We want to hear about what you're doing to reduce your oil dependency by 3 percent per year. Share your stories, experiences (both good and bad!), tips, and ideas to help others adopt strategies for reducing their dependence on oil. Please indicate if you would like your name and location posted with your comments.

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Tankless water heater and new scooter

Justin S., NY, USA

I got my ideas from my wife's culture... they all use tankless water heaters and/or solar to save energy. I live in upstate NY, we don't always have sun, so I went tankless. I also bought a scooter for any in-town trips, eventually want to expand it to my 20 mile commute or purchase a slightly more powerful one to go 55 mph long range. I grow vegetables and I am cutting out meat.

Seven steps taken in the journey

Steve M.

A few of things that I have done:
1. Stack bags of leaves against the north and west sides of my house during winter to increase the insulation. In the spring, I compost the leaves and store the bags to use again.
2. Planted a garden. I started small and have expanded each year.
3. Bought a rain barrel made from recycled materials. In fact, I plan to buy a few more because they collect a lot of rain for... (read more)

Heat from the ground in Minnesota

Kelly Boedigheimer, Minnesota

We had groundsource heat installed in our home in northern Minnesota. Rather than burning fuel oil we now heat and cool with dirt and minimal electricity. We are going into our 11th year of growing our own vegetables. We pressure can and dehydrate as much as possible for the year. This year we are expanding and adding navy type beans to dry, strawberries, raspberries and possibly apples. Next step will be chickens for eggs. We replaced all lightbulbs in our home with... (read more)

Cycling in Canberra

Ross Buchanan, Canberra, Australia

I am now trying to replace as many commutes by car with my pushbike - cycling to work, friends places and the like. I did not appreciate what a horribly wasteful and stupid thing is modern traffic congestion until I started regular cycling. And believe me - Canberra is a city totally built around the motor car. I have also been organic vege gardening for a while now - I'm gradually learning the hard way about gardening in a city... (read more)

Going beyond recycling

Gerry Evans

What I have done is to design and patent a concept that will reduce the world's dependence on oil, reduce energy usage, fossil fuels, water, chemicals, plus cut pollution of all kind including the ever growing problem of landfill sites. It is called Reusa-Can www.reusacan.com. It will cut the equivalent of 4% off the UK's energy demand. Basically I have found a way of refurbishing (not recycling)such everyday items as baked bean, soup and pet food cans without... (read more)

Transition to a sustainable lifestyle

Will Childs, Dorset, GB

I guess I arrived long ago at a reduction in oil by-product usage by being:

1) Ultra health-conscious

2) A nature-loving eco hippy!

Having had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I found I could no longer wear items containing polyester, vinyl and other sythetics. Nor could I wash myself, my clothes or my house in petro-chemical based detergent products. They steal your energy away, damaging organs and natural hormones. Imagine what they do to plants and creatures! We need to start buying these... (read more)

7 steps to enlightenment!

Karoline G.

1. I sold my car and rely on walking, biking, bus, BART, rides, City Car Share (San Fran)

2. Got rid of my TV

3. Bring bags to stores or say "I don't need a bag" to the clerk.

4. Trying to Re-use sandwich bags - but I at least clean them out and recycle them.

5. Got the bulk mail people at UCS F to send out department 100 less copies of bulk mailings.

6. Go to the Civic Center... (read more)

A myriad of ways to reduce energy...

Laura Louzader

As an urbanite, I'm accustomed to living carless, so that requires no adjustment. If a person lives close to good, public transit, it is easy to ditch the car. I do my marketing once per month and have my groceries delivered by the store, which makes many deliveries along one route, thus saving several consumer car trips. Switching to CFL bulbs has reduced my average monthly electric bill from $30 to $19, which is a 33% reduction.

When I purchase... (read more)

Reproduce less

Rebecca Bozarth, DVM

To help decrease our petroleum usage, my husband and I both drive biodiesel fueled vehicles, using biofuel from our local co-op (recycled fryer oil). Of course we buy organic, recycle, etc. But the #1 way that we decrease our use of oil is one that I think needs to have a lot more attention from any group that wants to address sustainable living/peak oil/quality of life.

The primary cause of our current crisis is really human overpopulation. To address... (read more)

Ideas and musings

Tom Ruen, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

I've not changed anything in response the the ODP, but gone without a car now for 18 months and made it through one Minnesota winter so far between a bike and bus for commuting, ride-sharing to events outside my range as possible, and generally moving about less than I did when I had a car.

I've had a backyard garden and local community garden plot now for somewhere around a decade and figure my local veggies save money... (read more)

Forward thinking

Shodo Spring 

I still have a car, but upgraded my bicycle to one that's easier to ride - and I ride it for most of my business. Last summer I used Greyhound for what would have been a 7-hour car drive to see my parents. I've discovered Megabus and hope to use it soon. I don't mind saving money while I save the planet.

I've been aware for a long time, but it got really serious after I visited my 5-month-old grandson right after... (read more)

Olive trees and a goat...

Edward Metcalfe

All our vegetable scraps go into a container of yeasty water and are dug into the soil once a week. We will be getting a smaller car and I also use a push-bike quite a lot. Living in a desert I am growing olive trees and blue bush and let the garden grow wild. Will fatten up a goat on this from time to time.

Science teachers make the switch

Karl and Robin Frank

Robin and I teach middle school science for the obscenely rich. We're naturalists and our fascination with the wild world has fostered a strong commitment to minimal fossil fuel usage, but this summer we switched over to waste vegetable oil for about half of our combined 10,000 or so miles a year. It feels good, and it seems that many around us are doing the same.

Role model

Dan Lafreniere, McGill University Canada

A few of the ways that I have modified my lifestyle to help the environment and lessen the dependence on oil –

- I commute to work every day by bicycle (almost without exception) eight months out of twelve (the bike baths are not open from December through March)

- The remaining four months I use public transport (train or bus)

- I buy in bulk whenever possible; buy organic produce as well as fair... (read more)

The lifestyle of the future, lived today

Bonnie Parker-Duke, Arkansas, USA

We are trying very hard to reduce our dependence on oil.

My husband and I have adopted the 100-mile diet but are easing into it as we can locate local resources. For now we are still buying some things that have been trucked in because I am 60 and he is 65 and we believe we need to maintain good nutrition in order to stay healthy. We're finding more and more resources, as... (read more)

Moving closer to work, reducing commute

Scott Crytser, Charlotte, NC, USA

I am doing the minimum in the face of the pending doom: I rabble-rouse and educate; I recycle; I keep up on the technology such as attending the Clean Air Car Fair this weekend in the mountains of North Carolina; and we drive a Prius.

We also just moved (again) to be near our employment. And that is an option that more people ought to consider.

I was able to move across the street from... (read more)

Living off the grid

Terry Ohm, San Francisco, USA

I live in San Francisco, I walk or bike and only drive a car to leave the
city. I sold my condo and purchased property off the grid to develop. I
try to purchase locally produced products...

Looking forward to $5/L petrol

Michael Dwyer, Adelaide Peak Oil and Beyond Oil Energy S.A.

I ride my bicycle not because it is a great good to give to the community but because it is FUN. If I am in a car I look at the distance covered and sigh and wish it were lower but when I am on my bike, I look at my mileage and get a big buzz when I clock up another hundred. Strength in the legs is like pennies in the... (read more)

Big changes, no sacrifices

Kathleen Rolinson, Oakland, USA 

I currently drive a prius and power my home by PV (Solar) panels. The next step is solar hot water (when the funds allow). I take mass transit when possible - am looking to commit 1 day a week to public transport.  Also teach worm composting classes (am a master composter).  Simple things like using CF lights, have all 'ghost' appliances on power strips turned off at night, compost/recycle/reuse - limit trucking of waste off to landfills. Buy locally grown food... (read more)

Cooking without carbon

Stephen Kerr, Toronto, Canada

I’m reducing my oil use by cooking my food with solar energy.

Over the summer I started a company called Sun Baked, whose mission is to promote sustainable solar cooking in Canada. My solar cooking is chronicled and documented on my blog at cookingwithoutcarbon.blogspot.com and you can find my business online at www.solarcooking.ca. Sun Baked has adopted the Oil Depletion Protocol.

I started Sun Baked after years in the solar water... (read more)

Reducing oil dependency in staple food production

Aaron Edmonds, Australia Nuts

Ironically it is a native plant that has not been exposed to modern man’s short sighted breeding efforts that offers Australian grain farmers the ability to greatly reduce energy dependency in food production. Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) is a unique native tree crop highly adapted to Australia’s harsh conditions. The tree produces nuts that are high in oil (60%) and protein (18%) with the kernel oil being largely monounsaturated (55%) - the healthiest of oils. It requires no nitrogen... (read more)

A journey: product manager to eco-hostel manager

Andrew & Kamila, Australia

Background:
I first heard about Peak Oil about two years ago - not long after discovering Permaculture - in David Holmgren's Permaculture Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. At the time I was working as a Product Manager at an Australian appliance manufacturer and feeling more uneasy every day as like most businesses, their was a relentless focus on continued growth. The company (150 years old) originally made wood fired ovens, but eventually transformed into an electric... (read more)

Local, organic food

Greg Krafchick, Canada

I don't own a car, always bring my own bags to the store when I buy stuff (no oil-derived plastic) and don't travel a lot.

To achieve this however, I really do need to look more at organic foods and most importantly local food. Easy to do in Ontario in the summer, less easy in the winter coming from someone who hates turnip. We have a big garden in the backyard, so that will help.

Whatever the case, I'm... (read more)

The Power of Community

Tracey Ledel, US

We are lucky to have a local "sustainable community" organization http://www.livabilityproject.org here in Pacifica to start encouraging relocalization.

I encourage everyone to watch the documentary "The Power of Community – How Cuba Survived Peak Oil".

Very inspiring on how to cope with the coming end of the oil economy.

100 mile diet and winter gardens

Bonnie Parker, US

• reduced our electric bill (we have an all electric home) by 25%
• drive less, own a Honda Civic Hybrid (2004)
• hang our laundry
• are on the 100 Mile Diet
• are buying as much as possible locally, working toward buying all locally

I think the next thing is to plant a winter garden.

On the right track

Peter Lunsford, US

I...

• moved 25 miles closer to work
• am now moving to the most sustainable municipality in the nation (Portland/Beaverton)
• bought a bike and bicycle almost everywhere (only used 4 tanks of gas in the car over the past 10 months)
• am seeking to sell the car and join a car co-op
• replaced all lightbulbs in my home with compact fluorescents
• bought a pressure canner and learned to "put up" food

More to come.

Individual steps really do add up

Molly & Jim Brown, US

We:

• converted our front lawn into a vegetable garden
• built a solar greenhouse on the front of our house
• bought new energy efficient appliances, bought electric-powered bicyles (actually, one is a three-wheel recumbent model), which we use for errands around town
• installed a wood stove
• plan to install a solar hot water system soon
• will sell our pick-up truck soon, but will keep our little Ford Escort that gets upwards from 30 mpg

Eventually, we would like to install... (read more)

10% industry reduction

David Hawton, Canada

I am of the belief that most large factories can cut their energy usage by 10% minimum.

Areas to look at are:

• installing efficient lighting and motion sensors
• insulating furnaces
• modernizing electrical motors and installing capacitors
• implementing daily checklists for supervisors to turn off unnecesary energy uses
• plugging of compressed air leaks - the single biggest waster of electricity in any factory

Companies like to see fast paybacks - making industry more efficient will buy the world time.

Space Share Project

Stephen Cataldo, US

I'm part of a tiny project doing great work to help people share with their neighbors, especially around carpooling - last week we built carpool sites for the Oregon Country Fair and the Solar 2006 Conference, this weekend two more festivals, getting the message and practical steps in front of 10,000 more people.

This could go national, it could lead to a very easy and safe way to share rides anywhere, I just need a few more people to help... (read more)

10 tenets of living

Sushil Bajpai, India

We need to work towards the following at homes, schools, work place and any place that we visit:

1. Oneness with nature/environment
2. Curiosity for the environment
3. Respect and affection for the environment
4. Judicious use of environment
5. Cleanliness
6. Social responsibility
7. Co-operation and co-existence
8. Commitment to sustainable development
9. Creativity
10. Sensing

6 dimensions of community

Larry Quick, US

We have to leave behind the industrial mindset in which today's Western communities were born, and shift to a living systems understanding where we get that all is interdependent and integrated across six dimensions of community:

• social
• ecological
• economic
• cultural
• education
• built environment

Linear thinking was our past - network thinking is our future.

Reaching the 3% target

Gerald Cecil, US

• Buy in-season and, ideally, local produce (no more Chilean grapes)
• Grow some of your own food
• Walk/bike/take public transportation
• Batch trips
• Replace an old car with a more efficient one and drive it less
• Buy Green electricity
  
• Pass the word

The challenge & destiny of our time

Robert De Souza, Peoples World Project, London

As Sir George Trevelyan says:

We are watching and experiencing a society turning to chaos. That is the essence of change, that outward forces demolish so that the inner idea, the spiritual power, shall be realeased to re-form. This is the adventure of soul metamorphosis. As we awaken to the truth that we are eternal spiritual beings who can dedicate ourselves to the service of the world as conscious instruments through which the higher worlds can... (read more)

Conserving energy via reduced advertising

Vernon Molloy, Canada

I am attaching a recent editorial comment I have been sending to Ontario newspapers:

According to TNS Media Intelligence, USA advertising expenditures in 2005 amounted to $143.3 billion. Using the ten per cent rule-of-thumb, this means Canadian businesses spent something like $14 billion. Let’s be conservative and say North Americans spend $150 billion annually advertising goods and services. So what? In June 2006, Ontario’s Liberal government announced that they would expand and upgrade the province’s nuclear facilities to meet projected... (read more)

Earthship home

Graham Bowkett, New Mexico

It has been a long haul. We started this journey ten years ago. We sold our 3,000 sq. ft. suburban barn of a utility companies dream and
moved to a poor mountainous county where we could build what we wanted. Have 5 acres at 7,500 ft.

We have lived off-grid for the last 8 years in an Airstream with attached enclosed porch allowing a wood burning stove. A good temporary situation. We are finally getting our house up this year,... (read more)