Hello Mojave :-) Regarding New England, in Jim Kunstler's book, The Long Emergency, he dicusses the North East as being a relatively favorable area in terms of survivablility when mankinds troubles begin to deepen. He does not describe a " rosy " outlook for the South West, being excessively dependent on transported water to its essentially desert landscapes, and the long range outlook ( coming years ) is for even drier conditions there. Much of what the South West uses for its cities must be transported long distances by networks using vast quanities of hydrocarbon fuel. Also he sees conflict developing between the white and hispanic cultures when resources become scarce and the economies break down. The North West has many good qualities, but Mr Kunstler's appraisel suggest it will feel the affects of the movement of populations northerly, fleeing unrest in the great south west cities, by those seeking better resource potential, forest, water, etc in the North West. Regarding our 20 acres near Redding, CA, I will be working to get a well installed on the property this summer, and perhaps even a ceptic system. I also may be increasing the size of the house pad. My brother developed a large pond on his property, digging out the basin with a dozer, and then lining it with a system of large rubber like mats, which are sealed together with some sort of bonding material. He has fish, lilly pads, frogs, etc in it, and it provides a good alternative for water if you have trouble with your well. He is also checking into doing a side drilled well, which essentially works like a natural spring, with no need to pump the water from a deep well with 220 power. He may also soon install a small hydroelectric system on one of his small streams to help keep his battery banks charged. Around our property there are deer, wild turkey's, bears, lots of fish in lakes and stream's, and even the occasional ( tasty ) Long Pig meandering through the trees :-) My brother is going to start raising goats, for meat and milk, and is going to try recipes for various Acorn based dishes. He currently has a years supply of food on hand as a buffer in case needed. Of course the more realistic options you have of things to grow, or animals to raise for food, that can thrive in your specific area, the better off you will be, if things get really bad. As a thought experiment, think of what food you could garner for substinence, that is actually grown or raised in a 50 mile radius of where you live. Of course you would also have to hope that you had the means to travel that distance to get it, in a world of depleted hydrocarbon energy supplies. Thats the real possibility we may face, if we as a culture do not face up to the challenge of restructuring our communities to realistically cope in a world, WITHOUT abundant hydrocarbon energy. We shall see how things develop in the coming years.
