Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs: The Thrivalist's Guide to Life Without Oil

272 Pages·2011·124.89 MB·English

by  Wendy Brown

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To 'Deus ..Machina -
the world is a very scary place, my 'Dear.
you make it less so.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
Surviving the Apocalypse
in the Suburbs
This is a manual for what's shaping up
clear~eyed, straight~ahead
to be permanent hard times. The destiny of suburbia
long~term
may be a dark passage, but for quite a while ahead a lot of
nor~
mal people will be living there, and they would do well to prepare
themselves with this book.
-James Howard Kunstler, author The Long Emergency
and the World Made By Hand novels
Problematic as suburbia will inevitably become in the dawning age
oflimits, around a third of the people of North America live there,
and economic contraction and imploding real estate markets will
keep a good many of them there for the foreseeable future. In this
eminently practical and thoughtful book, Wendy Brown takes on
the challenge of exploring the options for surviving and thriving
through hard times in the suburbs, and carries it off with aplomb.
Highly recommended.
-John Michael Greer, author The Long Descent
and the weekly blog The Archdruid Report
www.thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com
A real treasure amidst the gloom and doom, this comes like a
breath of fresh air. It paints an optimistic yet sober and realistic
picture of how those living in the suburbs could become self-suf
ficient in the inevitable post-petroleum age. Those who plan can
thrive and lead a meaningful, deeply satisfying, full life. Everything
you need to know about preparing to live off the grid in days
21
is here in this riveting, deeply insightful, clear headed, highly
original, and richly informed guide. Beautifully written and full of
wisdom, it is a great read with an eye to important details.
-Connie Bright (Krochmal), author Making It:
An Encyclopedia of How to Do It for Less,
and Master Gardener, Burpee Seeds
THE
IN THE SUBURBS
THE THRIVALIST'S GUIDE
TO LIFE WITHOUT OIL
WENDY BROWN
..
..
.......
...
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~~J \f.~
NEW SOCIETY PUBLISHERS
Copyright © 2011 by Wendy Brown.
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Diane Mcintosh.
All photos © iStock (picmax)
Printed in Canada. First printing March 2011.
ISBN 978-0-86571-681-0 elSBN 978-1-55092-471-8
Inquiries regarding requests to reprint all or part of
Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs should be addressed to
New Society Publishers at the address below.
To order directly from the publishers, please call toll-free (North America)
1-800-567-6772, or order online at www.newsociety.com
Any other inquiries can be directed by mail to:
New Society Publishers
P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island, BC VOR lXO, Canada
[phone]
New Society Publishers' mission is to publish books that contribute in fundamental
ways to building an ecologically sustainable and just society, and to do so with the
least possible impact on the environment, in a manner that models this vision. We
are committed to doing this not just through education, but through action. Our
printed, bound books are printed on Forest Stewardship Council-certified acid
free paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled (100% old growth forest-free),
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its carbon footprint, and purchases carbon offsets based on an annual audit to
ensure a carbon neutral footprint. For further information, or to browse our full
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Brown, Wendy, 1967-
Surviving the apocalypse in the suburbs: the thrivalist's guide to
life without oil / Wendy Brown.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-86571-681-0
I. Sustainable living. 2. Self-reliance. 3. Suburban life. 1. Title.
GEI96.B762011 333·72 C2011-900039-3
I J
MIX
Paper from
responsible sources
FSC
FSC'" C016245
-·r.cDIV
www.newsoClety.com
Contents
.
Acknowlegments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
IX
Preface 1
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Day 1: Shelter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13
Day 2: Water 25
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Day 3 : Fire. . 33
+ + • + + • • + • • + + • + + • • + • • + + • + +
Day 4: Cooking 41
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Day 5: Food: Stocking Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 45
Day 6: Food: Long-Term Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . .. 55
Day 7: Growing Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 69
Day 8: Livestock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87
Day 9: Laundry 113
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Day 10: Lights 123
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Day11: Electricity ....................... 129
Day 12: Waste DisposaL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 137
Day 13: Health Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 145
Day 14: Cleanliness .. 157
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
..
Vll
Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs
Vlll
Day 15: Tools . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 171
Day 16: Building a Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 181
Day 17: Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 189
Day 18: Schooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 199
Day 19: Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 213
Day 20: Security .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 225
Day 21: Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 233
Day 22: Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 241
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 251
Index. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... 253
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 261
Acknowledgments
I owe a great deal of thanks to so many people who either
con~
sciously or unwittingly helped me along in bringing this book to
life. Our lives are intricately woven networks of people who
influ~
ence us in so many, often invisible, ways. One contact leads to
an~
other and another and then, something extraordinary, like writing
a book, happens, sometimes starting with something as simple as
hello. Acknowledging all of those innocent contacts and
conversa~
tions that ultimately led to the book you are holding would be
another book in itself, but there are a few whose support during
the actual writing warrant some recognition.
A very special thanks is owed to blogger "Verde" (a.k.a.
Rev~
Gal) who blogs at justicedesserts.blogspot.com. In she
2008, en~
couraged the blog world to imagine that we knew the end of the
world as we knew it (TEOWAW KI) was imminent and that we
had only days to prepare. She challenged us to spend
twenty~one
the next days thinking about and blogging about the
twenty~one
kinds of things we would do to prepare. This book is an extension
of that day blog challenge.
twenty~one
To Kate, who blogs at Living the Frugal Life (livingthefrugal
life.blogspot.com), for coining the term "thrivalist:'
To the people at New Society Publishing, without whom this
project may never have been completed - Ingrid Witvoet,
Edi~
tor extraordinaire, who was always available to guide me in my
ignorance; Sue Custance, Ginny Miller and EJ Hurst, who added
IX
x Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs
another dimension to my work; and Judith
two~dimensional
Brand, who patiently guided me through the editing process while
I was trying to do rewrites.
To all of the wonderful people in our "village" at Centre of
Movement and Fiddlehead Center for the Arts, who taught my
homeschoolers while I worked on the project, and didn't scold
me (much) when I was late getting my girls to class. With special
thanks to: Ms. Vicky Lloyd, Sherri Fitzgerald, Andy Happel, and
Caroline Rodrigue. My beautiful daughters (and I) are better for
knowing you.
To Chris and Ashirah Knapp of Koviashuvik in Temple,
Maine who provided a example of how to take the best of
real~life
the modern world and the best of the simple life and make it work.
I knew what was possible, but you proved it.
To my amazing girls who have enthusiastically participated in
the dramatic changes to our lifestyle, and even when we cut cable,
gave away the television, turned our suburban yard into a farm,
started heating with wood (which meant working all summer
splitting and stacking firewood), began shopping at thrift stores,
put moratorium after moratorium on our spending, and changed
to a local diet, they never complained about what they didn't have.
In fact, they have more fully embraced the changes than, perhaps,
even their father and I have, and their appreciation for simplicity
in life is a constant inspiration to me.
But most of all to Eric (affectionately known as Deus Ex
Mach~
ina), my partner, my confidante, my spiritual advisor, my pillar, my
love, my life, my He knows more
in~the~flesh god~in~the~machine.
about what I'm capable of than I do. When I think I've reached the
apex, I look back and there he is with a firm hand under my rump,
helping me reach that next outcrop. Without his encouragement
and support, I'm not sure I would have been able to make this
book a reality.