[Green-Moo]

With peak oil fast approaching, what steps are you taking to make your own family self sufficient? Growing veg? Going off grid? Learning new skills?

And are your efforts at self sufficiency a direct result of this, or do you imagine that you would have taken steps in this direction regardless?

Green-Moo

[tater03]

We have started using paper bags instead of plastic. We have also planted a garden to become more self sufficient. And the biggest is walking places instead of driving.

[RFL1986]

Some things I am trying to do as a result of the current environmental situation and some I would like to think I would be doing anyway. I try to walk or bike almost everywhere and I also use cloth grocery bags consistently. I've purchased rechargeable batteries that I've begun to use consistently and also have started using efficient light bulbs.

[ammulu]

One simple thing I started recently is growing all vegetarian plants, currently have tomatoes, egg plant, cilantro and mint grown in the back space, I reside in a rental house and so not able to grow many plants in my back yard.

[Roguegal]

Well, self-sufficiency for me requires electricity. Because I am disabled. But I am planning to plant a vegetable garden issue. So I'll be able to do something.

[Angel]

It's always good to have a look at how you are actually trying to make a difference. Personally I am fairly good at recycling, only the minimum amount goes to landfill sites. I grow some of my own vegetables even although I only have a small garden, you can grow quite a bit in containers. What I would really love is to be self sufficient in energy but that is unlikely to happen as I simply don't have the money to set up a system. It always comes down to money in the end doesn't it?

[ACCER]

I learned a great many skills over the years to survive simply because I thought it was fun. I have all the necessary pioneer skills. I know this because there have been several times when storms have removed me from the power grid, ability to drive...etc.

[ACCER]

Oh, the whole reason I got into gardening, years ago, was that I hated tomatoes. I was at a friends house and her mother put a slice on my plate, so I was forced to eat it (back when you did these things to not be seen as rude). I loved it. When I asked my friend, I found out it was grown in the garden. Turned out veggies tasted different when home grown! Since then I have grown more and more. I love putting together an entire meal out of things I have grown myself.

[EviesEarth]

We have/maintain a large family garden at our parents ranch. The whole family pitches in to keep it going.
We also reduce, reuse and recycle everything we can.

[stav]

City life is a little different, and though I would love a proper 'kitchen' garden, the reality is that I have a number of fruit trees (2 figs, greengages, grape vines, hazlenut) and grow my own, mint, parsley, rosmary, thyme, bay, coriander, chives, tomatoes, spring onions.

I do have a bird table, which is much appreciated by sparrows, thrushes, and robins in the winter time. I keep the hazlenut tree (even though it is actually a nuisence) so that the squirrel family in the tree at the end of my garden have food. (I don't even mind too much when they dig up my tulip bulbs looking for their buried nuts!)

We do our best to recycle, and our local council is very proactive in this area, providing every household with special bins, one green, one black, to sort our paper/ bottles/cans/plastics/textiles into, which they collect regularly.

I try to buy locally grown produce, and avoid excess packaging. We drive an eco friendly car, but use public transport wherever possible. I know I could do more, and am always looking to improve on what I am doing.