Food & Water

Michigan hosts state-focused peak oil conference

by

Michigan’s third peak oil conference of 2008 focuses on the specific challenges and solutions for Michigan and features 45 speakers including Richard Heinberg, Albert Bates, Michael Brownlee, Ellen Hodgeson Brown, Richard Gilbert, Stephanie Mills, Kurt Cobb, and Aaron Wissner. The event is schedule for the November 14 weekend.

Hunting for your dream place

by

I have a hunch that at no previous time in modern history have there been more people getting ready for their long planned – for move to a garden farm than right now. We are at the end of the era of unbelievably wasteful consumption and many people are realizing that the old adage is again appropriate: “Root, hog, or die.”

A proposal for transition to a sustainable economy

by

The following is proposed as a preliminary plan for discussion amongst all those who are willing to acknowledge the reality of our predicament, think beyond the paradigm of the current system, and rationally discuss the fundamental reforms required to avoid catastrophe.

The Transitions of Addison County

by

A world with energy doubled in price That’s the scenario for the year 2020 that 150 people in Addison County, Vermont considered for a day last weekend. The participants’ task was to figure out what they want their world to look like under that scenario, and then figure out how to move in that direction.

Staying organic during tough times

by

I saw a headline in the paper today that said people are beginning to question whether to buy organic food because times are getting tough and they don’t want to spend the money on it. So, okay, let’s go back to eating food grown conventionally. And what will you spend on health care for the problems created by the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones, and genetically altered and denatured food that results from that way of farming?

Most “preppers” are men? Ha – Check the kitchen!

by

Preparedness, at its root, is more than anything about making sure people get dinner. Yes, we can prepare to fight off zombie attacks, build earth shelters in case we lose ours (although odds are most of us will move in with a friend or relative), learn how to handle background radiation – but the first tier problems most of us face – and the ones most people prepare for first, are the ones we’re familiar with – what will we eat? How will we cook it?

Terra Madre notes: Vandana Shiva rocks the house

by

I’ve just come out of the most hopeful and interesting discussions of climate change I’ve ever witnessed. Anchored by Indian food-sovereignty activist Vandana Shiva, the panel discussion at Terra Madre unveiled a new “Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security,” drawn up by the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture.

The document under discussion — which can be found here — is brisk, lucid, and to the point.