am I prepared?

I've been reading a lot of fiction lately. The following four books I've read over the last few weeks, the first two I read last weekend:

Last Light, by Alex Scarrow  (here is the amazon link if you want to read about it http://www.amazon.com/Last-Light-Alex-Scarrow/dp/0752893270).  This is about a fast crash that occurs because some group blows up a couple mosques in Saudi Arabia, which causes wide spread war in the Middle East, plus bombs other key refinery points across the oil industry.  Set in London, with not just crash impact but also a mysterious-bad-guys thread.

Last Light, by Terri Blackstock (http://www.amazon.com/Last-Light-Restoration-Terri-Blackstock/dp/0310257670)

This is about a fast crash that occurs because of a EMP-like event - all electronics & electricity is down, in a suburban community where there is a killler on the loose.  This is the first in a four book series.  

One Second After by William Forstchen (http://www.onesecondafter.com/)

This is about a fast crash that occurs because of an EMP set over the US.  set in a small college town in North Carolina, not far from a few big cities. 

Crossing the Blue, by Holly Jean Buck (http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Blue-Holly-Jean-Buck/dp/0615241719).  A post petrol, post american road trip.  about a cross country road trip in post-crash, post-climate-change-flooded America which takes the hero & heroin through many different examples of post-scenario possiblities. 

Suffice it to say that reading these has definitely gotten me back to where I was when I first learned about Peak Oil.   I'm incredibly aware of how vulnerable we are, especially to food & water supply issues.  I'm reminded of something I read a long time ago on Energy Bulletin.  I'll have to paraphrase, since I don't remember the exact quote, or who said it.  If and when the crash occurs, many people will be caught unawares, even those of us who are aware of Peak Oil and the coming crises. 

As I said before, when I first learned about Peak Oil, I did a lot to prepare. And I stocked up on food, and got to know my local food sources.  But my food stocks have gotten back down to nothing.   I have heat (I ordered my cordwood, should come this weekend) and shelter, but the freezer is empty, my chickens are gone, and my garden is non-existent.  So I'm back to being completely unprepared for something happening.  I might be prepared emotionally, but that isn't going to put food in my stomach.  

I think that along the way, I've spent so much time dreaming about the ideal place for me to land - a farm or ecovillage, that I've forgotten that I'm going to be where I am now for some time to come.  And I've figured out that while I work full time to afford where I live, I have very little energy left over to raise my own food.  I know some people do, and I'm definitely on the lazy side, but I have to be honest with myself about what I can and cannot accomplish.  And if I'm going to stay sane, I can't expect too much of myself. 

So what I figured out over the last few weeks of reading this fiction, is that I have to come up with another way to have enough food on hand if something happens.  And I need to incorporate that food in my daily diet, so that it doesn't go bad.  Most of what I stocked up with in 2005 went bad because it was stuff that I would only eat if I had nothing else on hand.  So I need to plan better while I am stocking up, mark expiration dates so that I eat things before they expire.  And only buy what I will eat and have recipes to cook with.  This will be slightly easier this year, since I'll have fewer children to cook for and cater to. 

This will also help me save money and lower my carbon footprint.  Over the winter, I usually buy fresh vegetables every week from the grocery store that have traveled thousands of miles.   If I start buying fewer fresh vegetables from the grocery store when they are out of season and not local, and buy canned goods instead, I'll be learning better to eat in season.  I can even attempt to simulate what it would be like if I had time to can local produce for the winter, by buying canned foods that I know I would can or freeze - beans, corn, tomatoes, etc.   I know this may sounds simple or obvious, but it will be a big change for me.  I never eat canned vegetables - those were always what we ate, and only ever ate, when we went camping or sailing.

I used to think my only option was growing all my own food, and if I couldn't do that, then why bother at all.  But this way, I'll focus on local food and/or canned, and I'll be able to continue to support the local economy as well as start building up a larder that will make me feel more secure.  I may renew my purchases of survival gear as well - lanterns, propane for fuel, candles, etc.  I used to do that as well, and stopped after a couple years of nothing drastic happening.  

And I need to remember that I was well prepared when the ice storm in Dec '08 took out our electricity and communications for days.  I had a wood stove & cordwood, a cook stove & propane, lots of candles and a couple battery powered lanterns.  I also had airbeds for our guests who came so stay with us because they had no heat.  The one thing that I didn't have, and should probably be on my list of the first next thing to buy, is a generator.  They are expensive, yes, but if I'm going to stock up on anything frozen, I'll need a generator to keep those things frozen.  Otherwise its a waste of money to spend any money on anything frozen.  And a crank-operated radio, so we can get news without electricity.