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Post Peak Living UnCrash Course
It's taken Thomas Friedman some time to get to this point, but we're glad he has finally started to see what is happening. Perhaps he would have learned faster if he had watched our video, Preparing for a Post Peak Life.
We are at the beginning of converging crises, each building on the other: the financial meltdown, peak oil and dramatic climate change. Perhaps with just one we could have managed, but the impacts from all three are going to test us in ways we haven't imagined yet. The changes to our lifestyle have already begun and the trajectory is clear. It is now virtually certain that we will watch oil become scarce, crop yields decline, sea levels rise — and our whole financial structure buckle under the strain.
Are you preparing for this perfect storm of global crises? Do you even know how to prepare? Will you simply hunker down or will you see the opportunities to create a new life as well?
Our course, led by expert instructors who have been preparing for years, will go beyond preparation and will teach you to become someone who is committed to being a vital member of their community and living a fulfilling life during and after the transition away from fossil fuels. Creating community begins right away as course participants share their knowledge with each other via a private online forum in between course sessions.
Next Pre-Recorded Course Starts Saturday July 31, 2010.
Next Instructor-Led Course Starts Saturday October 23, 2010.
Get ready quickly
The instructors have already spent years learning what you need to know and will generously share their knowledge with you. They will tell you the essential skills that are the most valuable to learn now.
Save Money
We'll make sure you don't go down blind alleys we've already investigated or purchase products that won't last or aren't worth the money.
Receive Support Throughout the Course
The course instructors participate in the private forum answering questions and point out additional resources that address your direct question.
Involve the Whole Family
Gather the whole family around the computer to learn new material and afterwards begin working on the homework assignments together.
You can continue to wait for global warming to reduce crop yields, oil to shoot back up to over $100 per barrel or for deflation or hyperinflation to wipe out the middle class. Or you can start preparing now because you can see that we are all going to experience remarkable lifestyle changes.
In this six week online course, not only will you mentally prepare for a very different world, you will prepare in these key areas:
Health
You will learn to prepare for a declining health care system in the medium term due to the collapsing economy:
- why getting healthy now could make a big difference later
- key medicines to get while they are widely available
- alternatives to Western medicine that are clinically proven to work
In addition, we will cover pandemic preparation including:
- How pandemics are likely to look in the future
- Practices and products to put in place and purchase now
Skills
As unemployment increases, the formal economy will decline and the informal one will grow. This will require a new set of skills so that you can obtain goods and services. Perhaps paradoxically, it's also an excellent time to start a business. Many imported products will disappear from the shelves leaving room for local manufacturers and repair people.
As we get poorer, we believe most jobs that exist today will disappear. They are a product of an energy abundant world. We'll show you how to navigate the transition period — the period when you have to earn money in the current economy while learning your new skill.
In addition, you will learn:
- how to select a skill that returns the greatest profit
- the essential skills everyone should learn
- how to avoid the pitfalls people fall into while transitioning
- how to start learning those skills
- why industrial society will not disappear and how to use that during your preparation
Food
It takes time to learn how to grow food, so we'll get you started right away, plus we'll cover:
- how the "just-in-time" food system will be impacted by the financial crisis, peak oil and climate change — and how to prepare
- growing food in suburban and urban environments
- which kinds of food to grow and what you will need to grow them
- how to get started with backyard animals like chickens and goats
Transportation
In a world of declining oil, transportation will dramatically change. Find out:
- how to prepare for sky-high oil prices and oil shortages, which will greatly impact transportation
- whether we will be driving electric cars or electric bikes, and why
- which of the new transportation technologies we think are worth purchasing (should you buy an electric car? If so, what do you need to look for during your purchase?)
- how to get ready for more difficult mobility
- why even public transportation is going to get more difficult, and how you can prepare for that
Finances and Shelter
As jobs disappear and people watch the prospect of retirement disappear, handling your current wealth will be critical. Also, the nature of shelter is already changing with families and friends moving in with each other; more changes are on the way. In this section, you will learn:
- what to do with your assets
- innovative ways to stay sheltered during the transition
- alternative ways to heat a house
- the most cost-effective efficiency improvements for a home
Disaster Preparation
As Hurricane Katrina showed us, even in a healthy economy the government will strain to help people recover from disasters. As oil declines, you will need to be resilient and have established a strong community around you. In this section, you will learn:
- what makes a great earthquake/disaster kit
- skills to know for a disaster
- how to create a disaster plan for your family
- how much food and water you really need
Throughout the course, we'll point out which books to have on your bookshelf, which skills to begin learning now and which products to buy while they are still available (particularly imported ones).
The course textbook is When Technology Fails: A Manual For Self-Reliance, Sustainability, And Surviving The Long Emergency by Matthew Stein.
Instructors
Your course has one of two instructors.
André Angelantoni, BSc.
Civil Engineering
Previously a sustainability consultant who supported over 35 businesses to obtain their Green Business Certification, Mr. Angelantoni is the Co-Founder of Post Peak Living and the author of The Guide to Post Peak Living. He has been preparing for the impact of peak oil and climate change since 2007. He is a registered Federal Emergency Management Agency volunteer (trained for post-earthquake remediation) and has given preparation presentations to business (Sun, eBay, business groups), politicians and citizen groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Mr. Angelantoni also helped found Post Carbon Marin.
Jason Bradford, Ph.D.
Evolutionary and Population Biology
Dr. Bradford is an expert biologist who has been working in Mendocino, CA on relocalization issues for the past four years. He founded WELL (Willits Economic Localization) and has pioneered how to grow food in suburban environments; he harvests rainwater from his roof and runs an organic, commercial farm (see http://www.well95490.org). Dr. Bradford is also the host of The Reality Report, a long-format interview radio show in Mendocino in which he interviews the leading figures in energy and relocalization (click here for past shows). Dr. Bradford was a key advisor in the development of the UnCrash Course curriculum.
When and Where
Pre-Recorded Version
The new pre-recorded version has no instructor and uses pre-recorded sessions that you can watch any time that's convenient to you. The course is still structured so that you move through the six week program with a group of people. In other words, everyone is working on Session #1 homework at the same time, then Session #2, and so on. Each week you will ask questions and exchange information in the private forums on that week's topic and submit your homework for the whole group to see and provide feedback. The instructors monitor the discussions and clarify ideas or point out additional resources. There is no instructor feedback on the food and energy strategy homework in this version of the course (although fellow course participants always have very valuable insight and experience).
Being able to listen to the session material whenever is convenient is perfect for people who can't make six consective sessions on Saturdays.
This course requires a high-speed Internet connection (cable, DSL, satellite); dial-up is not fast enough for the streaming video. If you do not have a high-speed internet connection, your local library might or you can visit a friend or relative to watch each session. Sessions are approximately one hour long. Also, there are approximately six hours of video homework to watch throughout the course.
The next pre-recorded course starts on July 31, 2010 and continues for six weeks.
Instructor-Led Version
The instructor-led course takes place over six weeks on Sunday mornings from 10am to 1pm PST (Convert to other time zones.) and occurs completely online. Participants call a conference call service to participate in the real-time discussions (and hear the instructor) while watching a presentation online, people with a dial-up Internet connection will need a cell phone or other way to connect to the audio.
There is a 5-minute break approximately at 11am and noon.
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October 23 |
You may want a good long distance plan, calling cards or you can use a service such as Skype.
Compare the pre-recorded version to the Instructor-Led version:
| Course Version | All Session Materials and Resource Lists | Live Instructor | Moderated Private Online Forum | Homework Feedback | When? |
| Pre-Recorded | Yes | No | Yes | From other participants | On your schedule |
| Realtime Instructor-led | Yes | Yes | Yes | From instructors and other participants | Same time each week |
Price
The price for the pre-recorded course is $119; please purchase the textbook separately. It includes single login account for the private course forum. The homework takes between two and six hours each week.
For the Instructor-led version, the early registration price is $199 until two weeks before the course start date. Registration includes all six sessions and forum support. Regular registration is priced at $249. You must be able to attend the first session and at least four of all six sessions.
With the Instructor-led version, your food and energy strategy
receive personalized instructor feedback. The homework takes between
two and six hours each week. Please register in this version of
the course only if you are willing to commit this amount of time to
your preparation.
Though the online forums are always busy and useful, the
conversations that occur during the instructor-led courses tend to have
more depth and richness because people are speaking with each other in
real-time.
Families Learn from Each Other
All course participants get a dedicated online forum to exchange information and accelerate their learning. You will have homework. You do not have to do the homework but considering what is at stake that would be unfortunate.
You are registering per household so that means you can have multiple people attend, including older children (ages 14 and up). We make the tone light so families can participate. If your whole family participates, you will definitely have fun together building gardens, building solar ovens and having conversations over dinner.
It's Crunch Time
Time is the most important thing you have available right now. It takes time to organize and learn and plan.
Extra Coaching
Individual coaching is available from the instructors. Please contact us for more information and rates.
July 31, 2010 Pre-Recorded Course
Saturday October 23, 2010
Realtime Instructor-Led Course
Do you have a course that prepares people for a Post Peak life?
If you do, please click here to find out what we're looking for.
