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Subj: [civicprep] Y2K Community Conversations/Sharing Solutions Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 2:56:16 PM From: To: civicprep@4hlists.org In a message dated 5/25/99 6:30:37 PM, whaley@attorney-us.com writes: << > Tom Atlee says: "As far as we know, the majority of cities, towns and > counties in the > US do NOT have Y2K groups, and many of the groups that do exist are > VERY > small (one or two semi-active people). I feel that in those places > even a > party-line Conversation is better than nothing. I may be wrong." Tom, > let's take what we can get. Meeting each other at the level of our > identity takes time. Weave a fabric of threads... Faith, Critt >> Three things (simple is best), 1. Inventorying, leads to 2. stockpiling (tons of lists to refer to), 3. becoming as low-tech, self-sustainable as possible, such that you will be a model for your neighbors, who you will be sure to connect with, because the more everyone around you is properly (that means as fully as possible, with the emphasis on low-tech self-sustainability) prepared, the safer you will be. This idea is true for everywhere on the planet. THROUGH THE BAGELHOLE http://bagelhole.hypermart.net/ is focused on providing an ever-improving list of low-tech, sustainable methods that anyone can access and implement within 1-3 months. That's the full gamut: composting, food production, water catchment, purification, solar-passive heating, vertical gardening, sanitation, cooking, washing, health/medicine, transportation, energy conservation, communication, energy backup, etc. It is free, non-commercial, and humanitarian. Community Food Security is to augment the above. Its about low-cost greenhouse on school property, community centers, churches, etc. with leading - edge techniques to grow organics self-sustainably. The plans are all in place, it costs each organization under $6000, and is paid back in fine quality produce in one semester. If people can help launch this wherever you are, you will receive all the help and expertise you need. The time is ripe for this, and it needs to be done right away if we are to have harvests in the coming winter. Once its going its a steady harvest, it includes, hydroponic seed propagation and vertical aeroponic growing. "TO NOT PREPARE FULLY IS FOLLY" No one can tell what's happening, often what speculation you hear is merely a projection of the person's fears, past experience, whatever, its all speculation and one should never base action on mere speculation (commonsense #87), it masks a subtle form of denial that pervades even into the y2k aware. A to Z is what to expect and Z is not remote enough to ignore. Z being ongoing infrastructure breakdown for an indefinite period of time (if nuclear bombs are released, just put your head between your legs, thumb. . . . "Summum ad summum", my highschool motto, now comes back after all these years, "Aim for the highest", is obviously, the best plan, who could argue. We cannot let denial, (planning for 3-8 days or whatever arbitrary worst, but not quite worst possible consequence is a form of mass denial, when you think about it. Its not a good enough plan, and it could lead to a panic, when it finally sinks into the masses, that we are headed for a waterfall and no one can see how deep it is, untill we ride it out. If preparation isn't as full as possible, the panic will be justifiable, because the time will have run out and there is nothing to do, but see what's going to happen. Like going in for a test you haven't fully prepared for. Its an extremely uncomfortable feeling. THROUGH THE BAGELHOLE above, is about to get a facelift from a very gracious volunteer, to bring it closer to being an effective site for quick "contingency sustainability", nothing we will regret having, even if y2k turns out to be a dud. At the moment, it has many problems and areas that need to be fixed and honed (the site). Looking for one or more technical wizards who can go over each idea and make sure they are clear and understandable by editing and rewriting, or simply rating passable ideas. The goal is to be succinct, comprehensive, and well ordered to be truly effective. If there is a panic (caused by the awful reality of circumstances) this ever-improving list of low-tech sustainable ideas would help alleviate that, by making it possible for people to react effectively to the situation. Global collaboration to the widest extent is key. That means the closest to everybody we can get, using this wondrous tool, the internet. Bow to the computer, Giver and Taker of Civilization as we know it. One Family, Tom O (bagelhole1) ps. "aeroponic, hydroponic is attached (try netscape among others), 2-4 plants fit in the lip of the fluted plastic cups in the vertical structure and moved down every 2 weeks to replace with seedlings that grow in the vertical white box at the bottom, hydroponically. To the left (your left) is a box, the solar pump for the nutrient fed, looped tubing, no soil is needed. Just compost for the compost tea.

-- Tom Osher (bagelhole1@aol.com), May 25, 1999.