Notes from an alternate world, a World Without Oil
Things are still relatively calm here in Oregon, with most of the savagery taking place in the urban areas. So that has given me time to inventory what we have in the way of supplies, equipment, and tools to build a list of what to replenish or stock up on. I am finding some surprising things.
Toilet paper. For the sewage holding tanks to work properly in an RV, you need to use toilet paper that is digestible by the enzymes that work on waste. Most toilet paper in the stores works okay, but pages from an old catalog or newspapers do not. That is for the outdoor privies. Another alternative from the old days on the farm is a special set of cloth scraps that you use and wash in a separate tub each week. Better than nothing.
Coffee, Cocoa, and Splenda. In the past we loved to make our own mochas of a morning, but I guess we are going to just have to give up the habit. The price of coffee has already doubled when you can find it, and the food distribution system is mostly gone, The supplies from Colombia and Java, etc. are going to be history soon as the world economy dries up. Same with Cocoa. Splenda is a great substitute for sugar for those of us who need to cut carbs, but it comes from a chemical process on raw sugar that is done at only a few plants down along the Mississippi River. Too far away from Oregon. Raw sugar will be around somewhat because it comes from sugar cane and sugar beets grown around the country and processed locally. But we were importing most of our sugar from places like Brazil, so the supply is not big. Actually, I guess I should just give up refined sugar for the most part. I did see some jars of local honey from around these parts.
Batteries. I don't expect to ever again buy a throw-away AA battery. We will need more rechargeables if we can find them, else our LED flashlights will become useless. Even rechargeable batteries go bad over time, so if we find a supply we will overstock for the future. They should also be good bartering items in the future.
I do worry about our main 12volt batteries that we charge from the solar panels. They are lead -acid and normally last about 6 years. Our current batteries are about 2 years old, so there is time to go shopping, but supply will undoubtedly be an issue.
I remember when I was a kid that some of the other farmers had windmills to produce electricity and used some very large glass containers to hold the parts of the battery. I need to research how to build our own batteries for the future. That means I will need a supply of lead, copper, and acid.
When I look around my rig I see lots of electronics: cellphones, calculators, PDAs, DVD-CD players, radios, computers, satellite receivers, routers, and a TV. I hadn't really thought of it before now, but all those things will eventually go away. From my experience in Silicon Valley, I know electronics has a limited life. It may be several years, but usually not more than ten. Some of the older tube stuff may still be working, but most of the semiconductor circuits will have died.
I think this fuel shortage has probably broken the back of our electronics industry since most of these things were made in the Far East anyway. There will not be a way to replace them. Interesting how in the past we lived in a world of planned obsolescence, and now we have to live in a world of inevitable obsolescence.
Salt. We don't use much salt, but it is vital from time to time. I checked, and we are down to the bottom of the shaker. So we need to stock up on a supply of several packages of salt.
Soap. We have a good stock at this point, but sometime in the future we need to find an alternative source. Unfortunately, that soap requires some kind of fat. Time to check into old-time recipes. And maybe I better buy some of those old style tubs.
Clothes. We are in good shape now, but in time everything will probably wear out. I don't know what will happen in the future. Most of the cloth made in the world is made outside the US.
All in all, doing this inventory makes me worried about future shortages. This country just does not have the right kind of industries to support us. Things have been going bad with this currently fuel crisis, but we have more problems coming up in the future that may make these times look bright.
Sam
the Prudent RVer
