My latest piece, on living off the grid:

“Hundreds of thousands of people in this country live “off the grid.” If the power fails, food runs short or drought hits, their families won’t be hurt. Their houses have solar panels and electric generators; their shelves are stocked with canned food and seeds. They have wells in their back yard so they’ll never go thirsty. Some are retreating into farms. Others are bringing the countryside into their homes…..”

Some excerpts:

Predicting and panicking won’t help you now.

You have to prepare.

Fortunately, it’s easier and there are fewer people doing it.

Your preparation consists essentially of one thing – becoming more independent……..

Another excerpt:

Reducing water usage is not only thrifty it’s good ecological practice and has a direct impact on energy consumption. A large chunk of energy is spent pumping and heating water.

Start storing things. Use solar panels to store natural energy from the sun. Store water in tanks so you don’t run short in a drought. Store organic seeds. Store computer parts and electronic goods. Store anything you think you need which might go up drastically in price.

A quick recap now:

* Store

* Live healthily
* Grow your own food
* Drive less
* Make your job portable
* Barter
* Exchange services
* Recycle/reuse “

Read the rest at Lew Rockwell.
And here’s some advice on something I mention in the piece – square-foot gardening