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I can probably count you all on two hands here in the great GREENSboro, but perhaps, in time, some of you will be sending me tips.

The following lists are pretty comprehensive -- and overwhelming for the peak oil/green novice. But I find if I take a slow, steady approach and be honest with my resources and time commitment I can realistically work on a few of these each year. Just last year I started gardening and shopping at farmers markets, replaced paper towels with cloth towels, changed my bulbs to compact flourescents and bought two racks to hang dry clothes indoors. Remember, slow and steady.

This list of 100 steps by Sharon Astyk breaks down steps by season. Examples include setting up rainbarrel systems and joining community-supported agriculture. Residents can find resources for doing these two things right in the city. Astyk's remaining 100 steps are here.

Some of these tips are good to do even without peak oil or climate change as a motivating factor. I view them as part of a general lifestyle change to self-sufficiency and simplicity. I also find them quite an experiment in self-education and discovery. So much about our local environment people do not know. And so much knowledge has been lost because of an economy that promotes a complex division of labor and outsourcing of generalist skills that a couple generations ago people took for granted (i.e. food preservation, knitting, herbal medicine, bartering/bargaining).

For example, how many of us know how to treat a cold without running to the local drugstore? While my maternal grandmother didn't frown at over-the-counter medicines, her repertoire of cures included prune juice and castor oil for regularity, honey/lemon and onion tea for coughs, steam for runny noses and cold baths/alcohol rubs for fevers.

And what about bartering/bargaining? That's looked down upon in commercial shopping centers that increasingly rely upon credit (kudos though to the 50% off sale on China-produced sweaters that will unravel before the winter's out). But in some parts, bargaining is an acceptable part of the purchasing process. Bargaining can go a long way in a financially contracting economy, but it does require skill.

Some people may find these skills obsolete but I believe they will regain popularity over time because they are actually more efficient than buying a whole bunch of stuff at the store. For example, honey has many uses so even if I don't use it to treat a cold, I can still eat it. But there have been many occasions when I have purchased a medicine that did not work as advertised, or combined with other chemicals had the potential to cause a negative reaction. Some medicines and antiobiotics, such as penicillin, are a must. But how many types of cold and sinus medicine do we need?  Of course, one of the main reasons we take medicine is not because we can't recover without it, but because we can't let a cold (or menstruation, for the ladies) interfere with our paychecks.