Itinerant Air-Cooled

Just came across this - I like this guy's writing style, and find it hard to argue with his logic, but have not checked his credentials.
But I hope what he says is true. It's been long enough coming and we do need to re-scale:

http://kunstler.com/blog/2013/02/scale- ... ernational

Ain't everything cyclical? The cosmos is a mathematical equation; I learn that from Carl Sagan and Modest Mouse.

I love that neighbors are supporting local/small farms. We are brewing beer in small batch breweries. Small is local. Small is individual.

BellePlaine wrote:

I love that neighbors are supporting local/small farms. We are brewing beer in small batch breweries. Small is local. Small is individual.

.. and beautiful.

We just managed to get our hands on 50 acres - 20 acres of bush with a small creek, 30 arable. This has been our retirement dream for other reasons but as soon as we got the news that our offer had been accepted, our conversations turned to growing our own food, and setting the place up so our descendants will have a place where they can be (close to) self-sufficient in case of extreme problems.

Strange, but our heads just naturally went there. I think things like what are outlined in the article have been percolating just beneath the surface in our consciousnesses.
Jim

I almost never shop at Walmart, Kmart, etc although HomeDepot just about killed the local construction supply companies in Seattle. The big chain restaurants wiped out the small cafes but they are returning. In Seattle on Beacon Hill there are several small cafes/pubs that I went to during the holidays to watch the Seahawks and eat. Wow, what fun with small young families showing up so little kids were running around, beer was flowing and the food was excellent and made right there plus cheap.
As fuel prices climb hopefully "shop local" will return instead of driving out to the burbs for 30 mins to shop for some made in china cheap crap. I know of a downtown Ace Hardware that is now thriving and expanded due to all the neighborhood condo's and apt folk shopping there as it's walking distance! Imagine that! Plus the help is knowledgeable and helpful instead of not there.
I can't say I want to farm 20 acres like Jim, but I have a close friend doing it in Suriname with 2 large hydroponic shade houses to grow leafy green crops for local sales. He already has 20 acres of fruit trees that are 3 years old and starting to produce. Nothing like a ripe orange or a mango or sour sop.

grandfatherjim wrote:Just came across this - I like this guy's writing style, and find it hard to argue with his logic, but have not checked his credentials.
But I hope what he says is true. It's been long enough coming and we do need to re-scale:

I think it is true, but I also think the corporate interests will squeeze harder than he pre-supposes as the contraction takes root.
Colin

Jim..........congratulations on the land.

Amskeptic wrote: I think it is true, but I also think the corporate interests will squeeze harder than he pre-supposes as the contraction takes root.
Colin

Not much would surprise me re the power of corporate interests but they will be bucking the headwind of diminishing consumer purchasing power for all but the upper class.
I guess there's always bailouts at taxpayer expense.
"The Banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, with balance restored to the economy, before there can be any sustainable recovery."

Kunstler's latest:
http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/homeless-2/

There’s a long and comprehensive To-Do list that has been waiting for us since at least 2008, when the nation received one forceful blow upside its thick head. We refuse to pay attention. First item on the list: restructure the banks. Other items: reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act; disassemble the ridiculous “security” edifice under the NSA; upgrade the US electric grid; close down most of our military bases overseas (and some of our bases in the USA); draw up a constitutional amendment re-defining the alleged “personhood” of corporations; fix the passenger railroad system to prepare for the end of Happy Motoring; rebuild Main Street commerce to prepare for the death of WalMart and things like it; outlaw GMO foods and promote local food production; shut down casino gambling.
That’s just my list. What’s yours? And when will you step out of this rotting house into the sunshine?

grandfatherjim wrote:

BellePlaine wrote:
I love that neighbors are supporting local/small farms. We are brewing beer in small batch breweries. Small is local. Small is individual.

.. and beautiful.
We just managed to get our hands on 50 acres - 20 acres of bush with a small creek, 30 arable. This has been our retirement dream for other reasons but as soon as we got the news that our offer had been accepted, our conversations turned to growing our own food, and setting the place up so our descendants will have a place where they can be (close to) self-sufficient in case of extreme problems.
Strange, but our heads just naturally went there. I think things like what are outlined in the article have been percolating just beneath the surface in our consciousnesses.
Jim

A dream we had for years. That is until those years and declining health made rural living a no-go.

MonoCone wrote: A dream we had for years. That is until those years and declining health made rural living a no-go.

Fortunately, there is a great deal of interest and effort leading towards enlightened urban living.
Colin