Fake Green Endorses May's Right to Debate

Stephane Dion has said Elizabeth May should be allowed to take part in debates during the next election

While I think this is a great and wonderful idea I really wonder if Dion is just being fair or thinks he needs help against Harper. In the end I don't think he's really thought this through, Dion has waffled on his nuclear stance and is pushing clean coal. In a debate verses May Dion, will be shown to be a novice on the issue.

Perhaps his polls and number crunching shows that Red Tories are the answer and if he can't attract them it's better to push them May's way. In a serious debate on the environment I think it will be shown that Dion has neither the knowledge nor the will to deal with environmental issues. Yes Red/Green Tory votes will be move to May but unless he's much better prepared than he's shown so far, he too will take a hit.

Does Dion really want to let the country know that the Green Party of Canada has a full platform?

Thanks Dion, but you're gonna be sorry.

Defining a Dream

I've been asked by friends and family both, “Why do you want to go live in the bush?” I usually play down the fall of society stuff so they don’t start slowly backing out of the room, trying to keep eye contact until they can slam the door and run. The truth however is I am concerned about what might happen from either a collapse of the world economy from the huge unsustainable debt both personal and government that is the norm of western society, or the total redefinition of western life that will be brought about by Peak Oil and Global Warming. Either or both of these problems will have to be dealt with in our lifetimes and as a person with limited means I cannot just hunker down and ride out the storm with my vast financial holdings. Added to this fear of a harsher future is my natural appreciation of nature, my desire to live a lower impact Green lifestyle and the desire to actually create things rather than type on this damn thing 40 hours a week. Finally I have two little boys who I need to protect, teach the skills required to survive the coming changes and teach the true value of work and achievement, something that Nintendo and MTV will not. I need to achieve this all before I become to old and worn out to be of any use.

So what am I to do?

First I must finish defining my goal, which means deciding many things about what my Little Green Hovel will be.

The main considerations are

How much land would I need to become reasonably self sufficient?

Where do I want to live?

What features do I need the land to have?

What will I live in?

What will I grow?

What will be my energy supply? On grid, off grid etc.

What new skill and tools will I need to have to make any of the above work?

How will I pay for it all, while maintaining a real job and another house needed to keep me in the rat race for the time being?

Will I be able to maintain a paying job if I do make this move to my Hovel, if not can I make money from my land?

Is it possible or even advisable to bring in another family unit, to share the cost, labour and risks with?

While not being a Neo Luddite, I have to decide what technologies are viable long term during Peak Oil, economic depression etc.
Can I repair or maintain any innovative technologies I include in my project or should I go as primitive as I can stand knowing I can keep things functioning long term without expensive outside inputs?

Each of these considerations requires time, research and considerable deliberation all while time passes and things get costlier, and the societal problems more pronounced. It seems to be a race that I’m destined not to win, but to bite off more I can chew or take on totally unsuitable land would only place me in debt without any chance of making a go of it. I will attempt to tackle the above questions in more detailed posts in whatever haphazard order my deranged mind wills.

I don’t have all of these answers so any input would be appreciated. The evolution of my plan has made some progress. As I began to realize the vastness of such an endeavor it caused me to scale back from my original pipe dream that was very similar to Tara but the work just somehow got done, all by itself! It guess it must have been manned by those robot maids my wife still complains don't exist.

Little Green Hovel - Welcome

This is one of several blogs I occasionally write, the others concern survival, protection of ones wealth, silver/gold investing and one I keep separate which is about fixing Canada to make it a better place. In each of these blogs the topics do overlap as politics impacts the environment, which impacts the economy, which impacts our survival. This blog is about my dreams rather than my nightmares.

I believe terrible things are happening to the earth, to our country, to our economy etc.. This is the site where I will try to find peace by planning and hopefully creating a safe haven that will be my Little Green hovel. I constantly surf, buy books and experiment at home trying to learn the skill that will protect me and my family in this end of times of our society. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some doomsday cult guy, but I'm convinced that our society as we know it is destined to change drastically from the impact of climate change, pollution, disease, and peak oil. It could be a good change to a simpler, more rewarding life for those prepared for the challenge. For those not prepared, I tried to warn them!

This is a journey, I will discuss my planning, my revelations, my attempts at canning the scant production of my city garden, my search for an affordable homestead, my attempts at convincing those around me that we need to do something. I'm active in the Green Party of Canada, even though I don't think even they get the seriousness of the changes going on. Yes it's great to have windmills,(better than coal) but when oil runs out it will be the chemical uses of oil as much as the energy uses that throws us back to 1800's standard of living. There are simply some things you can't do with out the heat created from burning fossil fuels, but there are as many things you cannot do without oil as a feed stock to industry.

The smartest thing anyone can do is learn to be self sufficient. You may not get to use it, or find the need to use it, but if you find yourself needing those skills, it's probably far to late to learn them. Even If I never need the skills to survive, I think I would still be more fulfilled living my days in my Little Green Hovel, knowing the pride of accomplishment the droids of today's economy have long since lost.

Kubera Jones.