Argue all you like about climate change – oil prices are going up and oil will eventually run out. The time for sustainable living has arrived.

Here’s some excellent advice from the ABC Health website:
http://littlurl.com/bzkau

“When we in the West think about the costs of climate change, we think of rising electricity and fuel prices. But these aren't the main concerns for people living in developing countries.

Egypt, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Yemen, Mexico… in fact over 30 developing countries face critical shortages of food due to sharply rising costs for staples like rice, wheat, soybeans and corn…..

….What's driving price increases is the sharp rise in the price of oil (a major input in the production and transport of food), rising demand from China, land scarcity, especially as more land is being turned over to biofuels, and increasingly erratic weather events – floods, storms and droughts...

In Australia, food prices are rising too – at about 5 to 10 per cent a year – but because food accounts for a much smaller proportion of our household expenditure, Australian families are in a better position to absorb the price rises. But low-income families are already having to cut back on more expensive items like meat and fish.

Buy fresh, locally-produced food, which has less distance to travel and therefore uses less fuel.

Eat fewer processed and refrigerated foods, which take more energy to manufacture, transport and store.

Waste less food – about one-third of the food we prepare is thrown away uneaten. Don't over-order in restaurants, and eat smaller portions.

Drink tap water, not bottled water, which uses large amounts of energy to produce.

Reduce the amount of meat and animal and diary products we eat. Meat is much more energy intensive and requires proportionally more land to graze animals than crops. Instead, eat foods lower down the food chain – grains, fruits and vegetables that are cheaper to grow, use less energy and less land space.

Buy foods in season – seasonal products generally use less energy to produce.”

And the good news is - its all healthy.

Great subject Fractelle.

It will soon become more and more necessary to think and buy locally and it will probably mean the rise of more local market gardens at the fringes of our cities and towns. (Yet we are still importing food that can very well grow here). Free trade has a lot to answer for.

We have set up our backyard in a permaculture type system using organic principles and a large rainwater tank. It is very much a work in progress with some chooks soon to arrive. The chooks will be for eggs not meat and will free range in the yard as well as have their mobile home. (Naturally the chooks won't be killed at the end of their egg laying but enjoy happy retirement in the backyard).

There seems to be a bit of a revival in the humble backyard vegetable garden where I live, don't know whether it is because of thoughts of peak oil or just an interest in healthy organic food. The book below recounts author Barbara Kingsolver's experience in becoming self-sufficient and eating in season.

Recommended reading:
'Animal Vegetable Miracle' by Barbara Kingsolver.

Compost. Grow vegies. I've grown proper vegies in pots in tiny little courtyards in my time.

If you're in Victoria, lobby the govt to make water restrictions more flexible so people can water their vegies every second day.

Thanks Pelican & Vanilla

Great points about the veggie garden.

Vanilla I agree about the watering of vegetable gardens, we really need some balance in how we use our resources - will this be discussed at the 2020 summit?

Or, by becoming more self sufficient in terms of collecting and recycling our own water, waste, installing solar energy, growing some of our own food requirements be too much of a threat to the current system of an economy based on unlimited consumption?

I believe that sustainable living is a threat to the 'business-as-usual-our-power-is-threatened'(BAUOPIT's) monopoly that is too inflexible to change. Hence all the endless discussion instead of taking action.

Whatever: in the mean time I have my own little veggie garden, I shred paper and add to the mulch on my garden, use public transport as often as possible and shop locally.

Besides there are more of us (the ordinary citizen than the BAUOPITs). I don't believe that we are on the road to extinction, if we fail to change our wasteful ways, but we are gonna change, whether we do it kicking and screaming or rationally and pragmatically remains to be seen.

Meanwhile has anyone checked out the Green Office website on ABC Online - many useful things we can do there as well.

http://www.abc.net.au/greenatwork/GreenGuru/default.htm

Cheers

Fractelle,
Do not worry very much for Australians, in worst case we could block the export for agricultural products and we solve our problem for long time.
The question is for the people from the poor countries, for the people from countries which will damaged the maximum from the climate change.
Fractelle,
We, (Australians) are the worst polluters per person on the planet,Imagine how many people on our planet will suffer from our immaturity!
The problems from the climate change is very big, is an international problem, unfortunately, many of our leaders, especially Bush can not understand it and of cause are not ready to do anything to limited its negative consequences on our planet.
Your suggestions are good but I am an internationalist! I could not eat when I will know that my brothers in Asia, Africa or Latino America are hungry, thirsty, cold, ill or they have to move from place to place.I will feel very bad because I will know that they will suffer of cause our (developed world) crimes against our planet.
I agree with you but I want to add few words more
'LET'S FIGHT FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR PLANET!'
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Antonios

Thank you for you words of support and I fully agree that we need a global effort on sustainable living.

Two points:

1. Australia can lead the way by example.
I am only one, and I do what I can, hopefully my neighbour can do
as much as they can and so on... I believe in the butterfly
effect.

2. Please take good care of yourself - if you aren't well how can you
help others?

Pax