; color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Video of the farm</span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs" style="background-color: #141414; color: lime; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: initial;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a></div>
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Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-15820839673403304232012-12-29T17:50:00.001-08:002012-12-29T20:43:23.707-08:00The Preppers Doom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tAhTWmpEl8H5dKIuykLBH-ZMDGBtXtN0dr3EGPNI2kFa0RnnYaLeLIZUw-fI0hrro0vUXR7b-AFmQwtCM-iQODjbm7fhqbn-iygKRErF_TXvm4yhlNf2TAT-gv3DvpNZZinqW_t0Xy4/s1600/20121229_204151.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tAhTWmpEl8H5dKIuykLBH-ZMDGBtXtN0dr3EGPNI2kFa0RnnYaLeLIZUw-fI0hrro0vUXR7b-AFmQwtCM-iQODjbm7fhqbn-iygKRErF_TXvm4yhlNf2TAT-gv3DvpNZZinqW_t0Xy4/s200/20121229_204151.jpg" width="200" /></a>Prepping has been a prevalent subject in the media these days and Prepper blogs are filled with people expressing their concerns and sharing their progress in storing of goods and materials. It is a big party and everyone is happy to have four hundred rolls of toilet paper and hundreds of triple A batteries, pounds upon pounds of rice and beans, etc. This is great, it's smart, and it should be encouraged, but it is also a blatant admittance of defeat.<br />
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Yes, we should all be prepared to survive for a week or better when the power goes out, or when a large scale attack disables infrastructure for some time. But in reality, these are short term events and the stores of resources that most Preppers have are for short term survival.<br />
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You're not going to live off canned beans and bags of rice for ten years. I follow these blogs, I watch people, it is somewhat of a hobby as I too consider myself a Prepper. But I am also a realist, and I realize that I am not going to live forever on what I have stored up in my pantry. I realize that the future that confronts us will demand a different set of expectations and methodologies for survival.<br />
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It is my opinion, based on reason, that if your goal is for long term survival in a resource constrained environment, then you need to be able to produce resources, not just pull them out of a limited store in your basement. If that is all most Preppers have done is stashed away dried food, water and weapons, they are in for a big surprise. They are still suffering from the 'on demand' delusion that has gotten us into this situation.<br />
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Unless you have a system in place to grow food, preserve it, collect seeds and replant in the next season, unless you have fruit and nut trees, you are going to be in big trouble. All of these Preppers who have only stored items and have not put in place a system to produce items will be among the starving beggars before long. It is another collective psychosis of our culture to think we can survive from a closet full of stored goods for the rest of our lives.<br />
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I write this because I have an affinity for the Prepper mindset, it is one of survival and determination, but it is not without the same shortsightedness that plagues our current culture. I hope if you are a Prepper, you will read this, get out of your closet and into your yard. The future is green, and no, it's not solar or wind power green, it's human power green.Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-58506095585275680422012-10-04T13:30:00.000-07:002012-10-04T13:30:45.838-07:00Grapes To Wine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome back for another edition of the Future Reference Farm blog. In this post we will discuss the process of turning grapes into wine. I am not particularly a fan of grapes, however I am certainly a fan of kicking back some alcoholic beverages every now and then and I did say sustainable living can be fun.<br />
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Grapes are pretty hard to mess up once they get going. They are like a weed and will take over if you are not careful. Because of this there is much you can do with a grape vine. You can get really fancy and build elaborate trellises for them, or you can just grow them along the top of a fence.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88RUUc4QJSFYkkyrRC2eVcWF-W7CJgMBTd_RPBNtaGHb2QDHC83kmR-jrPl0RfUTrAGxN-81i0KywMUEN3xSLivKp-YYSw_ywD6bGq6V_w7KFiCQFYjmL2dAd95Pdb4IrFOnQk98qNb0/s1600/Blog0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88RUUc4QJSFYkkyrRC2eVcWF-W7CJgMBTd_RPBNtaGHb2QDHC83kmR-jrPl0RfUTrAGxN-81i0KywMUEN3xSLivKp-YYSw_ywD6bGq6V_w7KFiCQFYjmL2dAd95Pdb4IrFOnQk98qNb0/s200/Blog0010.jpg" width="200" /></a>Luckily for us, when we bought the farm, the grapes were already here. We just had to learn how to trim them to keep them healthy and productive. But accidents are bound to happen and indeed they do. Grapes are growing in two locations on the farm and in one of those locations there is also some other viny tree type of plant that we have yet to identify. I had intended on cutting that back a bit and accidentally cut the other grape vine down to the main trunk. Luckily though, it grew back this year. A new bright green shaft of life sprouted out of the dense, severed trunk and is now over 6 feet long and still growing. Soon it will follow the trellis we built all the way across the farm to the house, cutting right between the plumb, apple and peach trees. It will be quite beautiful.<br />
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Grapes are highly vulnerable to birds and chickens. We have already given up on the low hanging grapes, the chickens love them and that is just fine. But for the bulk of the grapes growing up on the trellises, birds are a huge problem. They will wipe out the entire crop in a matter of days if you are not careful. It's very easy to counter though, a simple net over the grapes will protect them from the birds.<br />
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Again we are approaching the point where I explain that we will be using ingredients that are not sustainable. For the sake of proper learning, I am following known recipes until I have the time, patience and gull to attempt my own. Until then, the methods I use rely on various ingredients that are not produced on the farm such as yeast, sugar, and others. But don't despair, Jams and wines CAN be made without unsustainable ingredients and I promise I will make that information available when I have secured it and applied it. Why do I know it can be done?<br />
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Well, in my kitchen cabinet right now is a small plastic container of some of the cherry plumb skins that I dried. Because the container was 'sealed' and the skins were still a bit moist, they have begun fermenting on their own. I opened the container as I wanted to take some to work and thought the smaller container would be good, but I immediately noticed a small pool of liquid at the bottom of the container and some small amount of mold. When I opened the container I smelled the familiar scent of fermentation taking place. Viola!, I thought, it can be done!<br />
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So what is the trick? How is it fermenting without yeast? Well, it's not. Turns out there is a small amount of yeast, or rather mold spores on the fruit already. If you provide the right conditions, that natural yeast will make alcohol. Nature knows how to do it all if we are patient enough to learn. So let's learn how to make wine.<br />
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For the sake of choice and to get you motivated, I will abstain from providing the specifics of our ingredients and process and let you do your own research. There is plenty of information online regarding making your own wine and your safest bet is to consult with someone who sells the various materials and supplies for making wine. They will generally be knowledgeable enough to get you started in the right direction.<br />
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Wine is a great drink if you like the taste. Since we have various fruit trees on the farm, we make wine out of all sorts of fruit, or we will when the rest of the trees start producing. But so far we have made wine out of grapes, plumbs and cherry plumbs. Nature provides if we abide. So let's start abiding nature and learn a few things along the way. YOU are the sustainable revolution. Live it, be it.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks<br /><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a><br /><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
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Video of the farm<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a><br />
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<br />Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-75167092536859686312012-10-03T13:18:00.000-07:002012-10-03T13:18:09.099-07:00Self Defense<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauHVaOGewzYMn_y1YxfUmRUMBBNB3_I75WSWJ7XM97rBIcJicDdO8YurSGlXGsqu1doDGXmAjqCkBxqeH-JIhy3vgWkHbcUes68oUqxBhlEAe-tTEvM6u-C6PvpApBz01cwkRrnJXzss/s1600/Blog0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauHVaOGewzYMn_y1YxfUmRUMBBNB3_I75WSWJ7XM97rBIcJicDdO8YurSGlXGsqu1doDGXmAjqCkBxqeH-JIhy3vgWkHbcUes68oUqxBhlEAe-tTEvM6u-C6PvpApBz01cwkRrnJXzss/s200/Blog0013.jpg" width="200" /></a>While it would be nice if we lived in a peaceful world where people were rational and resolved differences without violence, that is just not the world we live in. Not only that, as the economy winds down many people will be left hungry and desperate and if you have invested energy, money and time preparing when others did not, it is highly unlikely you are going to want to share the little you have to survive with others.<br />
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Many of us may be healthy and trained in martial arts or other self defense skills, but when things get tough, nothing will defend you like a firearm. That is the long and short of it. You MUST be armed if you want to survive a large scale collapse of our civilization.<br />
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Now what is the best weapon? What caliber? While I will not pretend to be a professional on this subject, I do have experience with firearms and I have done some reading up of my own. There are three different scenarios that you would need a firearm for. Close combat, field combat and long range. Assuming there will be no parts or machine shops available for some time, you will want to select for durability and dependability.<br />
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Close combat is most served by a hand gun. A rifle in this situation will be clumsy and dangerous. I recommend a pistol in the .40 caliber. It is a bit smaller than the .45 so allows for a higher capacity magazine while only sacrificing a little bit of the .45's punch. With a pistol, as long as you are buying a quality brand, the style is not necessarily important. You may want to consider weight if you are of a smaller build. In this case you would want a Glock or similiar type of composite material based pistol.<br />
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Field combat will require a rifle. I strongly recommend an AK-47 style rifle. They are rugged and dependable and will fire under the most extreme circumstances. They have few parts and are easy to maintain. There are just as many options available for AK style rifles as there are for AR's accept the ability to swap out the caliber (bullet size).<br />
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Long range is when you want to reach out and remove a threat before it is even aware of you. In this case you will want something in the .308 range. I recommend an AR10 in this caliber. However, most AR style rifles are very accurate and a sniper caliber like the .308 may be a bit excessive. But you can never be too prepared.<br />
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Another thing to consider is ammunition. It is better to chose a caliber that is more common and readily available. This way you have the option of purchasing in bulk at relatively inexpensive prices.<br />
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The most important thing with using firearms for self defense is that you know your weapon and how to clean and use it. If you wait until you are threatened to fire your weapon, you may end up missing your target and becoming a victim. Or worse, hurting yourself or someone you love. Know your firearm. Practice a lot BEFORE you need to use it for self defense.<br />
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While it can be disheartening to consider actually killing someone, it will be more disheartening and traumatizing if someone kills you or someone you love. Be prepared.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks<br /><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a><br /><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span></div>
Video of the farm<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a><br />
<br />Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-78955154426143164862012-09-14T21:52:00.001-07:002013-05-17T14:29:09.201-07:00The Epidemic of Faith Based Technology<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Technology has been an integral
part of our modern way of life since the late 1800’s. It has produced many
wonders that would seem miraculous only a few centuries ago. Indeed, without
it, most of us wouldn’t be alive today. Technology has earned the right to be held
high among human accomplishments. No one can doubt that.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
However, technology has enabled our industrial and technological civilization
to expand into unsustainable terrain. We now have 7 billion people on the
planet; our climate is changing rapidly along with deforestation and species
loss of epidemic proportions on land, in the sea and in the air.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Technology is not at fault for this situation, it has only enabled it.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We are at fault, or rather our evolutionary inclinations to carry on our genes.
Our greatest challenge now is in abating our strong, natural inclinations to
procreate and to live as long as possible. Normally this is done
unintentionally through war, pollution, starvation or disease. But because
these things do not happen at the scale necessary to mitigate our population
numbers (thankfully) they are not reliable or desirable methods.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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We must mitigate our population by more intelligent and humane methods and in
direct opposition to our natural instincts. We must have fewer children and
seek to live shorter lives in the long term.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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While life expectancy will be mitigated automatically as we power down and fall
back on more organic ways of living, healthcare will not have the potential it
does today to extend our lives long after nature has given up on us. Our
inclination to procreate will be more difficult to stem. Although there is some
evidence that humans will procreate less when there are less resources
available, there is probably equal evidence to support the opposite. So leaving
it up to our ‘nature’ to procreate less is not sufficient.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
We must actively seek solutions to decrease our population thus decreasing our
burden on the planet and allowing for a much richer life for the living.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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However, there are those among us who would have us believe that there is still
more Technology can do for us. Even amongst the environmental degradation,
resource depletion and serious impacts to the climate and the earth’s natural
recycling mechanisms, they feel technology still has more to offer.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I consider this to be the Epidemic of Faith Based Technology.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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As all of our technical 'progress' has been at the expense of the
planet’s health in one form or another, either directly or indirectly, it is
extremely difficult to perceive technology as the solution when thus far it has
been an enabler to the destruction and desolation we face.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In most cases, when a technological solution is proposed it will inevitably have
side effects that will then themselves need to be mitigated by more technology/technology
based solutions that ends up devolving into a constant battle to counter the
side effects of the side effects of the side effects, ad infinitum.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
This reasoning that gives way to this devotion to technology is at first
glance, logical. For it is technology that has provided the high standards of
living that most of us in the developed civilizations enjoy today. It is technology
that has decreased the infant mortality rate and increased our lifespan, cured
diseases and started the ‘Green Revolution’. It is technology that is allowing
you to read these words at this very moment.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"><br />
But there are limits. And this is where the faith part comes in. There is a
growing number of people out there that manage to ignore the various situations
we face today such as pollution and resource depletion because they have an
unhealthy faith in technology. It is understandable, as technology has so far
been able to counter all of the side effects of technology’s influence in the
first place, it is a losing game that cannot last.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
But as I said there are limits. We are at most of those limits now and will be
reaching the rest within the next couple decades. This is where technology runs
into the cold, hard laws of physics. And this is where otherwise rational and
intelligent people start to move into the realm of faith when it comes to technology
and our future.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks<br /><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a><br /><a data-blogger-escaped-href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7893321137982884979">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
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Video of the farm<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a></div>
Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-41883838797404584542012-09-12T23:15:00.002-07:002012-09-14T22:35:02.288-07:00It's All About Oil<br />
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everything started with oil and it will end with oil.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That's a big statement so
let me break it apart and make sense of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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'It's all about oil,'<o:p></o:p></div>
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Every issue we face today
such as pollution, declining resources, declining fish stocks, declining arable
land, declining ground water, climate change, and over-population all started
with oil.<br />
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In the begining of Industrial Man, there was coal and with coal came the steam
engine. This technology, while high on carbon emmisions, would have kept us at
fairly sustainable numbers and limited our technological expansion somewhat,
preventing the fast paced, convenient consumer life style we have today in the
developed world. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'everything started with
oil'<br />
<br />
Then came oil and internal combustion as well as the unimaginable amount of
materials and chemicals derived from petroleum. (Plastics, paints, paint
thinners, detergents, fertilizers, and on and on.) This began the death spiral
of human expansion and the race to convert the earth into people, our products
and our waste.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'and it will end with oil.'<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Technology continues to be
developed, produced and distributed via a fossil fuel dependent infrastructure
and operating paradigm. Studies have shown that alternative energies cannot
provide the kind of versatile and energy dense power that fossil fuels provide.
We cannot build enough alternative energy to power our societies AND maintain
these alternative energy devices. Their production and distribution depend far
too much on many links that can only be secured with fossil fuels.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the oil requires more
energy to extract and refine then the amount of energy we get from the refined
product, our industrial civilization stops. That is what is happening right now.
We are not in a depression or a recession. We are in the death throws of our
fossil fuel dependent way of life.<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<span style="text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks<br /><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a><br /><a data-blogger-escaped-href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7893321137982884979">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<br />
Video of the farm<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a><br />
<br />Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-40324710473224970362012-09-07T00:44:00.001-07:002012-09-14T22:35:02.286-07:00The Solar Food Dryer<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVYd8vErBKl4mY7uMoniVZrKIipqSkT5XQGinRQEl-5-ipD-wtrANdPyC4UUh7_dcP891pz3f-lSr4v-POd5bzFGpju5T_Wp_etI9iYGpg4wriyqeNhou7pxchUOrj0wmlVOOCyJEwlE/s1600/Blog0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVYd8vErBKl4mY7uMoniVZrKIipqSkT5XQGinRQEl-5-ipD-wtrANdPyC4UUh7_dcP891pz3f-lSr4v-POd5bzFGpju5T_Wp_etI9iYGpg4wriyqeNhou7pxchUOrj0wmlVOOCyJEwlE/s200/Blog0004.jpg" width="200" /></a>It really is fun and rewarding to work with and prepare your own food. It provides an air of freedom and a sense of limitless possibility. When I first considered preparing for a life with less, for the end of economic growth, I imagined how it would be possible to feed myself throughout the year. Obviously there needed to be some sort of food preservation as I live in a cold climate and cannot rely on hunting to sustain me through the winter months.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0jhdAvW6xmj0SOwyPQHghQe37U11zR0DnGomiIrr0R3Ehy0UnNph_Q1lYKgX455xeVWUq8mmvddJsLLgVxDts3EaitAWGOU-CO8ZA0VUmwyQfHFu2MG7vTy9gJsbowsKfyNvc_RaSok/s1600/Blog0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw0jhdAvW6xmj0SOwyPQHghQe37U11zR0DnGomiIrr0R3Ehy0UnNph_Q1lYKgX455xeVWUq8mmvddJsLLgVxDts3EaitAWGOU-CO8ZA0VUmwyQfHFu2MG7vTy9gJsbowsKfyNvc_RaSok/s200/Blog0001.jpg" width="200" /></a>Drying food is a very easy and energy cheap way to preserve food. While it is not as convenient as having an actual food dryer, it can be done with no accessories, in the sun. However, that is not necessarily practical when trying to preserve enough food to sustain one through the winter months. So I built a solar food dryer. It uses light from the sun to create heat and convection which dries the food. The one I built is fairly large and can dry quite a bit of food at once.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOB3O0V7d_xzdpnG_mbGr_8d9ZFh6CRRUowegBccYiPuH6zdrSuxdGrwkx6993Y2mUKw-gS6XwSIt0mW_EnaJgwZroJoMvRkxVgbJ3anJzZYoNKx6DhMab8wSGZz2OyBOut8b3jR5wE4/s1600/Blog0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOB3O0V7d_xzdpnG_mbGr_8d9ZFh6CRRUowegBccYiPuH6zdrSuxdGrwkx6993Y2mUKw-gS6XwSIt0mW_EnaJgwZroJoMvRkxVgbJ3anJzZYoNKx6DhMab8wSGZz2OyBOut8b3jR5wE4/s200/Blog0005.jpg" width="200" /></a> <span style="text-align: center;">As it is powered by the sun, it uses no energy besides that which was required to produce the parts. It runs for free, for as long as it lasts and as long as the sun shines. Since I have planted several fruit trees on the farm, the food is in essence, free. This is a perfect example of how humans can live in harmony with the planet letting mother nature do most of the work.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloHFpByEgInV8Lt1n8qjy3y0OMSHW6n0hye6icWMHRIDyHbHuqW9rVJ_eUYobbvf3am9TiDifmKzQ84gkxDRtjuFAMqZko-LbnJEw9yxNBhZ3JqyB2Et7ZXaPHymHvIu3eusUMU6PG4w/s1600/Blog0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloHFpByEgInV8Lt1n8qjy3y0OMSHW6n0hye6icWMHRIDyHbHuqW9rVJ_eUYobbvf3am9TiDifmKzQ84gkxDRtjuFAMqZko-LbnJEw9yxNBhZ3JqyB2Et7ZXaPHymHvIu3eusUMU6PG4w/s200/Blog0002.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">I planted one peach tree on the farm last year and this year we got fifty-five delicious peaches from the tree. It is still small, so when it is in full production, I imagine it will produce hundreds and hundreds of delicious, sweet peaches.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">What I needed to prepare the peaches was just a fairly sharp knife, a pair of pliers and a cutting board. The process begins with picking and sorting. We certainly aren't going to waste any peaches just because a couple birds got their share, those we will keep for cobbler or other treats. But for drying, we want only the best. Once we have them sorted out we will want to wash all of the peach fuzz and any dirt or dust off of them.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Now, to prepare them for drying we want to slice them in thin slices in the same direction as a pineapple is sliced. To begin, make the first cut evenly through the center letting the knife rest on the pit. Once you have completed the cut you can now separate the two halves and the pit will be stuck in one of them. Now use the pliers to remove the pit from the one half. When slicing the peaches, start at the small end and work your way toward the larger end. This will make it easier to hold while cutting.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Once you have them all sliced, they are ready to go in the dryer. Make sure they do not touch when you put them in the dryer otherwise they may stick together as they dry. Currently we still have some plumbs drying but luckily I had enough room for the peaches.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">We have 11 fruit trees on the farm, two cherry, two apple, two plumb, one cherry plumb, one peach and three pear trees. We also have an almond tree and a very little walnut tree that I hope to live long enough to see become a giant. With all of this potential fruit, we will be putting the solar food dryer to good use for sure.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">If you have any property, even a small back or front yard, consider planting a fruit tree. They provide all the benefits of an ornamental tree along with an abundance of free, delicious fruit. And if you do not have any property, plant a fruit tree somewhere else where you can visit it or where others can benefit from its bounty. There is far too much energy, time and resources spent on maintaining plants for the sake of vanity when millions of people go hungry everyday.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Thanks for reading and for joining me on the journey of life.</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks<br /><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a>
</span><br />
<a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com" style="text-align: center;">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a>
<br />
<br />
Video of the farm<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIxyyGW5RKs</a><br />
Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7893321137982884979.post-58718414858857915922012-09-06T23:46:00.000-07:002012-10-10T18:05:17.260-07:00Welcome To The Future Reference Farm Blog<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qbfb9QVEKXPnJP9z6GLzY3HFdtv9Y2lDwYPyfM18UzuRGmQmL8AUo5GhLZmhfNXlNC1lj5gdcc7M-0SxPBdrH9tx-XJWnNjrx_6Itpn2u2zeW3s7_iZ006iesZWdsFZx_JLhxuFmOls/s1600/IMG_20120527_170113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6qbfb9QVEKXPnJP9z6GLzY3HFdtv9Y2lDwYPyfM18UzuRGmQmL8AUo5GhLZmhfNXlNC1lj5gdcc7M-0SxPBdrH9tx-XJWnNjrx_6Itpn2u2zeW3s7_iZ006iesZWdsFZx_JLhxuFmOls/s200/IMG_20120527_170113.jpg" width="200" /></a>Hello and thanks for stopping by. My goal in creating this blog is to provide a pathway for others to begin to recede from the madness and destruction of our modern societies. We have reached the limits of what our planet can sustain in the way of deforestation, pollution, species extinction and climate change. It is now time to discover, or rather rediscover a simpler existence, an existence in which we no longer see ourselves separate from or above the rest of the natural environment.<br />
<br />
While many will think that giving up much of our modern luxuries will be too painful, I intend to show that we can indeed live much healthier and happier lives with less. In fact, it is not a choice that we will make, it is a situation that we will be confronted with very soon. The difference is will we be prepared, or will we be shocked and caught with our pants down?<br />
<br />
Right now you still have a choice. I have made that choice. I am beginning the transformation from a modern energy consumer to a symbiotic life that gives back to nature as much or more as I take for my own survival. This is my journey into what for most of our population will be alien terrain, yet only a century ago was rightfully familiar to all.<br />
<br />
We cannot wait for our government to act. The truth is, the way we need to live does not produce an abundance of profit and therefore does not provide motivation for the powers that be to guide us in the right direction. Instead, they would rather drive us toward the cliff as long as possible to retain their power and to continue to profit from our misery.<br />
<br />
I invite you to join me and to consider the challenges and joy of a life beyond growth.<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Timothy Dicks<br /><a href="http://futurereferenceonline.com/">http:\\FutureReferenceOnline.com</a></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:futurereferencefarm@gmail.com">futurereferencefarm @ gmail.com</a></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Resources for learning about our situation:</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Books</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Permaculture - David Holmgren</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">The End of Growth - Richard Heinberg</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Limits to Growth - Multiple Authors</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;">Gaia's Garden - Toby Hemenway</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Websites</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://energybulletin.net/">http:\\energybulletin.net</a></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dieoff.com/">http:\\dieoff.com</a></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://collapsenet.com/">http:\\collapsenet.com</a></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://shtfplan.com/">http:\\shtfplan.com</a></span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>Timothy Dickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14624381572807025277noreply@blogger.com0