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What Can You Do About the End of Cheap Oil?
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Some things are fairly obvious. Trade in your gas guzzler for a more fuel-efficient car. Move closer to your job (or find a better job near you!). Try bicycling to work. Not only do you save money on gas but you’ll be more physically fit. Or sign up with the
Commuter Register, sponsored by CDTA. The Commuter Register is a web-based carpool initiative to bring together people who live and work near each other. For instance, thousands of people work in the University Heights area of Albany. If you work there, chances are one of your neighbors does too.
On the home front, there are a lot of things you can do to make your house more energy efficient. The New York Energy $mart website has a number of energy saving tips and links to contractors that do home energy audits.
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Food doesn’t seem like much of an issue right now, but visit a few peak oil web sites and you’ll quickly realize our food distribution system is pretty fragile. We want to keep our local farmers in business so consider participating in community supported agriculture (there are several CSA farms near here) and stop by the farmers markets in the area. Also, try growing your own food in a backyard garden. Winter is a great time for poring over seed catalogs.
Start pestering your local government to improve energy efficiency in government buildings and for more efficient transportation of government services and officials. (Does the mayor really need to drive an SUV on city business?) Lobby for a change in zoning laws to encourage clustering of residential and commercial space to reduce the need for cars. And work to preserve open space. We can do without another subdivision.
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