POSTMODERN SOLUTIONS for A POST-COLLAPSE WORLD Humans are cultural animals. Culture is what makes us human. For over 2 million years, we have used culture to capture energy and create a buffer between ourselves and the physical environment. For over 10,000 years, we have used agriculture to capture even more energy and spread around the globe. For over 5,000 years we have used culture to create complex societies and civilizations. However, for the last 150 years we have been using cheap oil energy to replace culture in daily life. Instead of solving problems with cultural behaviors we just throw more cheap oil energy at whatever comes up. Now that oil is becoming scarce and expensive, we are faced with a dilemma. Soon the laws of physics will confront us directly, without the cushion of cheap oil and without a robust cultural buffer. What in the world are we going to do? Walter Haugen has spent over 45 years analyzing this problem and developing solutions. -First we need to change our paradigm from wasteful reliance on fossil fuel energy. -Then we need to take positive steps to fulfill our needs with lowered energy inputs. We can do this by rediscovering the most efficient engine we have - the human body. Not only can we do tremendous amounts of work with low food energy inputs, we can also leverage the positive feedback loop of using the human engine to grow its own fuel. Then we can say with some satisfaction, "The laws of physics are on OUR side."
About the Author: Walter Haugen comes from a long line of farmers, stretching back over 400 years in the US, Norway and Sweden. He has worked in a multitude of other jobs as well, including migrant worker, archaeologist, college professor, statistics tutor, circus ringmaster, professional poker player, waiter, cook, punch press operator, word processor and construction worker. He learned his politics in the 1960's selling (and reading) underground newspapers. Later in life he attended college, law school and graduate school. His master's degree is in biological anthropology and his graduate work focused on applying robust statistical methods to examine differences between Neandertals and modern humans. His current research focuses on adapting crops to new climatic conditions and promoting small-scale agriculture. He helped start three farmers markets and gives away thousands of dollars in food each year. He does not own a tractor.