Christina Vrooman - Portfolio 2

From Drmills

contributions to class blog:

Wikiwhat?

I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about our possible impending doom for the past few days. As if my life didn’t bring me enough stress already, here I am in an EcoPsych class that helps me to worry about the state of our world. 

Currently, I’m not just concerned about this, I also have to be concerned about learning how to express my concerns via wikispace. Wiki this, wiki that. Shoot me! All the info I’m learning is incredibly useful and interesting, but having to figure out how to correctly post four or five different types of entries is really discouraging me from doing it at all.
So far, posting blogs has been the easiest and most enjoyable. I feel like I’m just talking casually to a friend. Posting on the book wiki isn’t too terrible. Sending out e-mails kind of blows because I feel bad for bothering every person in the class with my random contributions. Unless the topic in the header sounds extremely interesting, I generally, delete the e-mails I receive and assume others do the same. Mailbox is full… wtf? Oh, right… ecopsych. The article wiki is just scary. I don’t think I need to elaborate on that.
Anyway, aside from bitching about having to keep up with Dr. Mills’ wikispace page, I’d like to talk about the roller coaster ride I’m on when it comes to thinking about our future. Who will win the ultimate battle, Malthus or Kurzweil? I seem to side with whichever argument/ support I heard last. When I watch a youtube video about new technology, I’m extremely optimistic and dismiss any catastrophic talk I heard just an hour before. After watching videos like, Who Killed the Electric Car, I know we’re driving this fucker off a cliff and go to bed sick to my stomach with worry.
It’s so difficult to determine what the outcome will be when there is such solid support for both sides. I guess it’s never a bad thing to be over-prepared, but after a long session of doom-talk with my friends, they walk away thinking I’m absolutely paranoid. “Hey Tom, let’s start a commune. The world is as we know it seems like it’s going to end in about ten years.” “Hey Christy, sounds like fun, but you’re out of your fucking mind. Necessity is the mother of invention.” Some friends think it doesn’t matter what you do, because whatever amazing preparations you make will be seized by a falling government/ army/ society. Here is yet another concern that makes me feel like moving to the moon. "Richard Branson, take me a little higher. I'll give you an extra $200,000…" Cvrooman 14:23, 19 February 2008 (EST)

contributions to class e-mail:  

EcoPsych: Regenerative Medicine – grow a finger!

If we don’t end up killing ourselves first, here’s more evidence that we may be able to live forever (or at least a very, very long time). In light of our current ability to regenerate body parts, the ability to regenerate organs and other tissue does not seem too far off. If you’re interested, check out http://thoughtware.tv/videos/show/1480. Cvrooman 14:53, 19 February 2008 (EST)

contributions to book: 

Preparing for Peak Oil: The Road to Self-sufficiency

No one is certain of the timing of societal collapse. In fact, most are confident that humanity’s incredible ability to adapt will save it from any significant future plight. It is difficult to imagine how drastically different daily life may become in the absence of abundant, cheap oil since people living today in nations that would be most affected by the absence of this source of energy have rarely, if ever, experienced true hardship. Life would become a struggle and the luxuries taken for granted today would certainly vanish, along with nearly all current systems that society depends upon. This is the scenario that many peak-oil catastrophists are concerned about, the scenario where humans are not as capable of adapting to change as once believed. The evidence available regarding the peak-oil crisis all suggests this scenario is extremely likely. Fortunately, there are many productive actions that can be taken on the individual level to prepare for the post-peak oil world.

Most websites created by peak oil know-it-alls suggest leaving the urban environment entirely for a much more secluded location. Very small towns in areas with fertile land are ideal. Many towns in Europe are already preparing for the post-peak oil world. The creators of  www.transitiontowns.org[1] provide readers with access to a list of towns, each of which is a, “community that is unleashing its own latent collective genius to look peak oil and climate change squarely in the eye and to discover and implement ways to address this big question”(Transition towns wiki, 2008). Moving to a similar town is sensible considering that most cities may likely become centers for chaos. For example, when people are no longer able to visit the local supermarket to purchase their goods, widespread panic may take hold of the city. Food is just one aspect of daily life that everyone needs, but not all will be able to get. In the past and present, situations like this are breeding grounds for violence. If the means are available, it would be beneficial to leave the urban environment. However, regardless of the location, if this becomes the situation, many skills will be necessary to survive in the near future. Now is the time to cultivate those skills and prepare to survive in as many ways as possible. Self-sufficiency will be the key to survival in the future.
In order to be truly self-sufficient, one must first be healthy. Personal health is the most important and influential aspect of life today and life in the proposed world. It is likely that only the strong will survive. It would be wise to give up all vices including alcohol and tobacco. In his article, Easing the transition, simply stated for we with limited means, Robert J. Gregory suggests that we “do away with non-essentials that do not contribute to happiness and well-being”(Gregory, 2008). Anything that seems unnecessary in life now will become extremely unimportant when survival mode kicks in. It would be in the best interest of those who are concerned to get rid of these bad habits and promote personal health now. In addition, eating healthy now may help individuals to survive through possible periods of famine. Likewise, since doctors and nurses may be working on their own methods to stay alive, it is unlikely that they will be able to assist others. Becoming physically fit and healthy is the key to survival now and in the future.

Becoming self-sufficient also involves being able to provide oneself with all the necessary means of survival. Being able to grow a personal supply of food for prolonged periods of time will become an essential element of survival. In 35 ways to prepare for peak oil, Stan Goff encourages people to “start small…succeeding early is important" (Goff, 2007).  <- need caps in title

Rooftop Garden
]

Whether it’s starting a garden on your roof, organizing a community garden or buying a farm in the mid-west, being able to make your own food will give you one less thing to worry about acquiring. Also, starting a worm farm is simple and will be very useful in rehabilitating soil after gardening. Learning simple survival skills such as how to build a fire, how to navigate using a map and compass, which plants are poisonous and which are edible, self-defense, how to operate a gun or rifle and how to treat illness will become very worthwhile. Here is one of many excellent sources for basic survival skills.

Great Survival Book [[Image:|sas_survival_handbook.jpg]].

In Facing the new dark age: A grassroots approach, <- need caps in title John Greer asserts, “anyone who learns the basic skills of post-industrial survival and some useful craft can survive, teach others to survive, and pass on crucial legacies to the future”(Greer, 2008). Ultimately, becoming acquainted with any skill that was standard practice before the industrial revolution is a very good idea.
In order to practice self-sufficiency, one must also acquire what Ted Trainer, in Imperatives for transition to a sustainable and just society <- need caps in title, calls, “far simpler material living standards." In his vision of the future, society will consist of cooperative, local systems. To explain his understanding of the transition into this society, he states, “there must be a radically different culture in which competitive and acquisitive individualism is replaced by frugal, self-sufficient collectivism” (Trainer, 2008). His article is mainly about building a sustainable local community by altering the values society currently holds. It is likely that the world of the future will force people to live simply and to focus their attention on cooperation.

Once an individual is reliably self-sufficient, or in the process of becoming self-sufficient, the natural next step is to gather others who are equally resourceful to begin to build a sustainable community. Collectively, it is much easier to properly prepare for life post-peak oil and much easier to continue life post-peak oil. Stan Goff suggests using social networking sites like myspace.com and facebook.com to find and organize like-minded individuals (Goff, 2007). The creators of www.transitiontowns.org[2] explain that, “if we collectively plan and act early enough there’s every likelihood that we can create a way of living that’s significantly more connected, more vibrant and more in touch with our environment than the oil-addicted treadmill that we find ourselves on today”(Transition towns wiki, 2008).
Ultimately, many actions must be taken on the part of individuals and on the part of society as a whole to prepare for the post-peak oil world, and there is, arguably, not very much time left to prepare. Regardless of the actual future outcome, self-sufficiency, the result of these preparations, will always provide for a brighter future. Cvrooman 20:56, 22 February 2008 (EST)

This is interesting material, but at the beginning indicate that you are describing preparations for a worst case scenario. 

Some more informative graphics would be useful.

Links?

References

Goff, S. (2007). 35 ways to prepare for peak oil.  Retrieved February 18, 2008, from [3]

Greer, J. M. (2008). Facing the new dark ages: A grassroots approach.  Retrieved February 20, 2008, from [4]

Gregory, R. T. (2008). Easing the transition, simply stated for we with limited means. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from [5]

Trainer, T. (2008). The simpler way. Retrieved February 20, 2008, from [6]

Transition towns wiki. (2008). Retrieved February 21, 2008, from [7]

RATING SHEET

Scale: 1 - 5 (5 is best)

_4__ discovered, integrated and synthesized relevant information about the topic

_3__ critical analysis of information (of both corroborating and non-corroborating evidence)

_3__ conclusions based on evidence, especially empirical evidence, not simply opinion

_3__ written in an impartial, objective tone

_4__ the contribution fits in well with the existing outline and material

_4_ writing is of high quality: interesting, flows, analytic, good argumentation, organized

_5__ used APA style referencing appropriately (including reference list)

For the wiki book only:

_2__ included a list of relevant external web links for more information

__4__ included relevant graphics

Grade: B

Note: If you revise the above, per the suggestions, and replace the corresponding material in the wiki book, your

grade will be adjusted upward by 1/2 grade.