Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:12 pm Post subject: What are You doing right now for PO?
Thought I would start with what we're doing right now for planning for the future and hear what others think about it and what they are doing!
I'm on the PO bandwagon 6 weeks and have made major changes so far.
1. Commuting by transit and bicycle now up to 5 days per week. Have reduced my car usage by nearly 70%. I'm keeping track of how many car trips I have eliminated: I'm up to 45 now. Quit going to the gym because I bike home now after work.
2. Removed all incandescent light bulbs and now have CFLs.
3. Cut my tv usage from 14 hrs/week (already low by many stds) to 4 hrs/week.
4. Short term investments have been switched to oil/gas/energy. Sold off many of my others and converted to steady money market rates (at least they are rising).
5. Accelerating my recycling usage to reuse damn near everything. Stopped using energy wasters like tissue and paper napkins and using cloth handkerchiefs.
6. Turn off my damn computer at night! Damn I was hog with electricity!
7. Buying gold like crazy....planning to have well into the 5 figures put away for the pending economic crash.
8. Debt is all at 0%....no mortgage. I live in a bubble market and did not fall prey to stupid loans.
9. Designing a power supply backup based on solar PVs. Plan to have up/running in a few weeks.
10. Spreading the word about PO. Making some progress.
11. Milking my easy first world job for as long as I can and saving every dime we can.
12. Keep digging for treasures that the sleepers (most of the US population as I call them) throw away. Just found a nice thermoelectric DC powered fridge. Can you believe what people put in the trash?
These are short term. Long term plans are still being formed. We're waiting on land purchases/house until after an adjustment is made in the worldwide housing bubbles....plan to pay cash/gold and have no debt. Other than that, trying to figure out what I want to do for my next job. We are planning to relocate to Europe where the landing at least in the short term will be softer. I believe the US will be a third world country soon enough.
Reading like crazy everything I can get my hands on. Anyone know how to convert garbage into burnable logs I can use in our fireplace? I was thinking I could heat our mild winter nights easily from trash for free. I was thinking combining paper waste with some sort of "glue"; cooking oil etc to make logs that will make some heat. Am I wastin my time?
Would love other inputs. Also looking to join up with post carbon people in the SF bay area.
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:21 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
Over here I already reduced my electricity usage to 3kW per day. CFLs, no phantom loads, switching off anything not in use, no using electricity to heat anything save a toaster and kettle.
Have replaced heating oil with a wood stove.
Looking into supplementing or replacing petrol with hydrogen I'm making at the moment. It will also be used for cooking.
Researching a wind turbine and a heat store.
All these things help reduce my dependence on oil.
Will educate the local community for free (unlike the hippies round here that want your money before teaching you anything - some counter-culture!) and charge minimum wage if my assistance is required.
If things become really bad I don't want to be a have in a sea of have-nots.
I have an acre of land and am planting a third of it with fast growing coppice willow. Built a small boat and take it out to sea for fishing. Fix computers for the locals and do some tutoring for cash. Grow my own vegetables and looking for POL chickens. _________________ The Good Life - http://sustainable-life.co.uk/blog/
Joined: Jun 28, 2005 Posts: 514 Location: The Netherlands
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
the_red_pill wrote:
We are planning to relocate to Europe where the landing at least in the short term will be softer. I believe the US will be a third world country soon enough.
There's some misconception going on about Europe in US PO quarters: this continent was not designed as some sort of safe haven for Americans running away from impending doom. PO is not just about the US, and the rest of the world would simply exist for offering refuge, consolement, cheap building plots and whatever. I'm sorry to say it like this: we, the rest of the world, are not waiting for a new form of US imperialism, be it by individuals. And heaven forbids, what such tendency by individuals might lead to in the political arena... Europe would not fancy the idea of the largest single consumer of fossile fuels (the US army) dropping by and seizing some lands for US citizens, if Congress so ruleth. You may think that the US will never invade its allies, but then you're wrong. On July 26, 2002 a certain GW Bush signed the so called Hague Invasion Act, which rules that my country, the Netherlands, may be invaded whenever US citizens face trial at the International Criminal Court. So there's a precedent, thanks to US Congress.
I do feel that it's much wiser anyway to try and do some constructive towards your fellow men about PO instead of just thinking about saving your own skin. PO is about mankind, not about US individuals. And let's face it: US citizens on the workforce are way much better off and will be way much better off than the average citizen in the average African country as of now.
Anyhow, let's face it: if those who are wealthy enough start buying nice arable plots in foreign countries, it's the natives who will get left behind. And you don't think there would be a backlash? You may wish to be informed that Europe has some history when it comes to xenophobic demagogues, ruling countries;-). Their likes are still around, both with the extreme right and the extreme left, don't you be mistaken, and when the truth about PO gets generally accepted, they will surely start pointing fingers at the US and its decades of cheap oil, and start denouncing those Americans who fled to God Old Europe.. Just giving you something to think about...
Now, what I do about Peak Oil? For one thing: I've become news editor ar peakoil.com . For another: I tend to look after my energy use more carefully than I did, but then again I was already using renewable energy which of course has not changed. I'm happy that 27 years ago I already decided never ever to start driving a car. I do not even have a driver's license. So I cycle and use public transport, as I've always done. I'm buying organic vegetables nowadays as often as possible, and I also keep a close eye on the country of origin of all food I buy. There's a farm at close range from my place, selling vegetables and some fruit: I go there too. Then: I'm informing people, partly through writing.
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:24 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
the_red_pill wrote:
Thought I would start with what we're doing right now for planning for the future and hear what others think about it and what they are doing!
I'm on the PO bandwagon 6 weeks and have made major changes so far.
1. Commuting by transit and bicycle now up to 5 days per week. Have reduced my car usage by nearly 70%. I'm keeping track of how many car trips I have eliminated: I'm up to 45 now. Quit going to the gym because I bike home now after work.
Great to hear. Even the folks who aren't peak oilers are cutting back on energy usage. I recently found that my car gets 5-10 more mpg when I drive at 65 mph than when I drive at 75-80. A trip that used to take up 8 gallons now only takes 5.5-6- it's just half an hour longer.
Quote:
2. Removed all incandescent light bulbs and now have CFLs.
3. Cut my tv usage from 14 hrs/week (already low by many stds) to 4 hrs/week.
Compact Fluorescents are a smart move if you're willing to wait 1/2 second for the lights to come on when you flip the switch. I estimate that some of my higher use 100 watt fluorescents are saving me $1-2/month.
As to TV usage, you gotta be crazy. Reducing hours spent in front of the TV is absolutely wonderful when it comes to making yourself a more productive, friendlier, and better person, but $1 worth of electricity for 10 hours of entertainment is a very good deal.
Quote:
4. Short term investments have been switched to oil/gas/energy. Sold off many of my others and converted to steady money market rates (at least they are rising).
30-40% of my investments are in energy, but I keep telling myself that I'm only keeping my money in there because of long-term fundamentals- not because of a peak oil paradigm shift. Every single other time that people have changed their investment strategies because of a perceived "paradigm shift", they've lost a lot of money.
I'm thinking of putting a little more money into more useful precious metals like platinum and silver to keep myself diversified, but we'll see how that goes.
Quote:
5. Accelerating my recycling usage to reuse damn near everything. Stopped using energy wasters like tissue and paper napkins and using cloth handkerchiefs.
6. Turn off my damn computer at night! Damn I was hog with electricity!
Remember, peak oil doesn't mean the lights will go out. Almost all baseload electric production comes from hydro, nuclear, and coal. Coal might get affected a little if CTL comes into vogue, but electric usage at night won't get affected by Peak Oil for a while.
Quote:
7. Buying gold like crazy....planning to have well into the 5 figures put away for the pending economic crash.
Gold is only valuable because people think it's valuable. What's going to be more useful to you if society breaks down; land or gold? Besides the fact that I'm trying to stay on the fence between the peak-oil-doom paradigm and mere-70s-style-energy-crisis paradigm, even in the worst-case scenario, useful rare metals like platinum and copper will do you better.
Quote:
8. Debt is all at 0%....no mortgage. I live in a bubble market and did not fall prey to stupid loans.
Nice to hear. I plan on coming out of college with $0 debt and ownership of companies representing 18 barrels of oil production a year, 1 gallon/day of gasoline production, and 5 tons/year coal production. I'm pretty much already there in case energy stocks continue skyrocketing, but I hope 10+% inflation doesn't set in too soon without any pay increases at my jobs or increases in my interest rate at the bank.
Quote:
9. Designing a power supply backup based on solar PVs. Plan to have up/running in a few weeks.
PVs are REALLY EXPENSIVE. Good luck with that.
Quote:
10. Spreading the word about PO. Making some progress.
11. Milking my easy first world job for as long as I can and saving every dime we can.
Well, good luck to you on that. Since I learned about Peak Oil, and since I'm at least willing to take the step of expecting an energy crunch that'll cause ten years of stagflation, I've been doing everything I can to earn money and cut my expenses. Every two weeks, I spend 72 hours keeping track of everything I spend money on and seeing where I can cut expenses. It's tough doing all of this when you're balancing 15 credit hours of schoolwork at one of the best engineering schools in the country with $10/hour jobs, but I think I can make it happen.
Quote:
12. Keep digging for treasures that the sleepers (most of the US population as I call them) throw away. Just found a nice thermoelectric DC powered fridge. Can you believe what people put in the trash?
Right... I'll start doing that when everyone else starts doing that. Until then, I'll buy my food from the local grocery store, buy well-made American appliances new, and just keep pretending that I'm about to face down an incredibly difficult economic period rather than the end of civilization.
Quote:
These are short term. Long term plans are still being formed. We're waiting on land purchases/house until after an adjustment is made in the worldwide housing bubbles....plan to pay cash/gold and have no debt. Other than that, trying to figure out what I want to do for my next job. We are planning to relocate to Europe where the landing at least in the short term will be softer. I believe the US will be a third world country soon enough.
Yeah. You're way ahead of me. My long term plan will be to talk to some farmer in the middle of nowhere in downstate Illinois or Wisconsin, and see if I can convince him to sell me options to buy 40 acres of land at double the current market price, up to 10 years out for, say, $50/option/acre.
The Midwest is going to be a decent place when, IMHO, the 98th percent worst-case Peak Oil scenario hits (No energy for tractors or fertilizer, but no nuclear war). Organic agriculture is still able to do well on our still very-rich soil here in Illinois, at least, and there aren't a whole lot of people to share the food with. Even with Chicago, I think that Illinois could feed itself without modern agriculture- though it would require a lot of folks moving back to farms and doing a lot of manual labor.
Can Europe feed itself when peak oil hits? The world is almost as dependent on the U.S. for its food supply as it is on the Middle East for oil.
Quote:
Reading like crazy everything I can get my hands on. Anyone know how to convert garbage into burnable logs I can use in our fireplace? I was thinking I could heat our mild winter nights easily from trash for free. I was thinking combining paper waste with some sort of "glue"; cooking oil etc to make logs that will make some heat. Am I wastin my time?
Would love other inputs. Also looking to join up with post carbon people in the SF bay area.
I think you're doing way too much planning. People who get carried away about survivalism always wind up feeling stupid on the 90% chance that things don't turn out as bad as most people fear. My plans are designed to make sure I've got a head start on everyone else in everything up to the 98th percentile worst-case scenario, without hurting me too much in the 10% of the best-case (a boom economy). That basically involves asking myself the question over and over, "If reasonable people who were pretty sure a boom economy was coming saw me doing this, would they still consider me sane?"
After Katrina hit, I figured that keeping a 7-10-day supply of starches on hand (read: Pasta) on top of what I've normally got in my cupboards might be a wise idea. These things have a shelf life of two years, and the food costs me about $1/day. Worst comes to worst, after two years, I eat pasta three times a night for a month.
Being an engineer, one thing that fascinates me is energy systems and optics. I'm getting ready to build a parabolic trough solar collector- just for kicks. In the event of everything turning out all right, I wind up getting myself a little bit of hands-on experience with energy systems. In the 30-40% chance of a crippling energy shortage, I've got a prototype for a 300-500 watt solar water heater. The design's more durable than solar cells and should be buildable as long as we're able to make reflective metal surfaces and saw 4-ft lengths.
Figuring out how to circulate water through the solar troughs without a source of electricity, as well as store heat through the night will be my next challenge, but I think it's doable. Pumping the water through the system with only differences in heat energy as an energy input will be tough, and probably require plenty of valves and moving parts- that'll be tough for me to build and tough to maintain. High technology stuff isn't going to survive for more than a decade if the 5% chance of civilization falling apart occurs.
Energy and natural resource stocks are usually good long-term investments, with or without an energy crunch.
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:35 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
the_red_pill wrote:
...We are planning to relocate to Europe where the landing at least in the short term will be softer....
Didn't notice this bit the first time.
A single word answer, DON'T!
After the Eurocrats have finished with Europe it will be renamed Eurabia.
You are better off in the US. I'm sure I'll be there in the years to come at Custer's Last Stand II. Same outcome of course but at least we tried. _________________ The Good Life - http://sustainable-life.co.uk/blog/
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 6:25 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
the_red_pill wrote:
Thought I would start with what we're doing right now for planning for the future and hear what others think about it and what they are doing!
I'm on the PO bandwagon 6 weeks and have made major changes so far.
1. Commuting by transit and bicycle now up to 5 days per week. Have reduced my car usage by nearly 70%. I'm keeping track of how many car trips I have eliminated: I'm up to 45 now. Quit going to the gym because I bike home now after work.
2. Removed all incandescent light bulbs and now have CFLs.
3. Cut my tv usage from 14 hrs/week (already low by many stds) to 4 hrs/week.
4. Short term investments have been switched to oil/gas/energy. Sold off many of my others and converted to steady money market rates (at least they are rising).
5. Accelerating my recycling usage to reuse damn near everything. Stopped using energy wasters like tissue and paper napkins and using cloth handkerchiefs.
6. Turn off my damn computer at night! Damn I was hog with electricity!
7. Buying gold like crazy....planning to have well into the 5 figures put away for the pending economic crash.
8. Debt is all at 0%....no mortgage. I live in a bubble market and did not fall prey to stupid loans.
9. Designing a power supply backup based on solar PVs. Plan to have up/running in a few weeks.
10. Spreading the word about PO. Making some progress.
11. Milking my easy first world job for as long as I can and saving every dime we can.
12. Keep digging for treasures that the sleepers (most of the US population as I call them) throw away. Just found a nice thermoelectric DC powered fridge. Can you believe what people put in the trash?
These are short term. Long term plans are still being formed. We're waiting on land purchases/house until after an adjustment is made in the worldwide housing bubbles....plan to pay cash/gold and have no debt. Other than that, trying to figure out what I want to do for my next job. We are planning to relocate to Europe where the landing at least in the short term will be softer. I believe the US will be a third world country soon enough.
Reading like crazy everything I can get my hands on. Anyone know how to convert garbage into burnable logs I can use in our fireplace? I was thinking I could heat our mild winter nights easily from trash for free. I was thinking combining paper waste with some sort of "glue"; cooking oil etc to make logs that will make some heat. Am I wastin my time?
Would love other inputs. Also looking to join up with post carbon people in the SF bay area.
Well I'm in the North Bay and we have a group going called "Beyond Oil Sonoma." You're welcome, of course, to come to our meetings. I believe there are groups in the city also.
One piece of advice, however:
Don't flaunt your wealth. Not in public and not on the board either. It's just bad manners.
When you first came on this board, you mentioned you had $250,000 in assets. I can guarantee you that pissed off a lot of people. Not the fact that you have that much, but the fact that you announce it to the public without realizing how that makes most folks here feel.
I'd wager that most folks on this board are freaked out/terrifed about how they're going to finance their preparations, particularly if they have children.
So when somebody comes on here and says they're putting "well into the 5 figures" into gold, can you understand why people might feel alienated?
Nothing wrong with saying you're buying gold or that you some money in the bank. But when you start tossing around figures like "six figures in assets" and "five figures in gold" the rest of us get a tad bit discouraged.
If that behavior was to manifest in a post-peak world in public, can you imagine the reaction?
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 7:59 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
MattSavinar wrote:
Don't flaunt your wealth. Not in public and not on the board either. It's just bad manners...When you first came on this board, you mentioned you had $250,000 in assets. I can guarantee you that pissed off a lot of people. If that behavior was to manifest in a post-peak world in public, can you imagine the reaction?
Wise words. After 32 years in the work force living below my means, I have accumulated savings for retirement. I rent a modest apartment and ride a bicycle most places and don't buy many consumer goods. My neighbors probably think I am poor. In fact, I probably have more assets than most folks who are carrying the supersized mortgages But it is never prudent to flaunt it, after PO it will be suicidal. Remember before the glitz of the Reagan era, the 1970s were about dressing down. That behavior will be coming back. _________________ "The world is changed... I feel it in the water... I feel it in the earth... I smell it in the air... Much that once was, is lost..." - Galadriel
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:58 am Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
Quote:
Stuff could happen before PO – like this winter.
BRAVO, Pops!
Me, I'm lucky enough to live in north Texas. We may get light snow once or twice a winter. Temps rarely dip below 20F, though wind chill factor certainly does. I've resigned myself to the idea that my gas heater ain't gonna come on too often. . .heck, the A/C bills this summer were a better warning about utility bills than Katrina or Rita were!
Couple of layers of socks, warm fuzzy mittens, flannel pj's, robe, cotton-knit hat, blankets, comforter, hot cocoa, soup. . .you know, the old reliables! The only thing that worries me is what the cold may do to my computer. Any ideas about how to keep a computer warm, but not TOO warm? I'd appreciate that.
I feel for anyone who lives north of me, though.
What I can do for PO? Beats me, anymore. Ground around my apartment ain't fit for growing, and I don't own the ground, anyway. I'm organized, well-read, no dependents (well, my computer, but...), can analyze stuff. I suppose there's room in a community for someone with common sense, imagination, AND thinks about things. At least, I hope so! And I'm sure not unwilling to pitch in and help where I can. Hopefully, some group of people will think that's enough, when TSHTF. No guarantees for any of us, anyway. Not between military/militia force and general public panic.
I do reduce, reuse, recycle. Haven't heard of any of THAT being un-useful in any society/community/"civilization"! But I haven't the money, health, or connections to set up a post-peak lifestyle. Hope I have something I can barter...that's the economy of the future, any road.
Maybe I'm doing what is the best thing anyone can do--knowing about it, bracing for it, being ready (psychologically) for whatever comes. Then again, when the power went out in my apartment for a few hours last Wednesday, I freaked out! So maybe I'm not as set to handle it as I'd like to believe. Those of you who ARE, are truly blessed, and I'm glad you post to this board!
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 4:54 am Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
You mean, what have I (we, that is) been doing for the last twenty years, since I learned about oil depletion in a geology class in Ohio:
1) Just bought 3 tons anthracite coal for the kitchen stove.
2) Now hauling in 4 cords firewood for the parlour stove.
3) No TV. No clothes drier. No electric water heater. (Hot water runs off the coal stove.)
4) Stocking up on kerosene in case of winter power outages.
5) All bulbs replaced with compact fluorescents. (Solar is too expensive, too maintenance intensive. For the rich only.)
6) Canning now vegetables from gardens. (I'd call these our "investments." Can't afford gold or oil stocks. Keep deluding yourselves, folks. See if I care.)
7) Keeping my fifteen-year-old, 35 MPG car on the road.
Dusted off and maintained 30-year-old Honda motorcycle to drive to work.
9) Raising chickens for eggs, turkeys for meat, pigs for meat.
10) Got a milk cow. Best. Investment. Ever. Making our own yogurt, butter, cottage cheese.
11) Got the hay up, too. We don't use our horse now, but may in the future.
12) Keeping my big mouth shut from now on. Folks don't get, they're not going to get it. Too late.
This is going to be The Winter of Our Discontent, I'm afraid.
A more complete picture of our faggoty, back-to-the-land way of life can be read HERE:
Joined: Aug 17, 2005 Posts: 580 Location: Portugal
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 6:49 am Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
Right now I'm warning people of the situation and planning to use some of my land to produce some homebrew biodiesel
Also, I intend to publish an article on a major newspaper against a silly government project of a new airport, worth 10 billion Euro, that will have absolutely NO traffic when it's ready. I'll argue those 10 billion will be much better used in renewables.
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 9:28 am Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
I'm too young to buy gold (which I think will be useless to have in a post-PO society, at least for quite some time) or any other rare metal.
I've become more active physically and began to spend more time learning anything I might find useful and less time watching TV (except the news and sometimes the history channel)
I don't really live in an area with a lot of farmers or other craftsmen so aquiring new and useful skills is somewhat...difficult, So I just spread the word as best I can and keep a careful eye on the news.
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 10:02 am Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
savethehumans wrote:
The only thing that worries me is what the cold may do to my computer. Any ideas about how to keep a computer warm, but not TOO warm? I'd appreciate that.
Computers and electronics love the cold. Heat is what kills computers. Your computer will last many times longer if it is run in a cold environment. The fastest home computer available have built in refrigeration units. Hot environments are bad for the running computer, and the hotter the worse. Component life will be decreased by some amount for every degree warmer. There is a nice graph on this page (although this is just corresponding to the memory in a computer). Themal cycling is also bad for electronics. Ideally, one should leave their computer on in a cold room for max life.
Joined: Jul 18, 2005 Posts: 105 Location: London, UK
Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:06 pm Post subject: Re: What are You doing right now for PO?
What I'm doing right now:
1. Conserving energy: we still haven't had to switch the heating on at all. It's been off since mid-March. We'll see how long we can manage this - I consider it normal to have to wear a sweater indoors when it's cold out. I take an electricity reading from the meter as well each week and check to see how much we are using. It's pretty low. I know we can make it lower if necessary. Replacing lightbulbs when they blow with low energy ones. Not buying new appliances. etc etc.
2. Enjoying things that I won't be able to in the future: taking advantage of low-cost airfares to visit parts of the world I might not otherwise get to see. In Europe, there is so much to see within a 90min flight of the UK. I have always been a travel junkie anyway. We are also going to Malaysia on holiday in December (first 2 weeks) to do some hiking, tasty-food-eating and beachbumming. I'm pretty good at ferretting out cheap deals, and living below my means as regards day to day living and not "consuming" means that my travel budget is larger than it would be if I went to resturants and pubs etc as much as my peers.
3. When I need a tool or other item around the house, I buy a quality item. It's worth adjusting my budget for this, as I'm thinking, I want this to last many many years. It means less disposable income now, as I have to pay more for quality, but will make a difference later on.
4. Learning survival skills just in case: taken up hiking/hillwalking and LOVE it. Hiking is the best! teaching myself navigation with map + compass at the moment. Plan to do a first aid course as well (not just PO-related, for general hiking safety). Will also learn in time to start campfire etc.
5. Working on my handcrafting abilities. I can knit, crochet, sew (by hand and with manually-operated old Singer as well as my electric machine), also do household repairs, basic woodworking etc. Apart from aynthing else these hobbies give me hours and hours of absorbing fun and I love seeing the results of my work. This is going to be my fallback.
Above all I am a lot more optimistic than when I first encountered PO. There are some things I can't control: if there is to be a hard crash and we all die, I can't stop that happening. If we have a gradual power down, I can adapt and do lots of things beside program a computer...
Last edited by actionreplay on Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:28 pm; edited 1 time in total
All times are GMT - 6 Hours Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5Next
Page 1 of 5
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
News
Discussions
Resources
Members
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
. For another: I tend to look after my energy use more carefully than I did, but then again I was already using renewable energy which of course has not changed. I'm happy that 27 years ago I already decided never ever to start driving a car. I do not even have a driver's license. So I cycle and use public transport, as I've always done. I'm buying organic vegetables nowadays as often as possible, and I also keep a close eye on the country of origin of all food I buy. There's a farm at close range from my place, selling vegetables and some fruit: I go there too. Then: I'm informing people, partly through writing.
Dusted off and maintained 30-year-old Honda motorcycle to drive to work.
