This era in history may be remembered as the "Peak Age", a brief time when nearly all materials used to power and create our society reach the maximum extraction and production potential. Past this point, all of these resources become increasingly difficult to extract until they are no longer economically viable resources to be using. There are hundreds of examples of resources, currently embedded in our industrial society, which have reached their peak in the 50 years surrounding 2010, but the one which will most impact our society is petroleum.

The goal of living for 100 days without oil is to understand the extent of our dependance on oil in American society today. Specifically, how it will affect my life, as a 25 year-oil living in Minneapolis, MN. By using myself as a metric I can take a close and conscious look at where oil dependance occurs in all aspects of our daily lives : How we transport ourselves from one place to another, what we eat, how much waste we create, how water is cleaned and transported, where oil is used as; an energy resource, in conventional medicine and for hygiene and how oil affects how we entertain ourselves and communicate with others. By demonstrating how someone would be forced to live without using any oil resources, outlining both what the sacrifices will be as well as the benefits, we can can identify the many systems which will have to be re-designed in a world without cheap oil, and explore a new way of living in which we live in an energy balance.

(At the bottom of this page is a link to my version of a flow diagram of 'Where Petroleum Exists in Our Daily Lives' (using information from the Energy Information Administration-Annual Energy Review 2008 fig 5.0 Petroleum flow) click and zoom to enlarge)


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

DAY 9_GROW TABLE IMPROVEMENTS

23 August 2010

miles biked - 13
water used - 9.0125 (surplus 5.9875)

mom and dad :)
While my seedlings haven't made any great improvements (except I got one jalapeno sprout today!) my parents offered to help me make some improvements on my grow table.  The table is slowly but surely taking over the entire dining room ha, today it went up a second story.  We made a hanging structure 3' off the table height so the grow lights can be suspended instead of being stacked on bricks.  The grow light is supposed to be about 6" away from the top of the plants, so having a way to adjust it as plants get bigger is important.  I'm guessing part of the reason the plants got fried was the grow light was too close?  Now it is farther away (about a foot) and casts a nice (but less intense) light on almost the whole table. 
updated grow table

Speaking of food, I made a meal for 3 (parents and I) for $8 tonight. It was my usual (potato and vegetable mix) I got fingerling potatoes, gypsy peppers and red bell peppers, onion, garlic and cilantro, with a sweet corn cob for everyone.  All local, all organic.    As I mentioned in my 'Week 1 summary' post, food for the whole week cost $48 that's $6.85 a day and includes a lot of bulk items that will last a while (oil, butter, sugar, flour, maple syrup and yeast).  Who says its too expensive to buy healthy, organic food? :)

Lastly, my parents officially took my car off my hands when they left.  They'll be using it for the next 100 days instead of having it sit unused in my parking lot.  No temptation now! Its all biking from here!


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  1. Troy EagenAugust 29, 2010 at 10:27 AM

    Mol - thanks for the wonderful potatoes + veggies supper the other night. It was awesomely delicious! We'll take good care of your car, too :)

    Mom + Dad

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