This is the presentation Dmitry Orlov gave at the Plan C Conference two weeks ago. I advise all to read and comprehend this presentation, it is quite profound. As he says, this is not a doom and gloom scenario, it is a chance to the let the doomed system to fail. If you know of any adults who don’t know what is going on right now, please forward this to them.
The Five Stages of Collapse
By Dmitry Orlov
His new book, Reinventing Collapse came out recently, if you’d like to read further.
Today I’ve been reading several reviews of the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook. Particularly one from The Oil Drum Europe and The Permaculture Institute of Australia. At the Plan C Conference two weeks ago, this report was mentioned several times; in Richard Heinberg’s presentation and a few others. I recommend reading the reviews and the report. This will have long lasting, far-reaching implications.
And now for something I borrowed from The Permaculture Institutes post:
“Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” - H.G. Wells
Last weekend, Paul, Trevor, and I went to visit our friend Scott in Traverse City. It’s quite the place; Amazing forests, lots of local foods, and of course the view of Traverse Bay. Here’s some photographs taken on our adventure.
Paul, Trevor, Scott.
Scott harvesting “Autumn Olive’s” growing near his home.
Deep, rich humus found near a river bed.
And, most excitingly, we stumbled upon a large bed of wild horseradish, which we harvested to bring home and plant in our own gardens.
Contrary to popular belief, there are very positive movements growing throughout our country and planet.
Today I found a large box outside my door with no idea what was inside of it. Back in August I had ordered a peach tree, which I had completely forgot about. Sure enough it was the peach tree! With little planning I decided that I needed to plant it very soon considering that snow is right around the corner. Luckily for me now is a good time to plant fruit trees: when they are dormant. The cultivar is Elberta, which seems to be a pretty reliable peach according to what I have read. With some of the species I already posses I threw together a guild. A guild is a group of plants that synergistically work together, which means the properties of one plant provide something to another plant. A common example of this is to plant a nitrogen fixing plant next to a fruit tree; the n-fixer provides the fruit tree with an important nutrient. This is just one example of the countless synergies one can create, or co-create I should say. According to Dave Jacke, a permaculture teacher, there are two types of guilds: resource partitioning guilds and mutual support guilds. The one I previously described is an example a mutual support guild, where one plant provides another plant with something. A resource partitioning guild, is when certain properties of a plant, such as root size and structure, make it possible for the group of plants to share available nutrients or “resources”. For instance you would not want to plant a field of one type of grass with the same root structure because they would all be competing for the same nutrients. These are the basics of nature, I am only interpreting them.
To begin I chose a good location for the tree with regards to sunlight. A south facing area is best to allow for maximum sunlight intake. Then I marked out a circle,removed the turf and dug a hole in the center of the circle large enough to house the roots of the peach tree:
Next I planted the tree in the whole and then filled the remaining space with rich compost from Tall Trees where the owner, Terry, runs a composting business.
Then I gave it a good watering until the space around the tree flooded. I planted two onion chives on each side of the circle and elephant garlic around the rest of the circle. These are both members of the allium genus, and most species within this genus have flowers that attract beneficial insects to feed on pests and pollinate. Planting garlic near peach trees also reduces the risk of peach leaf curl, a common dis-ease.
Giant Garlic!
The next step in the process was to place newspaper around the outer edge of the circle to kill the grass and prevent it from spreading into the drip line of the tree. The reason for this is that all grasses are heavy nitrogen feeders as are fruit trees, and the aim is to create a stress free environment for the peach tree. The newspaper will also slowly decompose adding to the fertility around the tree.
I then covered the whole area in a 2-3 inch thick leaf mulch. Last but not least I planted Yarrow all around the perimeter of the circle. This is a multi functional plant which serves many purposes. It accumulates nitrogen, phosphorus, copper, and probably many other good things. The flowers attract all kinds of beneficial insects and the odor repels deer. It also has culinary/medicinal uses I will not get into.
Yarrow seedling
In the spring time I will plant comfrey,tansy, and the leguminase ground nut. If things go as anticipated we will be enjoying fresh peaches for years to come and I encourage you to get out and plant fruit trees too, it’s fun and easy!
This past weekend was the Fifth U.S. Conference on Peak Oil and Community Solutions. Compared to the Bioneers conference a few weeks ago, it was a little different. Much of it was focused, obviously, around peak oil. I’m sitting here exhausted physically and mentally — from plenty of long speeches, and meetings, creating a soup of information in my brain!
If you are familiar with the film, The Power of Community, then you’re well on your way to understanding what the conference was centered around. Plan C was developed by the same people who created that film; Pat Murphy, Megan Quinn Bachman, and Faith Morgan. Their work as Community Solutions, is centered around culture change, conservation and curtailment. They work extensively in educating and creating “solutions” to the peak oil situation. The reason I say solutions apprehensively, is that after attending the conference, and hearing all of the different perspectives on the topic of peak oil, I’ve come to learn that this is no problem needing a solution…
John Michael Greer speaks on this in his new book, The Long Descent; looking at the peak oil topic not as a problem that needs to be solved, but a predicament that must be accepted, lived with, and adapting to. John Michael Greer gave his keynote presentation on Friday, speaking sincerely and encouragingly about the past and future, the course all societies move through. I suggest reading a couple of essays from his blog, The Arch Druid Report, to get a feel of what his speech was like. I feel his writings are some of the most comprehensive pieces of literature speaking on the peak oil subject.
Paul, Trevor, and I were fortunate enough to be Pat Murphy’s escort to the conference on Friday. We got to speak with him in person in the car, and he was excited to learn that we are young “farmer’s”. He said later on, in his speech, that after meeting us, it gave him a better feeling about his opening speech, and the conference. I liked listening to his presentations, particularly because he is an older man, and it seems older people are more apt to listen to people of their own age range, than say, me. Not to mention, he is a wealth of information on peak oil and alternative building, retrofitting, etc; offering sobering facts to the starry-eyed general consensus of our society.
The rest of the conference was great; we got to meet a lot of people, have numerous lengthy conversations, and network. I missed Dimitry Orlov’s presentation, which would have been amazing. But, Paul recorded a lot of the presentations, and we should be uploading them soon. I went to see Peter Bane, of Permaculture Activist, and met his apprentice, Rob Archangel of the Center for Sustainable Brewing (I highly recommend checking out both!). Rob is really enthusiastic about people re-learning the art of regional beer making, and the making of all sorts of intoxicating drinks. I’m feeling inspired to try my hand at making mead now.
At the end of today, Paul, Jared, Trevor, and I, we got to have a lengthy conversation with John Michael Greer. He’s one of the coolest people I’ve met; so friendly, comedic, and jolly. It was fun to hear him espout knowledge at length. He jokingly said “I love to hear my own voice”, after coversating for over 40 minutes. But he’s a wonderful resource, and he offers a very real perspective to the human condition.
The most inspiration I brought out of this conference was coming to a nice realization. Coupled with reading and thinking about John Michael Greer’s message, I’ve realized it is not a problem we are facing. We are facing the reality of lowering fuel supplies, the reality that we will have to change our modus operandi, or evolution is going to gently (or not) sweep us into the the bin of species that “Didn’t Work”. It’s frightening to those stuck in the normal realms of society, whirling through the world of growth and expansion. But, the reality is that our modern societies are in the process of self destructing. If we treat it as a problem, we won’t make it very far, in large numbers. The problem is not peak oil, certainly, the problem is the way we choose to think, live, and eat. We’ve created a highly dysfunctional psychology and economy, and we’re now going to live with the self destruction of these models, the Catabolic Collapse, as JMG puts it. The predicament is that we will have to change our lives, homes, our minds, if not by choice, then through necessity in the future.
When we were foraging yesterday, we came upon a tree of little redish yellow crab apples. They packed a huge flavor; tart, crisp, and citrusy. I decided they’d go well in this dish, contrasting the sweetness of onions ans pumpkin.
Ingredients
1/2 of a Medium Pumpkin (cooking variety is ideal)
1 Medium Onion
1 Apple (in this case 6-7 crab apples)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Cloves garlic
10 Sage leaves
Salt and Pepper
Process
The first step in this recipe is to chop the onion in half, then slice it into thin slices. Do the same with the apple(s) and then scatter them across a baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil on them, and toss them about, coating them evenly. Set them into a 350 degree oven, and allow them to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Now, using a long, sharp knife, slice the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds, and set aside for baking, or saving. Carefully cut the pumpkin half into thin wedges. Now, check the oven to see if the onions have browned. Once they start to caramelize, you’ll want to remove the cooking sheet, and lay the pumpkin on top. Drizzle the rest of the oil on top, and rub it into the pumpkin. Then, evenly distribute small pieces of butter on the surface of the pumpkin. Put it all back in the oven for 10 more minutes, until the pumpkin starts to cook. While it cooks, slice the garlic very thin. Chop the sage into thin slices, and set 1/3 of it to the side. Once you see the pumpkin flesh starting to soften, pull the sheet out, turn the pumpkin, and then sprinkle on the sage and garlic. Cook it for roughly 5-10 more minutes, until the pumpkin starts to caramelize along with the apple and onion. Plate it up, dropping the remaining sage on top… dig in!
Yesterday we headed to Trevor’s pasture and harvest a bounty of apples and hickory nuts. There’s about 20 different apple trees, some which are 40 years old. Stay tuned for amazing autumn recipes!
