The Low-Tech Times

The Low-Tech Times has covered stories on the possible return of the steam engine in railroading and of horses and mules in farming.

Now, amid continued rising fuel prices, Samatha Gross of the Associated Press reports that more people are trying to become self reliant in case a massive fuel crunch comes:

Convinced the planet’s oil supply is dwindling and the world’s economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn’t prepare.

What do you think? Are these people wackos? Or is better to be safe than sorry?

The Drudge Report featured some interesting links today, including one providing the title of this post.

After The Low-Tech Times covered a story speculating that farmers may switch from tractors to horses if gas prices continue to rise, Breitbart.com reports that some farmers in Tennessee are now turning to mules:

MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - High gas prices have driven a Warren County farmer and his sons to hitch a tractor rake to a pair of mules to gather hay from their fields. T.R. Raymond bought Dolly and Molly at the Dixon mule sale last year. Son Danny Raymond trained them and also modified the tractor rake so the mules could pull it. T.R. Raymond says the mules are slower than a petroleum-powered tractor, but there are benefits.

“This fuel’s so high, you can’t afford it,” he said. “We can feed these mules cheaper than we can buy fuel. That’s the truth.”

Additionally, in a related human-powered story, Jeffrey Collins of the Associated Press reports that police officers are now spending more time outside of their police cruisers due to high fuel prices:

NEWBERRY, S.C. (AP) - With gasoline climbing toward $4 a gallon, police officers around the country are losing the right to take their patrol cars home and are being forced to double up in cruisers and walk the beat more.

Will we see more even human-powered and animal-powered activities in the wake of record high oil prices? Will gas prices continue to rise sharply or will there be some relief?

After the Low-Tech Times reported on possible health risks associated with plastic bottles, some United States Senators have blasted the Food and Drug Administration for not taking action to protect the public against chemical bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a chemical often used in the manufacturing of plastic bottles and other hard plastic items.

Reuters covers the FDA position as well as the Senators’ comments:

“The FDA could hardly be doing less,” Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts told Alderson.

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the FDA was “looking the other way” on safety concerns about BPA. “Parents always err on the side of caution when it comes to their kids’ health. We think that the law should do the same,” he added.

Instead of using plastic bottles containing potentially dangerous chemicals, The Low-Tech Times instead advocates the use of easily washable, reusable glass bottles.