The March Hare: Winter '06
Issue 47

Every Little Bit • Knitting • Dignified Poncho • Cat House • Ask a Rabbit • Hey/Hay! • Roof Interview • Nature Corner

Big thanks to inquisitive readers Jake and Liza! Please send your queries of a curious nature to askarabbit@dancingrabbit.org.

How do you think the coming peak in world oil production will affect life at Dancing Rabbit?

Rabbit 1: Will there be a coming peak in world oil? It seems like the abundance of cheap coal in the US, and more efficient ways to extract oil from sands and shales in the US and Canada, will probably put off "peak oil"-style severe price shocks for another few decades at least. Instead, our culture will simply increase the damaging effects of how we obtain cheap energy: accelerating global warming, spreading toxic metals, decimating groundwater resources, and destroying habitat continent-wide. I think preventing these things is where eco-activists should be focusing their energy, instead of worrying about peak oil.

Rabbit 2: I don't think that it will impact our lifestyle very much. We are already doing a lot to minimize the impact of peak oil problems-ride-sharing, growing as much of our own food as possible, reducing consumption, re-using products, living cooperatively, etc. I imagine that we will work harder at eliminating unnecessary trips and having the maximum number of people on each trip. I think we may find that many more people become interested in visiting/learning more about our lifesyle as awareness of peak oil increases-so, I imagine our correspondence/phone calls will dramatically increase. I think we may get a lot of "fear-based" requests for membership from people who are afraid society is collapsing.

Rabbit 3: I think peoples of the industrialized world will need to get much more intimate with plants and water.

Rabbit 4: I think that we are much more equipped to adapt to a post-Peak Oil world than people "out there". Even if there is a collapse of the entire American economic system, I think that we have the capacity to convert to full self-sufficiency when we start to see the crash beginning. Even if (when?) the outside systems collapse, I think we're capable of maintaining a relatively stable local economy, especially in cooperation with Sandhill, Red Earth Farms, and local Mennonite farmers.

Rabbit 5: If, as energy costs rise, things and services gradually become more and more expensive, we will adjust. We will grow a larger proportion of our food here and travel much less with the vehicles. We will simplify our lives to reduce need of energy and other outside inputs. If, due to stock market overreaction and panic, the economy collapses into a depression, we might have trouble making changes fast enough and might have problems paying the land's mortgage note, thereby losing the property. My fear is that the outside economy will change too fast due to overreaction to stalling growth, because the idea of never-ending growth underpins capital worth and investment.

Rabbit 6: I think DR will be affected if oil prices go up or are destabilized, but I think we will be less affected than the wider culture. We do much more for ourselves and are less reliant on petro-based transport for our day-to-day lives. On the other hand, we are not self-sufficient: even though we don't drive every day, we still get deliveries of food and other products shipped from around the country. We may end up seeing higher interest in DR as the wider culture becomes more aware of the economic and cultural dynamics associated with our dependence on petroleum.

What is the hardest time of year to be at DR?

Rabbit 2: Summer is the hardest time of year for me because we have so many visitors, guests, and tours in the summertime. I think that this will get easier now that we are setting up a more structured visitor program. Rabbit 3: Forty degrees and a week of rain in April brings the most torment to my bones.

Rabbit 5: For me, it's mid-summer. My body no longer handles the heat very well. I get really miserable. I also have to avoid getting too much sun since I do not tan - just repeatedly burn. But my income comes from construction work, and I'm trying to grow all my own food - so I must get out there in the sun and heat. Spring and fall are pleasant. Winter is great; I love it.

Rabbit 6: Every time of year has its pluses and minuses for me. Spring brings a new beginning, plus the return of flowers and birds. But spring also brings ticks. Summer brings bountiful food from the garden, yet the occasionally oppressive heat. Fall brings cooler days, harvest parties, and beautiful colors on trees and prairie grasses, but also means a rush to finish projects by winter and a certain weariness at the end of a busy season. Winter brings cold and ice, which can be a bummer when the ice is your frozen breathe while biking. But it is amazing when it's the shimmering frost on the trees.

Curious about your energy consumption?
Here are some energy-related websites with lots of stats: htttp://www.eia.doe.gov http://www.davidsuzuki.org http://earthtrends.wri.org

Every Little Bit • Knitting • Dignified Poncho • Cat House • Ask a Rabbit • Hey/Hay! • Roof Interview • Nature Corner •