Commodities

What do we depend on oil for?

This dramatic photograph appeared in National Geographic Magazine's June 2004 issue. It shows a family of two adults and five children surrounded (overwhelmed?) by their belongings, made mostly from oil-based polymers.

The Economy of New Zealand is a market economy which is greatly dependent on international trade. It is strongly dependent on tourism and agricultural exports, and has only small manufacturing and high-tech components. Earnings from agricultural exports and tourism currently fail to cover the imports of advanced manufactured goods required to sustain the New Zealand economy.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_New_Zealand

Possible Solutions

Unfortunately, as so well illustrated above, with nearly everything in our daily lives requiring some oil input, switching exclusively to items with absolutely no oil input may not be a practical option. However, at least reducing our dependency now may make the transition a little easier when the cost of many oil-dependent commodities renders them no longer affordable for most of us.

Food
— growing you own organically will eliminate many petrochemical transportation and fertilizer costs, not to mention the health benefits
— see our Food page for more information and resources

Buy locally produced
— unfortunately, often easier said than done, especially with NZ's less than perfect labelling laws
— you may pay an initially higher initial price for local product but, in addition to workers being paid fairer wages, have you also considered quality and durability - will your cheaper import be repairable in 18 months time?
— be wary of labels stating made for New Zealand, distributed by xxx in New Zealand, made from local and imported ingredients etc - the bulk of the product may still have been made and transported from the other side of the globe

Buy only what you Need
— we all need a treat once in a while, but to do really need to upgrade your iPod, a new car every two years, or a new wardrobe simply because your old clothes are last year's fashion?
— try to distinguish needs from wants

Make and Repair
— revive the lost art of fixing rather than throwing away
— learn to use hand tools, sewing and craft tools
— recycle items by repairing them yourself wherever safe and practical to do so
— learn as many maintenance, craft, and building skills as you can now (library, evening classes?)

Resources

These PDF documents will require that you have installed on your computer a PDF reader such as Adobe Reader, or the much more compact Foxit Reader, which can be freely downloaded from here. It is suggested that, rather than opening a document in your browser, you right mouse click on the button to the right, and elect to "Save target as ..." (Explorer) or "Save link as ... (Firefox).

Thanks go to eHow for this substantial collection.

How to Build a Playhouse How to Clean Hard Water Stains off a Waxed Table How to Cut Leather How to Fix a Hole in your Sock How to Fix an Old Wooden Chair How to Fix Broken Jandals How to Fix Cracked Leather How to Make a Hammock How to Make Moccasins How to Make Twig Furniture How to Reclaim Building Timber How to Remove and Replace a Zipper How to Remove Gum from Fabrics How to Repair a Tear in a Jacket How to Re-use Cotton Clothing How to Set up a Workshop How to Sew a Button How to Sharpen Woodworking Tools How to Tan Deer Hide How to Tan Leather How to Use Recycled Soles on your Soft-Soled Shoes