Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to Forced Permaculture, an example.

Clearly people adapt.
Bowser — (archived)

Cuba is a good example of a lot of things. (I do not understand why people seem to love Batista and hate Castro, but the ones over here do. They must have been displaced off of the larger properties.) Cuba has had to learn how to adapt when they cannot get spare parts, sell their produce, and so on.

I spend a lot of time on 180 acres in NW Oregon which has a nice "cabin" but is not on the power grid. There is an auxilliary generator, and we're working on the solar system. Have to have a secure place for it, as stuff gets stolen.

I can go for days at a time out there even in winter without using the generator. The only real reason to have it on is for hot water for a shower, and the wood stove could heat water if one had the patience.

We wear 5-LED headlamps, and you'd be surprised how much of one's living goes on within the range of those. Cooking dinner, chopping wood, washing dishes, playing cribbage, reading, just about everything. After 10 minutes one forgets the other lights aren't on. I have a much larger one for the nightly walk with the dog, checking the beavers, ducks and whatever else is around.

And backpacking, too, one adapts to a reduced standard of living within 2 days. After that, level ground is a luxury, a log to sit on very nice, and a hot meal sometimes too much trouble to mess with. A picnic bench is the heighth of civilization, a sign there may be other people around and a place upon which to put one's pack without having to pick it up from the ground.

People can adapt quite rapidly. What would be more problematical is the shortage of food on a large scale. And that wouldn't be temporary. In colder climates folks would have a very hard time staying warm and growing/raising enough to keep going. I don't think it could be done with any but a very, very sparse population.

Arf

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