Depletion & Abundance: Life on the New Home Front

Sharon Astyk

New Society Publishers, Sep 1, 2008 - House & Home - 288 pages

Protecting present and future generations in times of crisis.

Climate change, peak oil and economic instability aren't just future social problems-they jeopardize our homes and families right now. Our once-abundant food supply is being threatened by toxic chemical agriculture, rising food prices and crop shortages brought on by climate change. Funding for education and health care is strained to the limit, and safe and affordable housing is disappearing.

Depletion and Abundance explains how we are living beyond our means with or without a peak oil/climate change crisis and that, either way, we must learn to place our families and local communities at the center of our thinking once again. The author presents strategies to create stronger homes, better health and a richer family life and to

• live comfortably with an uncertain energy supply
• prepare children for a hotter, lower energy, less secure world
• survive and thrive in an economy in crisis, and
• maintain a kitchen garden to supply basic food needs.

Most importantly, readers will discover that depletion can lead to abundance, and the anxiety of these uncertain times can be turned into a gift of hope and action.

An unusual family perspective on the topic, this book will appeal to all those interested in securing a future for their children and grandchildren.

Contents

• Where Are We?: 1
• a Primer on Hard Times: 3
• The New Home Front and the Riot for Austerity: 19
• 3 Time to Pick Up Your Hat: 39
• Money Changes Everything: 53
• 4 Meet the Real Economy: 55
• 5 Making Ends Meet: 73
• Real Family ValuesFacing the Future Together: 85
• 6 Taling Population With the Old Men: 87
• 7 The Permaculture of Family: 107
• Family Life and Education: 127
• Home Economics HomeLand Security: 143
• 9 Little House in the Suburbs: 145
• 10 The Beauty and Necessity of the LowEnergy Home: 165
• Food and Health The New Basics: 179
• Grow and Preserve What You Need: 181
• 12 The Hand that Stirs the Pot Rules the World: 197
• 13 Health Care: 213
• Recompense: 229
• 14 Abundance Democracy Joy: 231
• Things You Can Do to Get Ready for Peak Oil Climate Change and Difficult Times: 243
• The Best Books About Nearly Everything: 257
• Index: 267
• About the Author: 273

About the author

Sharon Astyk is a former academic who is a writer, subsistence farmer, parent, activist and prolific blogger (sharonastyk.com and henandharvest.com). She farms in upstate New York with her husband and four children, raises livestock, and grows and preserves vegetables. She is the author of Depletion and Abundance , and co-author of A Nation of Farmers .

Bibliographic information

• Title: Depletion & Abundance: Life on the New Home Front
• Author: Sharon Astyk
• Publisher: New Society Publishers, 2008
• ISBN: 1550923730, 9781550923735
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Development / Sustainable Development; Gardening / Organic; House & Home / Sustainable Living; Social Science / Agriculture & Food; Social Science / Developing & Emerging Countries; Social Science / Sociology / General; Technology & Engineering / Agriculture / General