Red State Green

Here’s a list if you’d like to read more about a given topic (pdf files require free Adobe Acrobat download to read):

Peak Oil

• On the Precipice: Energy Security and Economic Stability on the Edge by Major Daniel L. Davis, United States Army (pdf file)
• Facing the Hard Truths about Energy: A comprehensive view to 2030 of global oil and natural gas. National Petroleum Council draft report, July 18, 2007 (422 pages, pdf file)
• Nuclear Energy and the Fossil Fuels, by M. King Hubbert, geologist for Shell Oil. Presented before the American Petroleum Institute in March 1956. The first presentation of the concept of peak oil. (57 pages, pdf file)
• CRUDE OIL: Uncertainty about Future Oil Supply Makes It Important to Develop a Strategy for Addressing a Peak and Decline in Oil Production. Report to Congressional Requesters by the United States Government Accountability Office, February 2007. (82 pages, pdf file)
• Arithmetic, Population and Energy, lecture by Dr. Albert Barnett, retired Professor of Physics from the University of Colorado in Boulder (58 minutes, video (wmv) or audio (mp3) recording). Highly recommended, very clear presentation of the problems associated with growth.
• Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation & Risk Management by Robert L. Hirsch, SAIC, Project Leader, Roger Bezdek, MISI, Robert Wendling, MISI, February, 2005 (aka “The Hirsch Report”). (91 pages, pdf file)

Energy Conservation

• US Oil Dependency — The New Weapon of Mass Disruption by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph E. Czarnik, United States Army Reserve. USAWC Strategy Research Project, March 30, 2007 (18 pages, pdf file). Good discussion of US oil consumption and how it affects national security.
• BP Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2007 (48 pages, pdf file). Overview of world energy production and consumption from a major energy producer (BP brands in the US include Arco, Castrol, and AM/PM)
• IEA Response for Oil Supply Emergencies, International Energy Agency, 2007

Gardening

• Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work by Mel Bartholomew (link goes to Amazon.com). I found my copy in a used book store. Great basic reference book for home vegetable gardening.
• Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long by Eliot Coleman. I absolutely love this book. If you want to be self-sufficient with your food year-round, you must get this. He harvests fresh food in the dead of winter, in Maine; he knows what he’s talking about!
• Permaculture. Video detailing the history and principles of permaculture. (53 minute Google video, may also be downloaded to iPod/PSP for later viewing)
• Farming with nature. Permaculture Farmer Sepp Holzer in Austria discusses his 45 hectar sized permaculture landscape - the biggest and most successful in Europe. This clip is a piece of the film “Farming With Nature”, which you can find at www.ecofilm.de (5 minute YouTube video)

Food preservation and storage

• Putting Food By by Janet Greene (link goes to Amazon.com)
• Stocking Up III: America’s Classic Preserving Guide by Carol Hupping (link goes to Amazon.com)
• CanningUSA — website with step-by-step videos of how to can various foods
• Food Product Dating — information on food product dates and how to interpret them. From the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. (4 page pdf file)
• Plastic Containers — article in National Geographic’s Green Guide on the types of plastic used with food: which are safe, which can be recycled, and which can be dangerous, especially if used for storage.

Self-sufficient cooking

• How to make a rocket stove Step by step instructions on making a stove that requires only a few sticks of wood for fuel. Great idea if you can’t cook indoors (gas and/or power goes out, no working fireplace, camping). Also has a short introduction to solar cooking at the end. (QuickTime video)

Water conservation

• Saving Water Outdoors Courtesy of the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Some information is specific to Florida but most can be useful for any home. (pdf file)
• The Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting Courtesy of the Texas Water Development Board. Some information is specific to Texas but gives a good basic overview of large-scale rainwater harvesting, with charts and diagrams on what is needed to convert to using rainwater alone for your home water needs. It also has a chapter on home water conservation. (88 pages, pdf file)
• Water Conservation Fact Sheet from the American Red Cross (5 pages, pdf file)

Check back, I’ll be adding to this list as I find more. If you run across a book, video or essay that you believe would be helpful, please let me know about it. Also, let me know about any dead links so I can get you the information from a different site.

I try to make sure every item here is public domain or permission has been given by the author to post the material. If your publication is here and it shouldn’t be, please contact me.