Episode 6: Being Good
6/31/08
(Written on the grid)
When it comes to good design, few come close to permaculture. It is difficult to identify many human design strategies from the last century that result in healed landscapes, increased fertility, and enhanced biodiversity.
Since the early days of permaculture in the 1970s, the design theory – often called regenerative design – has evolved to address more than just agricultural applications. Modern permaculture is seen as a philosophy and lifestyle ethic as much as it is a system design tool. Indeed, the design principles are broad enough to apply to many of our cultural systems. When used as a prism for design, permaculture: looks at whole systems; seeks connections between key components; observes how the components relate to one another; and proposes to mend weak systems by applying techniques that have proven effective in healthy, sustainable systems.
Regenerative design, at its best, results in landscapes that are healthier and more productive, and buildings that produce more energy than they consume. What then, would a regenerative education system look like?
Regenerative design principles can be integrated into a comprehensive secondary science and technology education. Instead of producing consumers who expand their ecological footprints with every higher level of education gained, schools can graduate citizens who become active in repairing the damage humanity has done to Earth’s life support systems. Education can be ecologically fecund instead of destructive. The next generation can be trained to have the knowledge, skills and motivation to create abundant cultural systems that increase fertility and biodiversity. It is possible to educate a generation of human beings that will have a healing – regenerative - presence on the planet, but how can schools model this here and now?
Putting regenerative design principles at the heart of the curriculum is a good place to start.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Episode 5: Why Sustainability Is Not Enough
Episode 5: Why Sustainability Is Not Enough
5/30/08
(Written on the grid)
Once certain words become adopted by the federal government and large corporations, we know it is time to seek new ground. “Organic” is, perhaps, the most recent and certainly the biggest example. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma does a great job of demonstrating that industrial organic is more industrial than organic, but most Whole Food shoppers fail to recognize this. By the time mainstream America began embracing organic macaroni and cheese real organic farmers were dropping the “organic” label not necessarily because of the cost of certification, but because of the paperwork required and the complete lack of spirit retained by the word once the EPA got involved. Substituting inputs – organic fertilizers and pesticides for chemical fertilizers and pesticides – is the narrowest interpretation of organic that one could demise. It limits “organic” to only that which relates to the chemicals themselves and ignores much of what the grassroots organic movement was/is about: building long term soil fertility, enhancing biodiversity, shortening supply lines, etc.
In much the same way, “sustainability” has become more narrowly defined by some as little more than input substitution. Few Americans realize that Hydrogen is not an energy source but a storage mechanism, much like a battery. Ethanol may be a domestic product, but some say its carbon footprint is bigger than the carbon it contains. In other words, it is a net energy loser. Meanwhile, the more methanol we produce the higher corn prices rise in Haiti, Nicaragua and every other country we convinced to dismantle their local sustainable (oops, slipped there) agricultural systems over the last decades. Electric cars in America will likely run indirectly on the remains of our massive coal reserves. Again, input substitution.
Beyond the narrow-mindedness of input substitution, the most popular interpretation of sustainability has less to do with the preserving the planet for the Seventh Generation than with making compromises. The Sustainability Triangle is a way of watering down high environmental standards. It is aiming low, not high. William McDonough says, “Being less bad is not being good. It is just being less bad.” If the greatest goal of our most innovative schools, businesses and government agencies is to be less bad, what happens if we fall short? What kind of message does “being less bad” send to our children? Who is driving this natural gas powered bus?
The “triple bottom line” is still a bottom line.
“People, Profits, Planet” is still two versus one. It’s not easy to beat a double-team.
Sustainability was new and exciting ten years ago. It was an admirable goal then, but times have changed. Substituting inputs is a grossly inadequate strategy to address the manifold pressures closing in on human culture. “Being less bad” only buys enough time to figure out how to be good. That time has come.
It is a good day to be good!
Obama – Hope we can belive in!
Stewart – Humor always works.
Colbert – Give me the bump, please.
Beck – I'm turning positive, Glenn. Act fast!
Jack – "This world is gonna hurt, you better turn that thing down..."
Peace and Post Petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
5/30/08
(Written on the grid)
Once certain words become adopted by the federal government and large corporations, we know it is time to seek new ground. “Organic” is, perhaps, the most recent and certainly the biggest example. Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma does a great job of demonstrating that industrial organic is more industrial than organic, but most Whole Food shoppers fail to recognize this. By the time mainstream America began embracing organic macaroni and cheese real organic farmers were dropping the “organic” label not necessarily because of the cost of certification, but because of the paperwork required and the complete lack of spirit retained by the word once the EPA got involved. Substituting inputs – organic fertilizers and pesticides for chemical fertilizers and pesticides – is the narrowest interpretation of organic that one could demise. It limits “organic” to only that which relates to the chemicals themselves and ignores much of what the grassroots organic movement was/is about: building long term soil fertility, enhancing biodiversity, shortening supply lines, etc.
In much the same way, “sustainability” has become more narrowly defined by some as little more than input substitution. Few Americans realize that Hydrogen is not an energy source but a storage mechanism, much like a battery. Ethanol may be a domestic product, but some say its carbon footprint is bigger than the carbon it contains. In other words, it is a net energy loser. Meanwhile, the more methanol we produce the higher corn prices rise in Haiti, Nicaragua and every other country we convinced to dismantle their local sustainable (oops, slipped there) agricultural systems over the last decades. Electric cars in America will likely run indirectly on the remains of our massive coal reserves. Again, input substitution.
Beyond the narrow-mindedness of input substitution, the most popular interpretation of sustainability has less to do with the preserving the planet for the Seventh Generation than with making compromises. The Sustainability Triangle is a way of watering down high environmental standards. It is aiming low, not high. William McDonough says, “Being less bad is not being good. It is just being less bad.” If the greatest goal of our most innovative schools, businesses and government agencies is to be less bad, what happens if we fall short? What kind of message does “being less bad” send to our children? Who is driving this natural gas powered bus?
The “triple bottom line” is still a bottom line.
“People, Profits, Planet” is still two versus one. It’s not easy to beat a double-team.
Sustainability was new and exciting ten years ago. It was an admirable goal then, but times have changed. Substituting inputs is a grossly inadequate strategy to address the manifold pressures closing in on human culture. “Being less bad” only buys enough time to figure out how to be good. That time has come.
It is a good day to be good!
Obama – Hope we can belive in!
Stewart – Humor always works.
Colbert – Give me the bump, please.
Beck – I'm turning positive, Glenn. Act fast!
Jack – "This world is gonna hurt, you better turn that thing down..."
Peace and Post Petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Episode 4: An Inconvenient Inconvenience
Episode 4: An Inconvenient Inconvenience
5/29/08
(Written on the grid)
The entire American infrastructure is based on convenience made possible by cheap, abundant oil: fast food, convenience stores, single-serve packages, drive-up windows, drive-by shootings, escalators, elevators, moving sidewalks. (This is beginning to sound like a Billy Joel song.) Do you see anything wrong with this model?
I like design. Let me rephrase that. I like good design. Good design, for me, takes full advantage of natural energy flows and minimizes dependence on fossil fuels. Very little design over the last century is good design. The general motto, according to William McDonough, was “If brute force is not working you’re not using enough of it.” If a building was cool, add fossil fuel. If a building was hot, add fossil fuel. One size fits all. (See International Style of architecture.) I’ll call this the Petroleum Paradigm (P2).
But the problem P2 is that when we built these inefficient buildings, building them was also cheap (in energy costs). Now we have all these obsolete behemoths that not only consume massive amounts of energy but they also took massive amounts of energy to build in the first place (embodied energy). Now that energy is expensive, we are faced with a dilemma: do we use lots more energy to build energy efficient buildings or do we embrace the embodied energy in existing buildings and try to retrofit them? There is no one answer to this. Every region, every microclimate, and every building needs to be examined individually. This will not be easy or convenient. But it needs to happen now. It needs to happen in American before next winter. Get on it people.
Unless…
This just in from NPR:
Exxon suddenly has a butt load of money. Have you heard about this? Who’d have guessed? They have pledged to invest 125 billion dollars to find more oil. Why didn’t I think of that?!?
More good news from NPR!
(Am I becoming the Beavis and Butthead of NPR?)
Hormel profits up 14% first quarter! Seems Americans are eating more Spam. Who’d have guessed? A 12-ounce can averages $2.62. Cheaper that gas! Put it in your belly and ride a bike.
Obama – I speak a little Spanish too.
Stewart – Come on, John.
Colbert – No bears, I promise.
Beck – You’ve already breached the topic.
Jack – Surf’s up
Peace and Post petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
5/29/08
(Written on the grid)
The entire American infrastructure is based on convenience made possible by cheap, abundant oil: fast food, convenience stores, single-serve packages, drive-up windows, drive-by shootings, escalators, elevators, moving sidewalks. (This is beginning to sound like a Billy Joel song.) Do you see anything wrong with this model?
I like design. Let me rephrase that. I like good design. Good design, for me, takes full advantage of natural energy flows and minimizes dependence on fossil fuels. Very little design over the last century is good design. The general motto, according to William McDonough, was “If brute force is not working you’re not using enough of it.” If a building was cool, add fossil fuel. If a building was hot, add fossil fuel. One size fits all. (See International Style of architecture.) I’ll call this the Petroleum Paradigm (P2).
But the problem P2 is that when we built these inefficient buildings, building them was also cheap (in energy costs). Now we have all these obsolete behemoths that not only consume massive amounts of energy but they also took massive amounts of energy to build in the first place (embodied energy). Now that energy is expensive, we are faced with a dilemma: do we use lots more energy to build energy efficient buildings or do we embrace the embodied energy in existing buildings and try to retrofit them? There is no one answer to this. Every region, every microclimate, and every building needs to be examined individually. This will not be easy or convenient. But it needs to happen now. It needs to happen in American before next winter. Get on it people.
Unless…
This just in from NPR:
Exxon suddenly has a butt load of money. Have you heard about this? Who’d have guessed? They have pledged to invest 125 billion dollars to find more oil. Why didn’t I think of that?!?
More good news from NPR!
(Am I becoming the Beavis and Butthead of NPR?)
Hormel profits up 14% first quarter! Seems Americans are eating more Spam. Who’d have guessed? A 12-ounce can averages $2.62. Cheaper that gas! Put it in your belly and ride a bike.
Obama – I speak a little Spanish too.
Stewart – Come on, John.
Colbert – No bears, I promise.
Beck – You’ve already breached the topic.
Jack – Surf’s up
Peace and Post petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Three Degrees of Peak Oil: Improvisational Tragedy
Episode 3: Three Degrees of Peak Oil: Improvisational Tragedy.
5/28/05 (1st Anniversary)
Written on the grid.
My girlfriend is selling her Toyota Tacoma. (Yes, a girl with a truck. That’s why I love her.) She took all of the paperwork out of the glove box to post the truck on Auto Trader. I noticed the Fuel Economy Information provided by the DOE and EPA – supposedly our government watchdogs on all things environmental and energetic.
Besides the fact that the truck gets an embarrassingly low 19 mpg highway, at the center bottom of the page it says, “Estimated Annual Fuel Cost: $1,235.” That’s it.
No information on what price of gas the estimate is based on.
No information on number of miles the estimate is based on.
Just magic: $1,235.
I think she should call Toyota and demand a rebate!
It is clear that someone designed this Fuel Economy Guide. It is clear that his/her supervisor approved it. It is clear that millions of Americans looked at the guide -they just did not care what it said. And no one. No one at DOE. No one at EPA. Not your father or your mother or your brother or you sister said, “This is fucked up. This is just a number. What’s it based on?”
Was it ignorance or apathy? Which is more dangerous?
And I wonder how the DOE/EPA publishes this uninformative information these days. By the time they print the paper it’s obsolete? Maybe they could do it on the internet and update it daily as gas prices rise. Or maybe have radio stations announce a list of estimated annual fuel costs for all vehicles every morning like they do with school closings during snowstorms. Or maybe on American Idol. At least that way they’d know the information would be well distributed.
Said girlfriend told me that my other blog entries are too long. Sorry to bore you blog readers. Sorry to take your time away from American Idol.
So I’ll end this now. But I’ll end it on a positive note. Sorry again.
This is my money saving solution for gas stations across America:
Take the 1’s used for posting gas prices and turn them into 4’s using a little white paint. You’re never going to use those 1’s again anyway. Those 4’s will be plenty handy until August when you’re gonna need a butt load of 5’s. In the meantime, please pass the savings on to your customers. They sure could use a break at the pump.
Obama – Running mate?
Stewart – This is timely stuff, John.
Colbert – Word me, dude.
Beck – Endorsement for Obama and me?
Jack – How much is biodiesel this summer?
Peace and Post petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
5/28/05 (1st Anniversary)
Written on the grid.
My girlfriend is selling her Toyota Tacoma. (Yes, a girl with a truck. That’s why I love her.) She took all of the paperwork out of the glove box to post the truck on Auto Trader. I noticed the Fuel Economy Information provided by the DOE and EPA – supposedly our government watchdogs on all things environmental and energetic.
Besides the fact that the truck gets an embarrassingly low 19 mpg highway, at the center bottom of the page it says, “Estimated Annual Fuel Cost: $1,235.” That’s it.
No information on what price of gas the estimate is based on.
No information on number of miles the estimate is based on.
Just magic: $1,235.
I think she should call Toyota and demand a rebate!
It is clear that someone designed this Fuel Economy Guide. It is clear that his/her supervisor approved it. It is clear that millions of Americans looked at the guide -they just did not care what it said. And no one. No one at DOE. No one at EPA. Not your father or your mother or your brother or you sister said, “This is fucked up. This is just a number. What’s it based on?”
Was it ignorance or apathy? Which is more dangerous?
And I wonder how the DOE/EPA publishes this uninformative information these days. By the time they print the paper it’s obsolete? Maybe they could do it on the internet and update it daily as gas prices rise. Or maybe have radio stations announce a list of estimated annual fuel costs for all vehicles every morning like they do with school closings during snowstorms. Or maybe on American Idol. At least that way they’d know the information would be well distributed.
Said girlfriend told me that my other blog entries are too long. Sorry to bore you blog readers. Sorry to take your time away from American Idol.
So I’ll end this now. But I’ll end it on a positive note. Sorry again.
This is my money saving solution for gas stations across America:
Take the 1’s used for posting gas prices and turn them into 4’s using a little white paint. You’re never going to use those 1’s again anyway. Those 4’s will be plenty handy until August when you’re gonna need a butt load of 5’s. In the meantime, please pass the savings on to your customers. They sure could use a break at the pump.
Obama – Running mate?
Stewart – This is timely stuff, John.
Colbert – Word me, dude.
Beck – Endorsement for Obama and me?
Jack – How much is biodiesel this summer?
Peace and Post petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
Friday, May 23, 2008
Episode Two: Think Oily (Re)Act Locally
Episode Two: Think Oily (Re)Act Locally
5/23/08
(Written using solar electricity.)
Memorial Day weekend is coming. Vroom. Vroom. Let’s spend some time honoring the memories of all the soldiers who gave their lives for U.S. imperialism and ensuring the continued flow of crude oil to our shores. Lets remember their contribution by burning as much oil in one weekend as we possibly can. This will ensure that more and more soldiers will follow in their footsteps to their graves. Talk about job security…for the military industrial complex.
This just in from NPR: (Sorry, I did not catch the source, but I suspect a AAA spokesman.) Even though gas prices are high, they are not high enough to prevent people from taking their kids on vacation this weekend. Driving has not yet been significantly curtailed in America. “It’s still the least expensive way for a group of people to travel.” Does that include the cost of the Iraq war? Does it include the clean up after Katrina? Does it include Miramar/Burma? Tornados in Atlanta? Crop failures in Australia due to drought? Asthma? Oil spills? Squashed turtles?
Squashed turtles make me unbelievably sad. It takes decades for the females of many species of turtle to reach sexual maturity. During that time they have to find food, avoid predators, overwinter, etc. Then as soon as these lovely ladies get knocked up and head for the hills to lay their eggs they come across route 11, or route 22, or route 66 where Memorial Day weekenders are getting their kicks. You know the rest of the story. Mrs. Yertle gets pancaked along with her eggs along with all of their hopes and dreams of a bright reptilian future. Eggs have rights, right Mitt? Or did you change your mind again?
This just in from Juno, Alaska: Electricity rates up 400% to 500%! This is not a joke. An avalanche wiped out the power lines from a hydroelectric dam so the city cranked up diesel generators to reestablish supply. (If you have not noticed, diesel prices are a little high right now.) So in a matter of weeks the city of Juno has cut electricity use by 30%. How? Lots of simple, little solutions. Spokesperson: “I don’t know anyone who uses incandescent light bulbs anymore.”
It’s the economy, stupid! The vast majority of Americans do not respond to environmental arguments. I know. That’s been my job for eighteen years. A heck of a lot of people just do not give a shit. We failed miserably on climate change.
I want my SUV!
Most Americans only respond to cash. “Show me the money!” More like, “Show me the price tag.” Four dollars a gallon?!?
I don’t want my SUV!
And for the first time since Carter (Bless you Jimmy) Americans are seeking out more fuel-efficient vehicles. People are dumping their SUVs at below Kelley Blue Book value. Meanwhile, old school Hondas and Toyotas are gaining value. This is the first major public indication that the value of things that are energy inefficient will from now on be approaching zero while things that are energy efficient will approach infinity. For this major economic transition I am well positioned. The post-petroleum lifestyle that I have developed over the last 20 years has informed my investment decisions: bicycles, panniers, B.O.B. trailer, solar electricity, wheel barrows, garden carts, bow saws, hammers, high wheel cultivators, organic fertilizer, scythes, push reel (also real) mowers, loppers, axes, mauls (not malls), hand-crank coffee grinder, French press, wind-up radio, wood stoves, solar hot water system, solar parabolic cooker, rakes, picks, shovels and implements of destruction (town dump also closed on Thanksgiving).
What do all of these investments have in common?
This just in from NPR: Obesity is a major problem in America, and increasingly for employers. “Americans are getting fatter faster.” (Alliterative quote of the day!) We’re talking health care costs here. Think diabetes and hypertension. Wonder how that happened?
This just in from NPR: “High oil prices may push the economy into a recession.” Fuck me!
“The government tends to make things look better than they actually are.” Fuck me!
It takes six to eighteen months for economists to look back on the economy to determine whether there was a recession. Interesting. It also takes time to look back and identify Peak Oil. It is also something that is only identified in hindsight. The problem is that once Peak Oil has been tagged it may be too late to extract so many collective heads from so many collective anuses. But that has not kept me from trying. (I am the most optimistic person you’ll ever meet.)
In my experience, environmentalists are proactive and economists are reactive. So after 20 years as a failed environmentalist I am embarking on a new career as an economist. My greatest asset is that I’ve never taken an economics course in my life.
I am now a reactionary. I am reacting to a crisis that finally people are starting to understand. Apparently 80% of Americans now believe that the price of oil will never go back down. This is the most significant survey data published since…survey data first became published. So, my peeps. Rise up and be heard! You say you want a revolution? Follow me! My portrait would look great on a t-shirt.
Obama – I changed my mind. Make me the next Federal Reserve Chair.
Stewart – I wait for your reply, Daily.
Colbert – Grow a pair.
Beck – Grow your hair.
Jack – I’m serious. I have an awesome song called Last House on the Road. No F-bombs, I promise.
Peace and Post petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
5/23/08
(Written using solar electricity.)
Memorial Day weekend is coming. Vroom. Vroom. Let’s spend some time honoring the memories of all the soldiers who gave their lives for U.S. imperialism and ensuring the continued flow of crude oil to our shores. Lets remember their contribution by burning as much oil in one weekend as we possibly can. This will ensure that more and more soldiers will follow in their footsteps to their graves. Talk about job security…for the military industrial complex.
This just in from NPR: (Sorry, I did not catch the source, but I suspect a AAA spokesman.) Even though gas prices are high, they are not high enough to prevent people from taking their kids on vacation this weekend. Driving has not yet been significantly curtailed in America. “It’s still the least expensive way for a group of people to travel.” Does that include the cost of the Iraq war? Does it include the clean up after Katrina? Does it include Miramar/Burma? Tornados in Atlanta? Crop failures in Australia due to drought? Asthma? Oil spills? Squashed turtles?
Squashed turtles make me unbelievably sad. It takes decades for the females of many species of turtle to reach sexual maturity. During that time they have to find food, avoid predators, overwinter, etc. Then as soon as these lovely ladies get knocked up and head for the hills to lay their eggs they come across route 11, or route 22, or route 66 where Memorial Day weekenders are getting their kicks. You know the rest of the story. Mrs. Yertle gets pancaked along with her eggs along with all of their hopes and dreams of a bright reptilian future. Eggs have rights, right Mitt? Or did you change your mind again?
This just in from Juno, Alaska: Electricity rates up 400% to 500%! This is not a joke. An avalanche wiped out the power lines from a hydroelectric dam so the city cranked up diesel generators to reestablish supply. (If you have not noticed, diesel prices are a little high right now.) So in a matter of weeks the city of Juno has cut electricity use by 30%. How? Lots of simple, little solutions. Spokesperson: “I don’t know anyone who uses incandescent light bulbs anymore.”
It’s the economy, stupid! The vast majority of Americans do not respond to environmental arguments. I know. That’s been my job for eighteen years. A heck of a lot of people just do not give a shit. We failed miserably on climate change.
I want my SUV!
Most Americans only respond to cash. “Show me the money!” More like, “Show me the price tag.” Four dollars a gallon?!?
I don’t want my SUV!
And for the first time since Carter (Bless you Jimmy) Americans are seeking out more fuel-efficient vehicles. People are dumping their SUVs at below Kelley Blue Book value. Meanwhile, old school Hondas and Toyotas are gaining value. This is the first major public indication that the value of things that are energy inefficient will from now on be approaching zero while things that are energy efficient will approach infinity. For this major economic transition I am well positioned. The post-petroleum lifestyle that I have developed over the last 20 years has informed my investment decisions: bicycles, panniers, B.O.B. trailer, solar electricity, wheel barrows, garden carts, bow saws, hammers, high wheel cultivators, organic fertilizer, scythes, push reel (also real) mowers, loppers, axes, mauls (not malls), hand-crank coffee grinder, French press, wind-up radio, wood stoves, solar hot water system, solar parabolic cooker, rakes, picks, shovels and implements of destruction (town dump also closed on Thanksgiving).
What do all of these investments have in common?
This just in from NPR: Obesity is a major problem in America, and increasingly for employers. “Americans are getting fatter faster.” (Alliterative quote of the day!) We’re talking health care costs here. Think diabetes and hypertension. Wonder how that happened?
This just in from NPR: “High oil prices may push the economy into a recession.” Fuck me!
“The government tends to make things look better than they actually are.” Fuck me!
It takes six to eighteen months for economists to look back on the economy to determine whether there was a recession. Interesting. It also takes time to look back and identify Peak Oil. It is also something that is only identified in hindsight. The problem is that once Peak Oil has been tagged it may be too late to extract so many collective heads from so many collective anuses. But that has not kept me from trying. (I am the most optimistic person you’ll ever meet.)
In my experience, environmentalists are proactive and economists are reactive. So after 20 years as a failed environmentalist I am embarking on a new career as an economist. My greatest asset is that I’ve never taken an economics course in my life.
I am now a reactionary. I am reacting to a crisis that finally people are starting to understand. Apparently 80% of Americans now believe that the price of oil will never go back down. This is the most significant survey data published since…survey data first became published. So, my peeps. Rise up and be heard! You say you want a revolution? Follow me! My portrait would look great on a t-shirt.
Obama – I changed my mind. Make me the next Federal Reserve Chair.
Stewart – I wait for your reply, Daily.
Colbert – Grow a pair.
Beck – Grow your hair.
Jack – I’m serious. I have an awesome song called Last House on the Road. No F-bombs, I promise.
Peace and Post petroleum, Nedly, RfD
noslen.obel@gmail.com
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Episode One: Wake up and Smell the Coffee (Fair Trade, Organic)
5/21/08
(Written using solar electricity.)
Food and energy, expressed as a percentage of household income, have traditionally be lower in America that in any other highly developed country. This has freed up more money for consumer goods. This, along with massive personal debt made possible by credit card companies, has driven the US economy into a very dangerous position. We don’t make very much stuff, we just buy and sell Chinese stuff to each other while driving very large vehicles full of Saudi Arabian liquid stuff.
As long as oil was cheap and abundant, and others were willing to loan us money, this system thrived. I’ve never taken an economics course in my life, and even I recognized decades ago this was a flawed economic system. Maybe it’s because I never took an economics course! Which raises some very disturbing questions: If economics classes were being taught using principles that were fundamentally flawed, what other faulty information has our educational system thrust upon us? What other lies have we been told? How have we been manipulated and how long will it continue before someone has the courage to stand up and yell, “He’s naked!” I call this the Emperor’s New SUV. (I coined that phrase in 1999 when oil was less than $30 per barrel.)
The American economy is a house of cards because it is built on a table of cheap, abundant oil. Now that food and energy prices are rising people have less “disposable income” (talk about throwing your money away!) to spend at Wal-Mart. When Americans shop less stores make less money and lay people off. These people shop even less at other stores that lay other people off. And so on, and so on, and so on. In the language of Systems Theory this is called positive feedback. We know it more as a “downward spiral.”
Americans live in the Matrix where we think the world of cheap, abundant oil and endless debt are normal. This pathology is so strong that many Americans still believe it as oil passes $130 per barrel on it’s way to $200 and beyond. He’s naked! He’s naked! He’s naked!
Need more convincing? Lets take a broader look.
When you are lost in the forest but have a map and compass, what can you do to pinpoint your location? Climb up to a ridge and triangulate. That is pick out three distinctive features in the landscape and find them on the map. Use your compass to take a bearing on each feature and then draw those lines on your map. Where those three lines cross is where you’re at. Wherever you go, there you are.
So let’s try triangulation with oil. First point of reference is Global Warming. Go ask Al Gore. Second point is a war that may last 100 years. Go ask John McCain. And the third is Peak Oil. Go ask… That’s the thing; hardly anyone is talking about Peak Oil. I have yet to hear those two words uttered in the mainstream media. How do they explain record oil prices day after day?
1) China and India are using more oil as their economies expand rapidly. Excuse me, who pushed for globalization? Look in the mirror.
2) The weak dollar. As if it were an independent entity. Bad dollar, you have not been working out. You are so weak and flabby like…most of the U.S. population. Look in the mirror.
3) Which country has 5% of world population but uses 25% of its fossil fuels? Look in the mirror.
He’s naked! He’s naked! He’s naked!
And so what did McCain and Clinton propose to ease the burden on the poor American driver? A federal gas tax holiday. He’s naked and she’s also naked!
This just in on NPR Morning Edition: Toyota has just sold its one millionth Prius. Go figure. At least someone is wearing clothes…but they are Japanese. Is this their secret second Pearl Harbor?
Everything we do is about our relationship to energy. Let me repeat that. Everything we do is about our relationship to energy. Yet Americans know practically nothing about energy. Here’s a quiz. Recite for me the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Can’t do it? You’re not alone. In my ongoing informal survey of American adults I have yet to find one who gets it perfectly right and less than 5% even take a stab at it. Yow!
This also just in from NPR business news: Sales of locking gas caps are up, up, up! Why? Gas theft is up, up, up. Surprised?
How will Americans continue to respond to the Peak Oil crisis? Denial? Disbelief? Theft? Invade Iran?
If America is to weather this storm with any grace at all it will require three important steps:
1) Serious and meaningful energy education.
2) Humility.
3) Creative problem solving.
I have lived a post-petroleum lifestyle for two decades. My dependence on foreign oil is negligible. My carbon footprint is less than 5% that of the average American. I have designed and built an energy-independent homestead: Pedal Power Farm.
I have embraced creative low-tech solutions in the areas of:
1) Food
2) Transportation
3) Heating and Cooling
4) Lighting
5) Electricity use
I know my shit because I live this shit. By the way, I don’t have a flush toilet. Why do we consider it perfectly normal to defecate in water that is cleaner than half the world drinks? He’s naked…at least his bum is. I live in association with an outhouse. I call it a “short-drop.” I use wood chips to occlude air contact and thus smell. The wood chips also add carbon to balance the nitrogen in the poop. (See The Humanure Handbook.) This makes awesome compost that I put on my perennial beds. They are among the finest in the state of New Hampshire. Come by and see them. And my outhouse, according to recent Appalachian Trail through-hiker John Wright, is the “Nicest outhouse I’ve ever seen. This includes the entire A.T.” Come by and see it. And make a deposit.
I am available for consulting, speaking engagements, weddings, funerals, Bar Mitzvahs, and Washington lobbying. I work only for courageous leaders. Cowards need not apply.
Barrack Obama – Looking for an energy secretary?
John Stewart – I’ve got 4 unfinished manuscripts. Will that get me on the Daily Show?
Steven Colbert - I am your most formidable opponent.
Jack Johnson – Do I have song lyrics for you!
Glenn Beck – Bring it on!
Peace and Post Petroleum
Ride on, Ned Lebo, RfD
Poet, Farmer, Two-Wheeled Cowboy
(Written using solar electricity.)
Food and energy, expressed as a percentage of household income, have traditionally be lower in America that in any other highly developed country. This has freed up more money for consumer goods. This, along with massive personal debt made possible by credit card companies, has driven the US economy into a very dangerous position. We don’t make very much stuff, we just buy and sell Chinese stuff to each other while driving very large vehicles full of Saudi Arabian liquid stuff.
As long as oil was cheap and abundant, and others were willing to loan us money, this system thrived. I’ve never taken an economics course in my life, and even I recognized decades ago this was a flawed economic system. Maybe it’s because I never took an economics course! Which raises some very disturbing questions: If economics classes were being taught using principles that were fundamentally flawed, what other faulty information has our educational system thrust upon us? What other lies have we been told? How have we been manipulated and how long will it continue before someone has the courage to stand up and yell, “He’s naked!” I call this the Emperor’s New SUV. (I coined that phrase in 1999 when oil was less than $30 per barrel.)
The American economy is a house of cards because it is built on a table of cheap, abundant oil. Now that food and energy prices are rising people have less “disposable income” (talk about throwing your money away!) to spend at Wal-Mart. When Americans shop less stores make less money and lay people off. These people shop even less at other stores that lay other people off. And so on, and so on, and so on. In the language of Systems Theory this is called positive feedback. We know it more as a “downward spiral.”
Americans live in the Matrix where we think the world of cheap, abundant oil and endless debt are normal. This pathology is so strong that many Americans still believe it as oil passes $130 per barrel on it’s way to $200 and beyond. He’s naked! He’s naked! He’s naked!
Need more convincing? Lets take a broader look.
When you are lost in the forest but have a map and compass, what can you do to pinpoint your location? Climb up to a ridge and triangulate. That is pick out three distinctive features in the landscape and find them on the map. Use your compass to take a bearing on each feature and then draw those lines on your map. Where those three lines cross is where you’re at. Wherever you go, there you are.
So let’s try triangulation with oil. First point of reference is Global Warming. Go ask Al Gore. Second point is a war that may last 100 years. Go ask John McCain. And the third is Peak Oil. Go ask… That’s the thing; hardly anyone is talking about Peak Oil. I have yet to hear those two words uttered in the mainstream media. How do they explain record oil prices day after day?
1) China and India are using more oil as their economies expand rapidly. Excuse me, who pushed for globalization? Look in the mirror.
2) The weak dollar. As if it were an independent entity. Bad dollar, you have not been working out. You are so weak and flabby like…most of the U.S. population. Look in the mirror.
3) Which country has 5% of world population but uses 25% of its fossil fuels? Look in the mirror.
He’s naked! He’s naked! He’s naked!
And so what did McCain and Clinton propose to ease the burden on the poor American driver? A federal gas tax holiday. He’s naked and she’s also naked!
This just in on NPR Morning Edition: Toyota has just sold its one millionth Prius. Go figure. At least someone is wearing clothes…but they are Japanese. Is this their secret second Pearl Harbor?
Everything we do is about our relationship to energy. Let me repeat that. Everything we do is about our relationship to energy. Yet Americans know practically nothing about energy. Here’s a quiz. Recite for me the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Can’t do it? You’re not alone. In my ongoing informal survey of American adults I have yet to find one who gets it perfectly right and less than 5% even take a stab at it. Yow!
This also just in from NPR business news: Sales of locking gas caps are up, up, up! Why? Gas theft is up, up, up. Surprised?
How will Americans continue to respond to the Peak Oil crisis? Denial? Disbelief? Theft? Invade Iran?
If America is to weather this storm with any grace at all it will require three important steps:
1) Serious and meaningful energy education.
2) Humility.
3) Creative problem solving.
I have lived a post-petroleum lifestyle for two decades. My dependence on foreign oil is negligible. My carbon footprint is less than 5% that of the average American. I have designed and built an energy-independent homestead: Pedal Power Farm.
I have embraced creative low-tech solutions in the areas of:
1) Food
2) Transportation
3) Heating and Cooling
4) Lighting
5) Electricity use
I know my shit because I live this shit. By the way, I don’t have a flush toilet. Why do we consider it perfectly normal to defecate in water that is cleaner than half the world drinks? He’s naked…at least his bum is. I live in association with an outhouse. I call it a “short-drop.” I use wood chips to occlude air contact and thus smell. The wood chips also add carbon to balance the nitrogen in the poop. (See The Humanure Handbook.) This makes awesome compost that I put on my perennial beds. They are among the finest in the state of New Hampshire. Come by and see them. And my outhouse, according to recent Appalachian Trail through-hiker John Wright, is the “Nicest outhouse I’ve ever seen. This includes the entire A.T.” Come by and see it. And make a deposit.
I am available for consulting, speaking engagements, weddings, funerals, Bar Mitzvahs, and Washington lobbying. I work only for courageous leaders. Cowards need not apply.
Barrack Obama – Looking for an energy secretary?
John Stewart – I’ve got 4 unfinished manuscripts. Will that get me on the Daily Show?
Steven Colbert - I am your most formidable opponent.
Jack Johnson – Do I have song lyrics for you!
Glenn Beck – Bring it on!
Peace and Post Petroleum
Ride on, Ned Lebo, RfD
Poet, Farmer, Two-Wheeled Cowboy
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