Shortages will start happening NOW! Please read and prepare

[Sandra]

They used to sort the mail on the trains. Hard to find trucks big and efficient enough for that.

Mail was sent on those regular containers, they just loaded it up and delivered it to the post office. I bet it's rough to do it on the train.

 

[acptulsa]

Amy, Farmers Markets are a goldmine in these areas. If stores close due to rare deliveries or bad economy, people will still need a centralized area to buy and sell.

One of these days I'll figure out the mindset that allows a person (not you, obviously) to say Ron Paul's ideas vis a vis nonintervention, the gold standard and constitutional rights are archaic one second and rave about farmers' markets the next. Such people do, paradoxically, exist.

In some cases, those who refuse to learn from history are condemned not to repeat the good parts.

 

[Lance C Roseman]

Couldn't this be a good thing in the long term though? Couldn't it mean that local farms could again compete with corporate farms? Local manufacturers could compete with bigger corporations in local markets?

Everyone should take a local Permaculture design course. Period. yes, there will be lots of CO2 'global warming' BS and 'Peak Oil' nonsense, but suburbia could and should become a heavy food production area with intelligent design.
Everyone with a lawn can convert it into a garden with a layer of nitrogen, organic hopefully, if not, so be it (you can use urine). Followed by non-dyed cardboard, followed by compost, followed by mulching hay (if people can get it in Vancouver BC, everyone reading this can surely find it somewhere). Water it daily and viola, in a few months you have rich topsoil, built by you. Add whatever you want as far as mulch goes, leaves, lawn clippings, anything organic really...and do it soon.
Look up 'sheet mulching' and read this article...google it yourself..."Permaculture: The Quiet Revolution".

There are not enough small farmers to feed us all at this point, we'll have to provide for ourselves and our families and more than likely our dumb neighbours!

 

[acptulsa]

Mail was sent on those regular containers, they just loaded it up and delivered it to the post office. I bet it's rough to do it on the train.

Actually, the Santa Fe Railway was one of the pioneers of containerized mail. Earlier than that, however, they had a thing called the Railway Post Office, where sorting occured while underway. Remember that a larger percentage of the population lived in smaller towns back then. They tended to kick mail bags off the train while it was in motion, and had interesting hooks and poles they used to also pick up mailbags on the fly. Now you know why old mailbags are so tough!

 

[voytechs]

Couldn't this be a good thing in the long term though? Couldn't it mean that local farms could again compete with corporate farms? Local manufacturers could compete with bigger corporations in local markets?

Absolutely. We already get a lot of our produce in the summer from local farmers. Food will get there one way or another, but probably not at the current price. That is the problem for most folks. Also remember Europe has already been paying $6/gal of gas for a long time. They do OK, but they do it with a lot smaller cars, a lot more walking and public transportation.

 

[amy31416]

Everyone should take a local Permaculture design course. Period. yes, there will be lots of CO2 'global warming' BS and 'Peak Oil' nonsense, but suburbia could and should become a heavy food production area with intelligent design.
Everyone with a lawn can convert it into a garden with a layer of nitrogen, organic hopefully, if not, so be it (you can use urine). Followed by non-dyed cardboard, followed by compost, followed by mulching hay (if people can get it in Vancouver BC, everyone reading this can surely find it somewhere). Water it daily and viola, in a few months you have rich topsoil, built by you. Add whatever you want as far as mulch goes, leaves, lawn clippings, anything organic really...and do it soon.
Look up 'sheet mulching' and read this article...google it yourself..."Permaculture: The Quiet Revolution".

There are not enough small farmers to feed us all at this point, we'll have to provide for ourselves and our families and more than likely our dumb neighbours!

That's exactly what I'm planning to do. I live in a corner lot house and have, essentially, two yards. I'm going to fence it in, get a garden and compost heap going out there, and turn the garage into a processing area. It'd be great if the neighbors weren't so dumb though, we could form a cooperative so everyone could be taken care of.

And even if shortages don't come to pass, why not do it? You'll still be saving a lot of money and have some really great produce to boot.

 

[acptulsa]

Also remember Europe has already been paying $6/gal of gas for a long time. They do OK, but they do it with a lot smaller cars, a lot more walking and public transportation.

Unfortunate that our communities are absolutely not designed to make mass transit convenient--or in some cases, even workable.

 

[Signzit]

Everyone should take a local Permaculture design course. Period. yes, there will be lots of CO2 'global warming' BS and 'Peak Oil' nonsense, but suburbia could and should become a heavy food production area with intelligent design.
Everyone with a lawn can convert it into a garden with a layer of nitrogen, organic hopefully, if not, so be it (you can use urine). Followed by non-dyed cardboard, followed by compost, followed by mulching hay (if people can get it in Vancouver BC, everyone reading this can surely find it somewhere). Water it daily and viola, in a few months you have rich topsoil, built by you. Add whatever you want as far as mulch goes, leaves, lawn clippings, anything organic really...and do it soon.
Look up 'sheet mulching' and read this article...google it yourself..."Permaculture: The Quiet Revolution".

There are not enough small farmers to feed us all at this point, we'll have to provide for ourselves and our families and more than likely our dumb neighbours!

Sounds good i'm already there but with WHAT WATER? Many local water treatment plants are using reclaimed water and recycled water filtered this will end, water will be unfit to drink or water your yard. Or, maybe you don't think social services will shut down?

You'll need filters and BIG TANKS. Some of us Whachos, have been preparing months and months. Dirt won't get it either, too much water loss short fast drinks mean Hydroponic set-ups. people will starve.

I'll keep saying it, "get out of the bigger cities if you can".

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

Everyone should take a local Permaculture design course. Period. yes, there will be lots of CO2 'global warming' BS and 'Peak Oil' nonsense, but suburbia could and should become a heavy food production area with intelligent design.
Everyone with a lawn can convert it into a garden with a layer of nitrogen, organic hopefully, if not, so be it (you can use urine). Followed by non-dyed cardboard, followed by compost, followed by mulching hay (if people can get it in Vancouver BC, everyone reading this can surely find it somewhere). Water it daily and viola, in a few months you have rich topsoil, built by you. Add whatever you want as far as mulch goes, leaves, lawn clippings, anything organic really...and do it soon.
Look up 'sheet mulching' and read this article...google it yourself..."Permaculture: The Quiet Revolution".

There are not enough small farmers to feed us all at this point, we'll have to provide for ourselves and our families and more than likely our dumb neighbours!

Just don't use Monsanto seeds or you will be eating for one season!

That may be a problem with those that grow for farmers markets too...

They are taking over seed companies, and now just about any seed you can get at a grocery store, hardware store or garden center is genetically altered to not produce viable seed. Remember, starvation is one of the oldest weapons of mass destruction - and it's in the hands of a corporation with a very unethical track record. There was a reason why the use of Monsanto seeds was mandated in the Iraqi Constitution and saving or using heirloom seeds made illegal.

-n

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

I'd prepare with food/water/silver/gold but I don't have any money. I basically earn enough to make it to the next week. I'm a bit nervous about the future to be honest.

Look at where you spend money and how. Don't ever eat out, bring a sack lunch. Never buy individual bottles or cans of whatever - buy a water container or thermos and bring it instead. Grow sprouts for greens, learn thermos jug cookery - cuts down on utility bills too. Insulating windows and doors during cold months will save more than materials cost. Cook with rice and basic grains - reduce the amount of meat you eat. You can eat for next to nothing - then figure out what your saving, and if it costs you 40 cents for a meal, when you'd normally spend $2.50 a Micky D's - put that extra $2.10 in a change can - you will be amazed how fast it adds up!

With your new found wealth, buy in bulk. Look up local food coops, etc. That should get you started.

look up this book - it's considered a classic on underground camping as well as being a survival manual. Tells you how to do all sorts of things for almost no money.

-n

 

[Sandra]

Actually, the Santa Fe Railway was one of the pioneers of containerized mail. Earlier than that, however, they had a thing called the Railway Post Office, where sorting occured while underway. Remember that a larger percentage of the population lived in smaller towns back then. They tended to kick mail bags off the train while it was in motion, and had interesting hooks and poles they used to also pick up mailbags on the fly. Now you know why old mailbags are so tough!

If I had the sorting job, I would upchuck all over the mail!

 

[sratiug]

I heard the truckers were going to go on strike come April. This should only make matters worse...

I heard truckers on CNN last week talking about a walk out to protest the high gas prices. It could be a wake-up call for a lot of people. April 15th?

 

[amy31416]

Sounds good i'm already there but with WHAT WATER? Many local water treatment plants are using reclaimed water and recycled water filtered this will end, water will be unfit to drink or water your yard. Or, maybe you don't think social services will shut down?

You'll need filters and BIG TANKS. Some of us Whachos, have been preparing months and months. Dirt won't get it either, too much water loss short fast drinks mean Hydroponic set-ups. people will starve.

I'll keep saying it, "get out of the bigger cities if you can".

Rain collection bins for watering the garden.

You can also set up systems in your home for recycling water.

Use the water that you wash vegetables with to water other plants.

 

[LittleLightShining]

Just don't use Monsanto seeds or you will be eating for one season!

That may be a problem with those that grow for farmers markets too...

They are taking over seed companies, and now just about any seed you can get at a grocery store, hardware store or garden center is genetically altered to not produce viable seed. Remember, starvation is one of the oldest weapons of mass destruction - and it's in the hands of a corporation with a very unethical track record. There was a reason why the use of Monsanto seeds was mandated in the Iraqi Constitution and saving or using heirloom seeds made illegal.

-n

Fedco and High Mowing are 2 great seed companies.

 

[RonPaulFever]

I'd prepare with food/water/silver/gold but I don't have any money. I basically earn enough to make it to the next week. I'm a bit nervous about the future to be honest.

I'm in the same boat as you, but I bit the bullet and took the first step by purchasing a firearm. Once you have that, you can concentrate on stockpiles of dry and canned goods and such.

 

[acptulsa]

Rain collection bins for watering the garden.

Originally guttering almost always led to a barrel. Old tricks work!

 

[amy31416]

Originally guttering almost always led to a barrel. Old tricks work!

That's exactly what I'm designing. So far, what I've conceived of is re-routing the gutters to a barrel, then having another barrel next to it connected by an overflow hose near the top for when that one gets full. Both have lids to prevent evaporation. The only problem I'm having with the design is that there is a potential of the water stagnating, but I'm working on it. It might just be as simple as a hose connector at the bottom to drain on occasion if there are periods of heavy rainfall.

 

[acptulsa]

That's exactly what I'm designing. So far, what I've conceived of is re-routing the gutters to a barrel, then having another barrel next to it connected by an overflow hose near the top for when that one gets full. Both have lids to prevent evaporation. The only problem I'm having with the design is that there is a potential of the water stagnating, but I'm working on it. It might just be as simple as a hose connector at the bottom to drain on occasion if there are periods of heavy rainfall.

Put the barrel in the attic. Beats pumping!

 

[amy31416]

What seed companies does Monsanto own, or, who do they supply seeds to? Part of my plan for the garden was to start saving the seeds for the following year, so I wouldn't want to get any of the "terminator" seeds.

 

[amy31416]

Put the barrel in the attic. Beats pumping!

No attic, just a crawl space unfortunately. Great idea though.