Eat the Suburbs: Gardening for the End of the Oil Age

EAT THE SUBURBS takes the oil debate from the bowser to the backyard and follows Melbourne's "permablitzers" as they prepare for the end of the oil age... one garden at a time.

A film by Tanya Curnow.

See:
www.richardheinberg.com
www.permablitz.net

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• permaculture
• permablitz
• peak oil
• gardening
• richard heinberg
• asha bee
• tanya curnow
• transition

[cyrusp100]

Why are you guys growing so many annual vegetables?

I though permaculture emphasises perennial systems i.e. fruit and nut trees, nitrogen fixing support species etc?

[manchovie]

Perhaps because that was a blitz in a rental, the emphasis was on the annual vegies. That was blitz #5 or so in Melbourne and we're now up to #85. 90% of blitzes do have food forests, fruit trees/chicken systems or other perennial systems. All of them feature legumes for fixing nitrogen.

[manchovie]

Sorry LoneOarman, there are no hydrogen mines. Hydrogen isn't an energy source, just a way of storing energy (and a problematic one at that -- the molecules are so small they leak through metal tanks for one). We're no more going to run the economy of hydrogen than we are off duracels.

[saintveil]

Manchovie: Stan Meyer Water Cracking/Fracturing Secrets...

v=YGp7hMUXjmI

[manchovie]

Saintveil: The useful energy you get back when you burn the hydrogen will always be less than what it took to crack the water -- that's basic thermodynamics.

[numbnuts234567]

Most calories are from fats and sugars. To get just 2100 calories from vegetables you would need to eat 2 pounds each of the following: broccoli, cauliflower, onion, potato, carrot and cucumber. That's 12 pounds of vegetables each day. And don't leave out those potatos because they are 800 of the calories. So...you had better plan on growing some olive trees for fat and some sugar beets or sugar cane for sugar. Or keep some bees. Don't think you can live on vegetables.

[MrEnergyCzar]

Heinberg lives the way we all should, small lot producing a lot of food.....

[seaviewzoo3]

Great video guys we have just started a permablitz group in Adelaide thank you so much for all the work you have done and shared to make it easier for others to get inspired and going.

[johnTconover]

Touch a raw nerve there huh? You high brow snobby wankers deserve whats coming. I spent almost two years travelling the world and never have I met a more shallow, egotistical and competitive group of people. You put the parisians to shame, at least they have something to be snobby about... The truth obviously hurts, deal with it...

[libervisco]

Isn't changing our strategies and things like what this video shows precisely an example of human intelligent problem-solving?

I agree those who deny and then just sit on their asses with blind hope that everyone else will do the job are bad. I think the minimum anyone should do is spread this idea and try to build a new culture.

But it IS about intelligent problem-solving. It's just that for this to actually occur we need to make it into a self-fulfilling prophecy and actually do the solving!

[johnTconover]

Melbournians, they drive through our small farming towns on holidays and long weekends in there BMW SUV's, only stopping to ask where they can buy a mocca choca latte, vegitarian pizza, croissant or some shit. They know the answer but ask only to make us small inferior simpletons feel like we are missing out on the real joys of life that only the enlightened liberal city folk know. Bring on peak oil.

[ladytezt]

The only problem with this video is that it's not a GREAT depiction of veggie gardening! It is possible to have a productive and attractive garden, but you wouldn't know it looking at the hot mess of that PermaBlitz. Yuck.