James Howard Kunstler published an essay in February ‘07 suggesting ten ways to prepare for a post-oil society. We will have to do things differently, he said. We’ll have to stop focusing on how to run all our cars. We’ll have to produce food differently, inhabit the terrain differently, move things and people differently, entertain ourselves differently, and educate our kids differently.
Far from depressing me, Kunstler’s picture of the collapse of our familiar world cheered me up. Peak oil is, just maybe, a darned good thing--eventually. It will be difficult. But what if we viewed it as a positive evolution rather than a desperate attempt to hang on to our habits and structures? And these happy ideas arose, most of them feasible almost immediately.

1 Stop the noise! Stop the rush! Give yourself time for real life, basic life. Remember how silence nurtures; how nature heals.

2 Retire to a real community. Don’t put your precious money into an acreage, an “adult” community or a gated resort dependent on outsiders. Find a town you love and help it live. (Lucky we live Powell River!)

3 Walk, bike, or putter everywhere possible. Build time for the travel into your schedule, along with downtime to get to know your community.

4 Smile whenever you can. Read, pet other animals, play instruments and games, sing, and party with your neighbors. Smiling is healthy.

5 Find a spiritual practice that honors Gaia, mother of us all. Make it up if you can’t find one that fits. Do the practice, and teach your children well.
6 Grow and raise food. Have a veggie garden. Raise ducks or chickens. At least support your local organic farmers, those brave souls, regardless of cost.

7 Plant at least as many trees per year as there are members of your household.

8 Buy only what you truly need, plus what you would forever regret not buying. Buy only products you can respect and trust while thinking about your great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren.

9 Eat meat with reverence. Think of every bite as a sacrament, every bite as someone’s sacrifice for you.

10 Make one room at home your energy room. Devise a plan to exercise while developing and storing energy there to make your home eventually independent of the grid while it keeps you healthy.

11 Vacation at home and online before taking that plane. Hold long-distance meetings electronically.

12 Quit watching commercial TV. Forever. Support community publications, radio, and even TV. Support publicly funded media.

13 Protect a free internet. Sign up for alternate news services and force yourself to watch—to witness--at least once weekly. Watching the independent news with open eyes and heart will exercise the soul and shape the mind.

14 Home-school the kids until they’re banging on the door to get out (age 10/11). Don’t let them see an electronic screen until age seven, and then keep it down to a couple of hours daily.

15 Think globally; act locally. Empower yourself by making everything you can. Honor the makers in your own community by buying their products and supporting their work.

16 Encourage schooling and working at, from, or near home.

17 Sleep only with true friends.

18 Send love to your seventh generation before sleep.

There. Can’t you just feel the warmth and peace of a well run household settle around you as you turn off the lights, draw the curtains on your friends and neighbors, and look forward to a peaceful sleep and another day’s good work? Almost makes you believe in humanity again. “’Night, John-boy.”
‘Night, Dad.