Coordinator HUB

Past the peak, What now??

wildedu — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:24:25 -0700

Exclusive to Transition Culture! Peter Russell on life after oil, change and consciousness.

Peter Russell studied mathematics and theoretical physics at Cambridge, and then experimental psychology. He traveled to India to study meditation and eastern philosophy, and on his return took up the first research post ever offered in Britain on the psychology of meditation. His principal interest is the deeper, spiritual significance of the times we are passing through. He has written several books in this area, including The Consciousness Revolution, Waking Up in Time, and From Science to God. He recently spoke to a capacity audience in Totnes, and the next morning I went to Schumacher College to interview him for Transition Culture. What do you see as being the key aspects of the challenge facing us? I see a key challenge is the psychological challenge, the mental challenge of making those inner adjustments. How do we let go of the habitual ways of doing things, let go of past way of solving problems to look at things with completely fresh eyes, because I think we’re going to be in completely new situations which we’ve never encountered before and the ways of the past are not really appropriate. So I think that ability to let go, to really think afresh, is going to be absolutely critical. And that’s really challenging, because we don’t know how to do it, and it’s scary. And with that, I think also, how do we manage our fears? Or not create too many fears because I think that’s what holds us back from making change very often. It’s like, we may know what to do and we may have the means to do it, but we start resisting it because we don’t want to…it’s scary – we’re going to make ourselves feel uncomfortable, at risk. It could be not just material risk but how we feel – it could be uncomfortable. We get scared, and so I think we need to know how to work with our fears, not create them so much. I think these inner dimensions are really important and also developing an inner stability, because what we’re going to see is unexpected things coming faster and faster and faster, and if we’re in a vulnerable state ourselves, we’re going to be easily thrown by them and get emotionally upset, or panicky, whatever. And I think if we can just really develop a stable core through ourselves, that can help see us through so that we can move through the winds of change as they come. For many people when the reality of climate change and peak oil first sink in, they often go through something which is quite similar to a dark night of the soul, or what Stanislav Grof calls a Spiritual Emergency. What advice would you have for people when they get in to that state of really seeing, really sensing how impermanent everything is around them? To really open up to that sense, to that feeling. It’s hard because our habitual reaction to some uncomfortable perception or feeling is to shy away from it, to push it away. But I think in these situations that’s the wrong thing. When we’re feeling whatever it is, how our whole world view has suddenly been spun around, or we’re in shock, or outraged, or disappointed, whatever it is, to get in touch with those feelings – and this is just a universal principle of life – to get in touch with what it actually is we’re feeling here, there’s a sort of metabolism of feeling that happens, when you start getting in touch with what it is you open up to it, you feel it. Initially it may seem even more devastating, stronger, whatever, but by getting in touch with it, something begins to happen. It’s like the psyche works with it and it begins to work its way through. So it’s the opposite of what we tend to do which is a suppressing and keeping down of it, but to actually open up to whatever the feelings are and feel them, write about them, talk about them with your friends, just anything just to express the feelings. That’s the principle thing. Do you think that fear is a legitimate motivator for change? No, I don’t think it’s always helpful. It certainly can promote change, but I think often it’s a layer that’s added on. I think we can see a situation and really see the necessity for change and be able to change, the fear maybe an added driver, but the danger is it clouds our perception. If we’re acting out of fear, we may not always be making the best choices, because when we’re acting out of fear we tend to fall back on choices that are more secure – we’re looking to regain our security – and we may not be so willing to take the sort of risks that really need to be taken. So I think very often it is fear that motivates us, but if we can somehow step beyond the fear and see what the real motivation is, and not have the fear triggered, or into be governed by the fear, then I think in the end we probably make better quality decisions. Because what we’ve been asked to do here is to be really creative…come up with new ways of doing things, completely new solutions to social problems we’ve never encountered before. And fear, to me, doesn’t enhance creativity. The best creative state is to be able to step back, be quiet, be reflective, to draw upon one’s resources, and pull together different areas of thinking. The very nature of fear is to focus the mind on one thing – “There’s danger, I’ve got to deal with this danger��? – and what we need to be able to do is to sit back and be able to say, “well I need to consider this, I need to consider that, how does this play out?��?, to be much more level headed. And the same would apply for anger presumably as well… Definitely for anger. Any of these emotions. They tend to be there but they’re not constructive, so learning how to work with these emotions…fear and anger are quite closely related, and anger in particularly usually comes when the world isn’t behaving according to our expectations, if other people aren’t behaving according to our expectations. And what we tend to do, is we get upset because the way we thought things were going to pan out isn’t happening, and then we blame the world, or the other person, or the other people for upsetting our plans, our ideal plans of how the world should be. Then we get caught up in this antagonism and blaming, and when we’re really in anger, the mind gets really crowded. But if when you feel anger, you can actually step back and see the conflict that’s there between what is actually happening and your expectation, if you can see, “Aagh, I expected my life was going to be unfolding this way, what’s happening is this, and it’s just my expectation that’s being challenged.��? What happens is you begin to get a little bit of distance from it, and as soon as you get a little distance from what’s going on, then the intensity of the anger or rage begins to subside. It’s like, because we stop blaming the other person, we’re seeing that in a sense, I’m partly responsible here. There’s the way the world is which is because of what somebody else has done, changed, and there’s my attachment to my expectation. Do you think there’s a danger that emphasising consciousness change above practical action, in that sometimes you might hear people say that actually we can just evolve magically out of this crisis that we’re in, that the universe will somehow sort it out for us, we don’t actually need to get our hands dirty ourselves. How do you see that balance? I see there’s a bit danger in making consciousness change the top thing or the priority or getting it out of balance. It’s going to take a lot of physical work, social changes, economic changes, many sorts of changes which are going to require work, adjustments, decisions, in the active world. And those things are going to happen more fluidly, more easily, and I think more constructively, if at the same time we are freeing our consciousness up from the old mode, that old, self-centred, materialistic mode, which actually created the problems in the first place on a larger level. If we don’t also tend to our consciousness, our mind, our psyches, if we don’t also attend to that, then we’re going to be repeating some of the same mistakes. So I think the opposite error is equally important to avoid – which is purely looking at what must be done, without bringing in the consciousness element. That’s the way we normally approach things – we see a problem out there, we must fix it, change it, do something about it. And we have to bring in the mind – what is it in our thinking that’s causing our problems or stopping us solving them in the right way? So there definitely needs to be a balance…of the two supporting each other. But a shift in consciousness is going to support the work we have to do on the outer. And I don’t believe that if we all just meditate and sit back, the world will miraculously sort itself out. I don’t believe that at all. It’s definitely going to need a lot of very challenging work, challenging decisions, which is going to probably push through some personal discomforts, hardships maybe as we make adjustments. That’s not going to be easy, and that’s why I think we’re going to need to be looking at our consciousness at the same time so that we can ease our way through that process. One of the main projects that we’re doing with Transition Town Totnes is building up to developing what we call an Energy Descent Plan, which looks over a fifteen, twenty year period. We’re doing lots of visioning work with the community in terms of, given the reality of peak oil and climate change, how could it be? Given those scenarios, what would your vision be, and to really get the idea that actually, if we did it properly, it could be fantastic. What do you see as being the power of those collective visions – you touched on it last night a bit – but could you say a little bit more about where the power is in a group of people doing that kind of collective visioning work. I think there’s a power…there’s several levels. One, it’s a motivator. If you really feel there’s something tangible that you can see happening in your own experience – 10, 15 years down the road for most people, that’s within their own experience – there’s something that’s positive to work towards, that’s a motivator. If the vision is we’re just surviving somehow, you don’t get so much motivation. So it’s certainly a very good motivator. Secondly I think another power of vision is it’s a guideline. It’s helping us make the right choices as we move along, because we’re continually making decisions, adjusting according to this vision. So it’s an attractor, it’s moving us on towards that. So I think a vision – in that sense it’s like a goal, it’s a very clear goal that you’re working towards. That’s really important, and it’s known time and time again, if you don’t have a really clear vision of where you’re going, you just meander. You may get somewhere but you may not. So vision’s really important from that point of view as well. And I think there’s something deeper which I can’t really explain, but when there is a vision, it’s somehow not just a motivation, but somehow the psyche gets involved in some way that seems to interact with the world in a way that makes it easier for things to actually happen, things seem to fall in place. I can’t explain that rationally but it’s something that people notice time and time again. If you’ve got a strong vision of where you’re going – it’s as if the world seems to want to support that vision. It just seems to do it. There’s many books been written on that – The Power of Positive Thinking – those sort of things. I can’t explain it but it seems to work. That seems to be what’s happening here as well…in that context, how attached…what degree of attachment should be develop to the outcomes of the process? Zero! In terms of attachment, and this maybe just how I’m using the word ‘attachment’…attachment as I think of it is when we get emotionally involved with something, and we fall in to thinking, “I’ve got to have it this way, I can’t have it this way, I’m not going to be happy��?. And then what happens is, two things: we start making our inner well being at the expense of what’s happening in the world. With a project like this, who knows what change is going to come along? So as soon as the vision starts deviating from what we’re attached to, we’re going to start getting upset, or depressed or whatever, or we’re loosing that clarity of mind that we really need. So, as the Buddha said, attachment to things is the source of so much suffering, when we’re clinging to an idea of how things should be. I think we should have goals, very clear goals, have vision, but not be attached to them because…you may find you need to completely adjust the vision as you go along. Who knows what’s going to happen? It’s a fine edge, but a really clear vision, without that emotional attachment. So that if things change, that comes back to the flexibility and stability – you can make those changes and it not be the end of the world. What stops us changing when we’re faced with something that’s so obviously screaming, “change for heaven’s sake!��? at us? I think it’s in general the fear of losing something, the fear of losing something in the short term, whether it’s our comfort, status, maybe economic issues. But I think it’s fear of loss. And human beings are unfortunately, but naturally, short-term orientated. All creatures are. We deal with the short-term needs. That’s part of the problem, that we are intelligent enough to see the long-term needs, but when we’re faced with a quick decision, we tend to go for the short-term. A simple thing; we see a bit of chocolate cake and the short-term me says, “I fancy that��?, even though the long-term me says, “That may not be so good for your weight or your health, or whatever.��? It runs all the way through our society. And that is a challenge for all of us. How do we follow the long term needs and not go for the instant gratification. And I think that’s what’s behind a lot of the difficulty of changing – it means giving up some short-term comfort, short-term gratification. That’s a question of just practice, discipline, support for each other. With the chocolate cake analogy, if you’ve got a friend who says, “come on, you know that’s really not the best thing for you right now��?, then you might have that support to actually see the long term. So, that is a challenge, but I think that’s the basic conflict there. In terms of how we tell people about peak oil and climate change, would you have any thoughts of how to present those things to people in such a way that they feel inspired and motivated to change, rather than just saying, “here’s loads of really bad news, go and do something��?. It always strikes me that the environmental movement has been really not very good at that. It has expected people to accept lots and lots of information, read it and go, “oh my God! I had better do something!��?, whereas the reality is that it hasn’t worked like that. And it comes back that it’s fear based – this is how bad things are, and unless we change, it’s going to be the end of the world or whatever, which naturally brings up fear. Again, if there’s ways to include a positive vision of where it can go in that presentation, I think that’s important. Not to pull the wool over how bad it can be, not to cover it up, but to see it as an opportunity as well – an opportunity perhaps to live life in a different way, and even live a more fulfilling life at the end of the process, or during the process. The way we live our lives – the material lives we live aren’t that fulfilling for many people. We do it almost on automatic – come home and sit down and watch the telly and go to work the next day without even thinking. Maybe, out of this comes a more fulfilling life. That’s just one option, there could be many others. But if there’s a way in seeing the other side of the crisis; the Chinese word for crisis, (wei-chi), is ‘danger’ and ‘opportunity’. If we only see the danger then we can just get depressed and be in the fear. If we can see the opportunity, to hear, do something different, then I think that’s useful. So it’s balancing the two – the danger and the opportunity. For town scale initiatives like TTT, what would you sense that their priorities should be? Energy dependence, and then food. Okay. What would a revolution in consciousness look like on the ground? If you were to wake up and that vision had happened, how would you know that it had happened? On the ground, initially it wouldn’t look any different whatsoever in terms of physical reality, but people would be functioning from a different set of motivations. There wouldn’t be that fear of each other, there wouldn’t be people judging each other out of their own needs for security or status or whatever. There would be a compassion for other people, a caring for other people. There would be a wisdom about what was important, what was right, and these factors would start playing out in the way people inter-related. So people wouldn’t be using each other, or abusing each other in order to support their own individual egos. People would be much more…a much more generous spirit – that’s the best way to put it. There’d be a much more generous spirit in everybody, and that more generous spirit would play out in many different ways which would lead what appears on the ground to gradually change, because the motivating consciousness wouldn’t be that fear, that ‘me first’. It would be a much more communal, collective, compassionate, kinder consciousness. It brings to mind the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths.. Yeah. Buddha said it and…many people have said it. But as Buddha said, if we stop that clinging, stop that attachment, if we can undo that…I think what he saw was that we do it the whole time but it’s not necessary, we don’t have to live our lives that way. So he talked about helping people to live a life where the four basic principles of living were compassion, kindness, not taking things, not stealing, respecting each other, speaking the truth – these are basic principles. Right livelihood, that what you’re doing is not damaging the planet, so that we don’t consciously and intentionally do things which are damaging. That’s a negative way of putting it but I think if we start doing that in our lives, in our interactions with other people, we actually don’t say things or do things which we know are going to upset or harm others. If we just did that in our lives, I think miracles would happen. If we all just infused our lives with the attitude of “how can I interact with this person so that they feel appreciated, supported, loved��?, and we all did that to each other, I think we’d all be living in a different world immediately. One of the big challenges for an initiative like TTT is the thing of engaging young people in the process at a time that’s probably the most materialistic time there’s ever been to be growing up. Do you have any thoughts on how to…draw them in to the process and make it most relevant, and so on? What I see is, yes they’re in a very materialistic mode, and the way education and college has gone, they’re looking forward to earning lots of money or whatever it is, all that technology. But what I also see is, not all but lots of young people are passionately concerned about what’s happening. They’re growing up in this world, and they’re passionately concerned. They see things so much clearer than I ever did at that age, so much clearer. And I think they have a fresh approach to creativity which is really valuable. I find very often, I meet these people very often because they’re kids of people I know and I end up having conversations with them whilst round visiting their parents or something; they’ve got so much wisdom to share. So, I’m not saying all but there’s quite a lot like that. I would see the question not so much how do you motivate them to get involved, but how do you make contact with them? If you can find ways of making contact in the right way…and maybe with people through their own generation. I’m seeing an interesting thing happening in the US – this is on a much broader level – but there’s new people coming along from the younger generation who are becoming figureheads for that younger generation. And most of them actually turn out…they’re kids of people who’ve been vanguards in this movement, as parents, but they’ve had their own children. Now the children are taking it on. Like Ocean Robins, who’s the son of John Robins who did all that work on food, or Julia Butterfly Hill who sat in a tree for a year – she’s become a very significant leader amongst younger people. Noah Levine who is Steven Levine’s son. Steven Levine wrote a couple of books on death and dying… Who Dies? Yeah, Who Dies? His son has become an incredible punk Buddhist teacher. And he’s teaching…he’s got this whole sort of Dharma punks movement. And so these new leaders are coming out who are actually part of that generation. So probably one of the things you could do is find those people who are already there, making contact with them, because they could speak to those people. Great. And lastly, if you had any final thoughts or tips for this process that we’re…any parting advice, or…? Have fun, I think, have fun! A friend of mine says, “If it’s not fun, don’t do it. If you have to do it, make it fun.��? So I think, find ways to make it fun. Like that lady said at the end of my talk last night, let’s celebrate. So find ways…because what you’re doing is hard work, it’s challenging, you’re coming up against stuff, scary at times, so find ways to have fun, make it fun, so you’re actually getting good humoured nourishment out of the process.

Muskoka Relocalization Co-op (Ontario)

Natural Plasters & Finishes

JessaTurner — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:45:17 -0700

Start: 2008-08-04 08:30

End: 2008-08-08 17:30

Sustainable Berea

Building with Cob Workshop

JessaTurner — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:33:39 -0700

Start: 2008-07-28 08:30

End: 2008-08-01 17:30

Coordinator HUB

StrawBale Design/Build Workshop

JessaTurner — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:26:22 -0700

Start: 2008-07-21 08:30

End: 2008-07-25 17:30

Coordinator HUB

Earthbag Plaster Workshop

JessaTurner — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:21:11 -0700

Start: 2008-07-14 08:30

End: 2008-07-18 17:30

Coordinator HUB

Post & Beam/TimberFrame Workshop

JessaTurner — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:17:49 -0700

Start: 2008-07-07 08:30

End: 2008-07-11 17:30

Coordinator HUB

Earthbag Workshop

JessaTurner — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:11:08 -0700

Start: 2008-06-23 08:30

End: 2008-06-27 17:30

Coordinator HUB

Environmental shell games

Toban Black — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:53:15 -0700

That also applies to electric cars and air cars.

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By Andy Singer

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=745)

Coordinator HUB

Different forms of transportation

Toban Black — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:05:00 -0700

USA Today - "More golf carts leaving greens" (July 21st)
[via Post-Carbon Cities ]

powering down blog - "my commuter cycle"
... "In this post I'd like to share my commuter cycle with readers - the bicycle I ride to work and back." ...

Lloyd Alter at the Treehugger blog -
"For bicylists, there is safety in numbers"
"The more bicyclists there are on the road, the lower the rate of accidents" ...

Michael Graham Richard at the Treehugger blog -
"D.C. bike-sharing program launches today, first in the USA" (August 13th)

Diamond-Cut Life blog - "How to save money on gas"
"The way we drive has a huge impact on our fuel consumption" ...

No Impact Man blog - "A bike races a car and wins"
... "Once a year, Transportation Alternatives, which advocates taking the New York City streets from the cars and giving them to the people, runs its commuter challenge--bike vs. car vs. transit." ...

A Youtube video -
Bicycle train to Amsterdam from Berlin

Lloyd Alter at the Treehugger blog -
"Slow freight joins the slow movement"
... Certain "wine sellers are keen to display the ‘Carried by sailing ship’ label on bottles" ...

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A related post -
Versatile bicycle parts

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=739)

Coordinator HUB

Stone Age Farming Workshop

Sonya — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:01:37 -0700

Start: 2008-10-11 10:00

End: 2008-10-11 17:00

SustainaBundy

Leaving behind the automobiles

Toban Black — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:30:56 -0700

(A photo taken by "Idiolector")

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Arrol Gellner on why we shouldn't take automobiles for granted -

"Cars in their present form are no more a permanent fixture of our built environment than were the oxcart, the chariot, or the horse and buggy. We happen to live in the historical apogee of the internal-combustion automobile, but even the smallest degree of historical perspective makes plain that it's merely a temporary visitor -- and an increasingly troublesome one -- on planet Earth."

"History has a way of casually demolishing institutions that seem impregnable, and the internal combustion automobile is surely one of these. Something better, simpler and kinder to the earth is no doubt on the way, assuming that we're smart enough to welcome it."

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Here on the Relocalization Network, Shelby Tay has posted about how to "curb spending on gas and all the related costs of car ownership while still getting around."

(... "some examples of community activities that help us make the transition towards reducing and replacing the ol' automobile." ...)

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=728)

Coordinator HUB

General Motors automobile murals in Oshawa, Ontario

Toban Black — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:26:22 -0700

In downtown Oshawa, Ontario (in August)

With the exception of that last image, all of these photos were taken outside of a bus terminal. The first four murals are beside a busy road -- that is, a road which lot of car drivers use. If you look closely you'll see cars reflected in windows in those photos.

(On the map on Flickr, the photos were taken around here.)

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These murals celebrate automobiles in general, and General Motors automobiles in particular. They're a form of advertising.

Did the city government pay to have them put up?

Regardless of where the money came from, I think the presence of these murals downtown is telling; it's an indication of how entrenched the automobile industry is in the city.

The headquarters of General Motors Canada is in Oshawa, where there is also a General Motors plant -- and various related business operations (including at least one automobile inspection company).

(Decades ago, there were two General Motors plants in Oshawa. However, over the past 20 years, one of these plants was sold off and then eventually shut down.)

Oshawa and Windsor (another city in Ontario -- near Detroit) are the main centres of automobile production in Canada. Oshawa sometimes has been called a "Motor City." (Was that the official slogan for the city at one time? I think it might have been) (Now the city is marketed with the slogan "Prepare to be amazed"!)

There's a car museum in Oshawa.

Here's some information about the history of the automobile industry in Oshawa -
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_Canada
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaughlin_automobile
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_McLaughlin

The McLaughlin mansion is a major local tourist site. In Oshawa, the main library branch and one of the high schools also are called "McLaughlin"; the only local art gallery (in a city of almost 150,000 people) is "The Robert McLaughlin Gallery"; there is a "McLaughlin" armoury; and there now is a large "McLaughlin" cancer centre in Oshawa. However, in my experience, people there don't see those connections; it seems that they don't notice those links with General Motors.

I grew up in Oshawa, where I lived for over 20 years. Now I often criticize automobiles, while promoting alternative forms of transportation.
Here are some relevant blog posts - http://tobanblack.net/blog/?tag=transportation

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A post about General Motors -
GM - ‘We need cars that are a little greener’

General Motors and Oshawa also were mentioned in this post -
Gas prices!

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=658)

Sustainable Burlington

A letter to city hall regarding the Meadowlily retail development proposal

Toban Black — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:48:15 -0700

A letter to the municipal goverment in London, Ontario
from the Post-Carbon London steering committee:
(regarding issues that you can learn more about here and — if you dig through recent posts at the following site — here).

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London Councillors and City Staff:

The proposed big box retail complex -- far from core areas of London, at 168 Meadowlily Road South -- would further increase our dependency on automobiles and fossil fuels, while leading to further destruction of local farmlands and carbon sinks. This proposal is completely unacceptable, given how it is increasing clear that global warming and fossil fuel depletion (including worldwide "peak oil") are realities that we must face. The sooner our city recognizes these facts and begins taking major steps toward embracing this reality, the better off we will be. While we proactively face fossil fuel depletion and global warming challenges, we also can confront smog, oil spills, and various other social and environmental problems associated with the consumption, distribution, and extraction of fossil fuels.

We must refuse to accept development projects that continue to contribute to global warming. A retail complex far from the core of the city is at odds with these important goals, as consumers will tend to reach such retail outlets in cars -- an inefficient mode of transportation.

In addition, the infrastructure required to support this new retail shopping plaza will be an enormous waste. Although proponents will say that these up front costs will be paid for with development fees and taxes, London will be on the hook for all the maintenance and surrounding upgrades required. In an energy constrained future, the cost of attempting to maintain this infrastructure will be an unnecessary burden on Londoners.

Moreover, we should be preserving precious local farmlands toward the outskirts of inhabited areas of the city -- with the Meadowlily woods, and surrounding carbon sinks. Yet, another heavily trafficked big box retail complex would be a magnet for further construction -- over what presently are important farmlands and carbon sinks that we still can preserve.

Important changes can happen at the local and community level. Our city hall should be a centre of proactive change to help residents to deal with looming energy constraints, while -- at the same time -- mitigating ongoing global warming. This means that our mode of business as usual needs to change; but London does not have to be anti-business to make these changes. Instead, we should support businesses which are suited to a lower carbon and lower energy future. We should not be making choices that clearly are a holdover from a past when we did not understand global warming and energy constraints.

Given the aforementioned grounds for grave concerns about this proposal, London city planners and councillors should stand firm by rejecting this submission, which promotes further steps away from sustainability. Approving this development proposal would be an enormous mistake.

Sincerely,
Post-Carbon London

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The Post-Carbon London steering committee co-wrote the above statement (and I don't mean to suggest otherwise by posting it on this blog).

Tonight I was the one from the group who presented a nearly identical version of this letter to the London municipal planning committee at a public participation meeting (which followed an earlier rally to oppose the big box retail development discussed in the above letter).

Vancouver Area Relocalisation Network

Transition US website now up

creekside — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:41:29 -0700

It looks like there is now a Transition US website up.
The address is
http://transitionus.ning.com

I am encouraging the moderators of it to enable private messages between members
(right now, it looks like the only way to comment is through public comments).

Coordinator HUB

Oil consumption is a problem

Toban Black — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 08:07:30 -0700

"I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can't drill our way out of our problem."

Sarah Palin (quoted in this article)
on the future of the United States

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On oil consumption and dependencies in the United States (in particular) -

by Andy Wahl

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Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=699)

Coordinator HUB

What you can do (from Qld Govt)

Sonya — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:43:34 -0700

The Queensland Government (in Australia) have recently released a discussion paper on how we can move Toward Oil Resilience.

The entire document is available at http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/publications/p02620aa.pdf/Towards_Oil_Resilien...

I thought some of you may be interested in the 'What you can do' - section. It all fits very well with the Relocalisation Network and Transition Town models.

What you can do

It is up to all of us as Queenslanders to take steps to reduce our reliance on oil. There are many things we can do right now.

Here are some ways we can all prepare;

Familiarise yourself with the issues outlines in this paper [see link above for entire document]
Simply being aware of peak oil and oil vulnerability is the first important step to preparing and adjusting for future changes

Talk about this issues with friends, neighbours, employees and local community members.
If you are concerned about this issue, chances are other people around you are too.

Think about how you can make a difference
This may include simple action to reduce fuel consumption such as;
• Reducing private vehicle use (by not driving so much, car pooling, taking public transport, riding a bike etc)
• Support local initiatives and industry that reduce food and commodity kilometres (by buying local produce, using local services, growing some of your own food etc)
• Getting involved in local and regional planning processes (by contributing submissions through government consultation processes, contacting your local member etc)

Visit the EPA website for further information www.epa.qld.gov.au

[ENDS]

Also, please visit the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre website [www.seac.net.au] - we are mentioned in the 'further reading' section of this government document and our website has lots of articles, ideas and lessons we've learnt so far about moving from oil dependency to local resilience.

Creating a Sustainable Sunshine Coast - Nambour to Mooloolah

Community Support for Small Farms

cjryan2000 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:25:03 -0700

Community Support for Small Farms
From The Localizer Blog

I recently witnessed two instances of community support for local farms that were under duress and felt that these instances were good exemplars for other communities. As many believe is in our imminent future, small family or co-op farms will again likely play an important part of our local economies. Any support or assistance we can give those farms in trouble will return dividends and bring the community closer together.

The first instance relates to a devastating fire that occurred last weekend in Concord, MA destroying a farmers market associated with a long respected farm family dating back to 1922. When the Verrill Farm complex was reduced to ashes in just a few minutes, the news spread on electronic bulletin boards and via word of mouth. From what I observed, first reactions ranged from mouths agape to tears. Verrill was a veritable institution beloved by residents from Concord and surrounding towns. It provided several varieties of sweet corn, peppers, heirloom tomatoes of countless colors and shapes, flowers, greens, and more. It also had a little bakery and cheese shop. Among the popular events sponsored by the farm, the blueberry pancake breakfasts and corn and tomato dinners were the most popular. Kids loved to show off their purple fingers after an hour of blueberry picking. Verrill was among the several farms in the area practicing sustainable farming methods.

Even as news spread of the fire, long time customers and curious observers walked or drove over to gather and share stories. For days afterward, streams of cars would slow as they passed by and people would still gather nearby to commiserate. In parallel with the grief and sense of loss was a gathering movement to provide financial assistance and support to Verrill's rebuilding. Initially, the family leaned toward not rebuilding. But the outpouring of support from the community may have turned the tide. Several donor campaigns have popped up to assist the effort and Verrill is now selling from a makeshift farm stand on site. I think when people imagined a Concord without Verrill Farm, they were motivated to show support in some way. Certainly small family farms, with or without retailing components, can become important local institutions even in this modern economy. Finding ways to support them, financial or otherwise, ensures that they will be around for years to come.

The other example of community support for a local farm emerged during a regular local Board of Selectmen meeting in a small town in Massachusetts's Nashoba Valley. While the specifics of the case are not important, the message that was embedded in a citizen's short comment held out a new model for community and neighbor interaction. A neighbor to a long operating family farm filed a complaint about the condition of the property. Apparently the farmer was in his eighties and was no longer able to properly maintain it as it was strewn with rusted and abandoned machinery and trash along with the tools, equipment, and livestock directly related to farm operations. The complainant was concerned no doubt about property values and nuisance oriented impacts, many of which are not actionable due to right-to-farm laws in Massachusetts. He also was allegedly concerned about what appeared to be toxics in barrels that the owner claimed was molasses-based feed for livestock. Anyway, after the complainant was heard and neighbors supporting the property owner retorted, one woman stood up and said the following (paraphrased):

Instead of approaching this from an adversarial stance, why can't we approach the farmer and ask him if he needs any help? Maybe he needs some assistance in cleaning up his property and since he's over eighty and has no family, he can't look after the farm as diligently as he used to.

Now from the typical municipal code enforcement perspective, the usual approach is to determine if the violation is valid and to follow up with an enforcement order. In most cases this works fairly well but sometimes there is an obstinate property owner who loves to be uncooperative. Yet how many such cases may involve an owner, for whatever reason, who just can't get it together and needs help? The municipal enforcement function is not set up to consider this type of solution.

Yet perhaps there should be some accommodation or consideration of a neighbor or citizen that does need a hand. We use Boy Scouts to help rake leaves for older people so why couldn't we, both structured or unstructured, find mechanisms to help those in our community in need within the context of a possible zoning or building code violation? In particular, family farms with older owners may need a hand to maintain viability or keep their properties from becoming a general nuisance. Obviously, homeowners in new subdivisions have no legitimate gripe with operating farms as long as everything functions within the context of normal agricultural operations. You buy near a farm or airport, you should know what comes with the territory.

I'm not suggesting a one-solution-fits-all exists to help local family farms but some ideas could include having the local agricultural committee (if one exists) inventory local farms and follow up annually on needs. If your community has a Local with a local food subcommittee, perhaps one task would be as a liaison to local farms to see if they need any help for the harvest, spring cleaning, or getting ready for a long winter. This obviously extends beyond the expected support through patronizing local farm stands, purchasing CSA shares, or hosting farmers markets. I am referring to the needs that often are not visible or obvious that require us to be observant, so see each other as fellow citizens and members of a community rather than a separate group of people with little in common other than an occasional small transaction. This kind of act of civility is as important as checking on the widow down the street after a snowstorm.

Find original article at: The Localizer Blog

Coordinator HUB

Draft Political Party "Manifesto" for comment please

Iain Dunlop — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:13:57 -0700

Hi - Crazy times demand a crazy plan! New Zealand has an election on the 8 November 2008 with nominations called for between the 12 and 19 of Oct. We have an MMP system. In desperation, we have hatched a plan to launch a political Party called (provisionally) "Start Transition Now" and contest the election. The idea is that we would circulate to Peak Oil, Climate, Transition groups etc a Statement of Position as the platform for individuals to align with. Its meant to be a rational and simple argument for transitioning asap and mainly to take the opportunity to rise the profile of PO and CC issues. The name of the party will be next to each candidate on the voting form for that electorate. Fliers etc would draw key ideas from this document.

Please can you read the draft statement (below) and let me have your comment either on the forum or directly to my email. Any suggestions, refs to similar initiatives, alternative party names etc gratefully received. Ill need to get his out in the next 24 hours or so, so unfortunately Im asking for your response soon. You might recognise a line or two - I plagiarise from all over!

Thanks, Iain.

Start Transition Now “Statement of position”

1. A Government’s job is essentially to protect its people.
2. We know that currently 80% of the energy used by humans is derived from fossil fuels. Of this, about 40% is from oil and this provides over 95% of our transport fuel.
3. However, maximum global oil is upon us or very near, after which time supply will permanently decline. Globally we are currently using oil at approximately six times the rate of discovery and at the same time using much more energy to produce food than it contains.
4. Even if there were significant new oil resources to discover, this would not provide a solution because GHG emissions from its use create an increasingly inhospitable climate that increases the frequency of serious natural disasters and undermines our capacity to grow food and sustain our population and ecosystems.
5. Developing other fuels from the likes of coal and uranium may extend our high-energy and high-consumption lifestyle but will only further amplify climate change. Moreover they themselves finite resources in limited quantities.
6. Proven renewable energy systems based on the likes of wind, geothermal, biomass and solar, as well as technological improvements, will have a crucial role in our future, but can not possibly compensate for the growing void left by oil in terms of scale, convenience, energy density, and portability.
7. Capitalism methodically raises our aspirations and implores each of us who can, to consumer more each year. Accordingly, the global monetary system relies for growth and stability on an ever-expanding supply of cheap energy to the extent that a growing shortfall is likely to have serious political, economic and social consequences.
8. Most importantly, virtually unlimited access to very cheap energy and associated technology has enabled us to already collectively exceed the total biocapacity of the earth. Essentially we are living beyond the capacity of the earth to replenish the resources we use and absorb the waste that we produce.
9. This combination of circumstances, largely brought about by our phenomenal success in accessing and harnessing fossil fuels, is unsustainable and failure to address them threatens the future of each and every one of us.
10. We consider it to be self-evident that the most rational, risk-averse and compassionate response to this predicament is to, as expeditiously as possible, transition our living and working arrangements to depend less on oil and its derivatives. While New Zealand’s emissions are small on the global landscape, we acknowledge that by our actions, we can set an example, just as we have done for woman’s suffrage and nuclear armament.
11. Benefits arising from such adjustment will include reduced vulnerability to fuel cost increase, reduced exposure to economic and geopolitical volatility, helping to maintain an equitable and productive climate, and slowed rates of resource depletion, waste production and ecological destruction.
12. Accordingly, we can expect a renewed connection with and understanding of the natural world, greater community and intergenerational fellowship and security, higher levels of physical and mental well-being and the satisfaction that comes with managing on less for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
13. Because we are dealing with a finite planet and finite resources, this transition will either be made on our own initiative in a planned way or forced on us with chaos and suffering by the inexorable laws of nature. Ultimately, one way or another, transition is unavoidable and will not be temporary.
14. The situation is urgent. Start Transition Now therefore stands for the initiation by Government, as a matter of upmost priority, of a planned option with a range of actions including:
• public acknowledgement of the risks we face based on mainstream science
• engaging and informing the community of the dilemma and the need for quite radical change
• setting bold, staged milestones for GHG emission reductions that can be monitored
• providing genuine incentives for behaviour change and to renewable technologies and businesses
• facilitating and supporting planning and implementation for the necessary changes by all citizens.
15. The close relationship between energy consumption, GHG emissions, growth and wealth generation is recognised. It is therefore inevitable that with the implementation of such measures, in the interests of attaining a more sustainable living arrangement, the economy and therefore personal income, will contract. But it is also recognised that avoiding the worst excesses of our predicament, means this compromise is both necessary and eminently preferable to the alternative of abrupt collapse.

Coordinator HUB

Increasing Soil Organic Matter for Wriggle Room?

Iain Dunlop — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:46:11 -0700

Hi - I heard this interesting chap at a recent solid waste recycling conference who argued that the primary cause for CO2 emissions is loss of carbon from soils (combined with loss of vegetation cover)because its such an enormous reservoir compared to fossil carbon. So accordingly, he argued that inducing a small increase of organic carbon in soils generally again will sequesture vaste quantities of CO2 and easily offset what we have added to the atmosphere from fossil carbon. This implies not only rebuilding the preindustrial soil carbon levels but also incorporating the fossil carbon equivalent.

He was dismissive of the Agrichar method (Terra Preta) as gimicky and unlikely to be of
quantitative significance and that ordinary and extensive reincorporation of organic residues was
where we should be putting all our efforts. I expect that there is little doubt that modern fertilizer-based agriculture has been something of a substitute for soil organic matter (ie compost to the vege grower) and resulted in universal neglect and decline of soil carbon.

He was also very critical of soil scientists not being prepared to consider the potential of soils
to sequester carbon in this way.

So this is to ask if anyone knows of carbon balance figures that estimate the global loss that has occurred under modern agriculture and compare it with that from burning fossil fuels? It seems to me that if there is anything in this idea then it could be really important.
Iain

Coordinator HUB

Resiliency planning

Toban Black — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:08:29 -0700

Hi everyone,

I'm starting this forum thread for discussion about resiliency planning. As some of you here in London, Ontario (in Canada) will know, this Tuesday there was a meeting about the approach that Post-Carbon London will take to implementing that framework -- which we will be doing.

A few possible discussion topics that come to mind:
- How to approach this framework in London
- The types of groups and organizations we should focus on networking with
- Thoughts on how those groups and organizations should be approached about this

---

In a separate post to this thread I'll try to sum up (from memory) some points that were raised at the meeting

---

I have cross-posted this to the Coordinator HUB, where coordinators from other groups on Relocalize.net can respond. (This is an experiment that we haven't tried in this group.) And I have cross-posted this to a few nearby groups (which is unusual for us) -- plus the "Vancouver area" group (since someone from that group has said that they would like posts from our area).

Vancouver Area Relocalisation Network

School Gardens handbook

Sonya — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:35:58 -0700

Australian permaculture teacher and peak oil activist, Janet Millington has - together with Carolyn Nuttall - released a handbook for school gardens - Outdoor Classrooms.

The book provides; the history of school gardens, how to set them up, permaculture and school gardens, integrating the garden across all curriculum - it also addresses; energy, climate, earth resources, water, permaculture design, and much much more.

The website to take a sneak peek at the book and for orders is here;
http://www.outdoorclassrooms.com.au/main/

Janet has been instrumental in co-writing and co-delivering Australia's first Energy Descent Action Planning course, Australia's first community-driven EDAP and for the Sunshine Coast being recognised as Australia's first Transition Initiative.
www.seac.net.au

Janet is also a very experienced permaculture teacher, having co-taught with Bill Mollison, and is now working with myself (Sonya Wallace) on bringing David Holmgren's text; Pathways and Principles Beyond Sustainability and the work of Richard Heinberg and Rob Hopkins to the fore through energy descent training and workshops in Australia.

Sustainable Maleny Project

State Govt Peak Oil discussion paper

Sonya — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:53:44 -0700

SustainaBundy

The Prize: Oil

Toban Black — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:48:54 -0700

"WIN $50 IN FREE SHELL GAS EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT!."

A contest at a bar in London, Ontario. (I took the photo.)

---

Blood for oil

"The American Red Cross [ran] a summer contest where blood donors are eligible to win a year’s supply of fuel."
- Phoebe Chin at Upickreviews (in July)

"Blood banks recognize the rising prices of gas as an opportunity to pull in more donors and leveraging that in their marketing. 'Donate plasma for gas money,' is plastered across a banner outside Las Cruces Biological, in Las Cruces, N.M. [They're] not actually giving out gas, just money but they have been seeing sharp increases of donors since March and lab workers claim the new donors are not the typical drug addicts looking for some quick cash, they are regular Joes and Janes looking for some extra gas money… quick cash. 'Blood for Gas' is a strange appeal, but it appears to be working."
- Matt at greenUPGRADER (in July)

---

Sex for oil

"Some resourceful people have turned to bartering for gas, but generally speaking you have to have some kind of skill to offer in exchange. This didn’t stop Angela Eversole who traded sex for a $100 gas card." " Unfortunately rather than getting a full tank she got a prostitution rap.

This is the second 'Sex for Gas' incident in just a few months." ...

- Matt at greenUPGRADER (in July)

---

Praying for oil

Jenny (in August) on the "Praying at the Pump" movement

---

An oil-fuelled missionary drive

"At St. Ann’s Parish in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, $50 gas cards are given out in [draw competitions] at Sunday masses"
- Phoebe Chin at Upickreviews (in July)

---

"The Prize" -- the title of this post -- is a reference to the book The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, which a video series with the same titled also was based on.

In the context of this post, that title ("The Prize") is meant to be a joke about the ways that oil is pursued in the cases mentioned above.

(As for the book and the videos with that title, I found the latter worthwhile, but I haven't read the book. People have suggested to me that the author recently has been speaking on behalf of oil industry interests, but I couldn't begin to confirm or question those claims.)

====

A post about more constructive approaches to rising oil and gasoline costs -
"Reducing oil prices"

Giving blood for oil or sex for oil, on the other hand, entails an extremely shallow and present-minded perspective. Those approaches barely scratch the surface of rising gas prices as symptoms of much wider problems.

---

A previous post in which I joked about oil depletion issues -
"Lightening the loss of crude"

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=409)

Coordinator HUB

Introducing..... world peak oil !

Toban Black — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:22:41 -0700

[via The Global Sociology Blog]

This video is an excellent overview, but it isn't flawless, and it doesn't cover everything. For instance, it's oversimplistic -- to say the least -- when the creator(s) suggest that there are only two future scenarios for us to choose between.

For a much more comprehensive overview of where we might end up in the future, see Heinberg's book PowerDown. (I highly recommend that book -- and others that Heinberg has written in recent years -- but I don't mean to suggest that all of the answers can be found there, or in any other set of books or videos for that matter.)

---

Related writing from Richard Heinberg -
"The Dress Rehearsal Is Over"

"As oil crosses $100 on its way south, not even a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico and a statement from OPEC that the cartel will cut production by over 500,000 barrels per day seems capable of halting the bloodletting"...

... "Wasn’t the price of oil supposed to rise endlessly? Wasn’t the world supposed to end by now? What happened? What does it all mean?" ...

---

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=638)

Coordinator HUB

While we consume fossil fuels ...

Toban Black — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:21:23 -0700

Andy Rowell at the Oil Change blog -
"Climate change fuelling refugee crisis" (June 17th)
... "the number of refugees is at a record high, fuelled in part by climate change which is causing conflicts around the world." ...

CBC journalism -
"Diseases, heat-related deaths likely to spike from climate change: report" (July 31st)
[via Red Jenny]

Andy Rowell at the Oil Change blog -
"Antarctica: Climate change exposes 'toxic soup'" (May 9th)
"One of the ways climate change will affect us will be in ways we do not expect. We may have climate models, but we cannot predict all the horrors that lie in store." ...

---

Andy Rowell at the Oil Change blog -
"Airline emissions 'far higher than previous estimates'" (May 6th)
... "an unpublished study by the world’s leading experts has revealed that airlines are pumping 20 per cent more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than estimates suggest" ...

Matthew McDermott at the Treehugger blog -
"It’s Not You, It’s Me: 33% of China’s CO2 Emissions From Export Manufacturing" (August 5th)
... "33% of China’s emissions come from manufacturing goods intended for overseas sale" ...
(A previous post about this - "‘Chinese’ emissions" )

CBC journalism -
"Globalization being undone by high oil costs: CIBC" (May 27th)
"The high price of energy is undercutting the advantages of globalization by raising transportation costs so much that they are forcing businesses to look closer to home, says a CIBC World Markets report." ...

---

Andy Rowell at Oil Change -
"Shell seals $4 billion Iraq deal" (September 10th)
"After a 35 year absence Shell has become the first western oil company to land a major deal with the government in Baghdad since the invasion of the country five years ago." ...
(A related post - "Imperialism and fossil fuels")

AP journalism -
"Exxon Mobil Has Biggest Profit Ever At $11.68B" (July 31st)

BBC journalism -
"Oil prices boost Shell's results" (July 31st )

Emily Murgatroyd at DeSmogBlog -
"US oil company revenue higher than the GDP of Canada" (July 31st)

======

At my blog -
A list of related links and a little commentary -
"Global warming and other energy & carbon -related crises — as well as associated interests"

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=563)

Advocates for Local Living - ALL (Fernie, B.C.)

Why we must "roll" "back" Wal-Mart and other fossil fuelled big box stores

Toban Black — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:16:17 -0700

A speech that I read at a September 6th rally against Wal-Mart. (I since have touched it up a little).

-----

Hello everyone.
I’m Toban. I’m an organizer in Post-Carbon London, and I’m a Phd student (which I only say so that you might take me a little more seriously).

There are many important grounds to “roll” “back” Wal-Mart and other companies like Wal-Mart (because of unacceptable and even outrageous exploitation of workers, and many other problems), but today I’ll be raising issues surrounding fossil fuel consumption that we focus on in Post-Carbon London.

Basically, we promote alternatives to fossil fuel usage and dependencies --
through alternative energy sources (such as solar power), through improved energy efficiencies (in home appliances, in some cases), and -- most importantly -- through changes to our way of life. Rejecting big box stores and big box shopping is one way to challenge the fossil fuel consumption in our lives today.

Above all, Post-Carbon London raises fossil fuel issues in response to global warming and oil & gas depletion (including world “peak oil”); this oil peak -- this present or soon-to-come challenge of worldwide peak oil -- will entail skyrocketing gasoline and natural gas prices, and many other related problems (including rising electricity costs, and increasing poverty). Given smog, given ongoing oil spills, and given the incredibly unjust distribution of fossil fuel profits in and around state and commercial enterprises -- as well as numerous other grounds for concern about fossil fuel consumption -- we must cut our ties to these carbon fuels.

Yet, Wal-Mart and companies like Wal-Mart have been driving up the fossil fuel consumption in various ways as their operations have been expanding.

Wal-Mart is a leading importer of overseas products. Over two-thirds of Wal-Mart’s inventory is imported from China -- where factories are fuelled by coal (and dirtier coal at that) -- far more than other energy sources. These products then are shipped to Canada and other countries in oil-fuelled vehicles.

Yet, all of these fossil fuels are burned to sell poor quality ‘goods’ which are considered to be relatively disposable. When these items are replaced, more fossil fuels are burned up, and further pollution is spewed out.

And shoppers usually reach stores like Wal-Mart by car (or van, or truck) -- because these stores are on the outskirts of cities (and other areas where people live), and because of the one-stop-shopping at these stores (where customers buy clothing, appliances, and a wide range of other items during separate trips). Buses and other alternatives to cars also are inadequate and otherwise discouraged. In Post-Carbon London we aren’t completely opposed to cars (or vans, or trucks), but we do object to fossil fuelled automobiles -- that is, the gasoline-fuelled vehicles that generally are driven today. (We also object to electric cars, air cars, and hydrogen cars, in a society that is a long, long, long way from generating adequate electricity, air, or hydrogen for car drivers without significantly relying on coal and other fossil fuels –- which we may prove to be necessary to fuel so many vehicles.) The cars on the road also are not as efficient as they could be, and drivers usually are very wasteful (as cars are driven with one or two people in them, for instance).

Given various forms of fossil fuel consumption behind companies like Wal-Mart, these big box stores are driving us toward more rapid global warming, and toward even more rapid depletion of the more affordable and accessible oil & gas supplies.

In these and other ways, Wal-Mart has been leading a lowering of standards. But we shouldn’t settle “for less” -- which is what Wal-Mart is selling.

So let’s take a stand. Let’s “roll” “back” and “roll” away Wal-Mart and other big box stores.

---

(At the White Oaks mall Wal-Mart in London, Ontario)

---

From this page you can reach a poem and two more speeches that were read at the rally -
http://londonontario.indymedia.org/?q=node/684

---

I'm planning to post a longer version of the above writing.

---

Here are two other relevant rally speeches I've written and presented over the past year -
- "Social and environmental problems and opportunities"
- "Imperialism and fossil fuels"

The "Social and environmental"... speech was on behalf of Post-Carbon London, but the other one was not; and I brought a lot of my own personal perspective to the "Social and environmental"... speech.

(Believe it or not, I'm still planning to post an extended version of the "Imperialism"... piece.)

Toban Black
(http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=594)

Vancouver Area Relocalisation Network