Transport and peak oil etc

I've been writing submissions this week focused mainly on tranport - and specifically on trying to get our local councils here in Canterbury to recognise the need for them to provide cycling and walking facilities.

For some reason they seem to have lost the plot on this one perhaps because of some misguided reaction to the economic downturn but their answers seems largely to focus on providing for more private cars or (and this is not quite so bad) for significant upgrades to our public transport system.

It worries me that organisations charged with looking after our environment and with thinking about the future can ignore the fact that they need to privilege active transport over private cars and that roading is a tremendously bad investment when we are heading into post peak oil and a growing recognition of the issues associated with climate change. Politics is a weird business.

Still there is hope, as this blogger points out - just a pity it is on the other side of the world!

Peak Everything?

I've just read an interesting article about to come out in American Scientist. Revisiting the limits to growth after peak oil links oil to the cost of other resources from metals and minerals through to food. The authors point out that:

• commodity prices have fallen despite the fact that they have become increasingly difficult to produce because oil prices dropped. This drop hid the effect of the increased energy needed for production.
• For every calorie of food produced in the world, 10 calories of energy to into producing, processing and transporting that food.
• The maximum energy return on investment for oil was 100:1 in 1930 but between 20:1 and 30:1 in 2005. That is the amount of energy balance of energy out to energy in has dropped significantly and continues to do so.
• The "limits to growth" model developed in the 60s and 70s is actually predicting very closely the changes that we are currently seeing.
  
• Oil effectively currently provides each person in Europe and the States with "on average some 30 to 60 or more "energy slaves," machines to "hew their wood and haul their water," each slave being equal to a strong, fit person.
• Our new sources of green energy do not provide very high return on energy investment and certainly will not be able to replace oil any time soon as a source of cheap energy.
• Few scientists are working on the issues associated with human population approaching the limits to growth since there has been no funding for that work. Over the last 20-30 years. this means that there are no obvious intellectual leaders debating these issues today and governments do not appear to be taking them seriously in any way, perhaps as a result of this.

Slow living

I'm reading a book by Wendy Parkins & Geoffrey Craig called Slow Living and really enjoying it.

Slow living has emerged from the slow food movement and builds from it. They talk about slow cities - small cities of 50 000 people or less which are focused on fostering "slow spaces" - spaces where people can take time out to reflect, and wonder and to enjoy just being with and talking to other people. Slow spaces, in other words are spaces that encourage people to build some form of community.

What I really like about their argument is the idea that we need to learn how to enjoy life, "to be less impressed by money and success, . . . and to have alternative stories about what makes life good" (I'm quoting one Adam Philips here) Slowing down occasionally and reflecting on enjoyment actually enhances it. If we just keep moving fast, there it not time to notice the little things nor to reflect on or be grateful for the enjoyment and wonder that exists in the everyday.

To this end, I've started a new practice of recording all the things that I've enjoyed about each day at the end of it and I find that there are an increasing number as I get better at spotting them.

:-)