August/September 2005
Cultivating
Relational Intelligence
Nina Simons
Crimes
Against Democracy: An Interview with Thom Hartmann
Jim Guiness
Rebirth
in the Forest
Will Sears
Right
Living, and Surviving, After The Age Of Oil
John Darling
Permaculture
and Place
Steve Gabriel
Think
of Local Food First
Wendy Siporen
Sustainable
Living at Solviva
Anna Edey
Year-Round
Gardening in Home and GreenHouse
Jeffrey M. Smith
The
Greening of Cuba
Caroline Whyte
A
Path of Peace, Kindness and Compassion
Jody Woodruff
From
Hurt to Heart
Eryn Kalish
Epictetus'
Handbook Revisited
Gay Hendricks & Phillip Johncock
The
Sky of Now
Katie Davis
The
Complete Book of Raw Food
Reviewed by Rachel Bendat
Whole
Foods Companion
Reviewed by Rachel Bendat
Cosmic
Calendar
Salina Rain
Deborah
Mokma, Editor
Although the threat of global warming hasn’t been enough to cause most of us to give up our petroleum addiction, it appears our fuel habit will be affected sooner than later by the continuing rise in the cost and availability of oil.
The current administration has yet to admit that global petroleum reserves are insufficient to meet the growing demand world-wide, but the US Department of Energy thought it important enough to request a report on this issue from an independent research company. This significant report warns of a global problem of “unprecedented” proportions with economic, social, and political impacts that are likely to be extremely severe. The report goes on to predict “protracted economic hardship” for the US and the rest of the world and calls it a problem that deserves “immediate, serious attention.” But, six months after its release, the Hirsch report has yet to be shared with the public. Richard Heinberg (author of The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies and Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-carbon World, www.museletter.com), wrote recently:
“Over the past few months controversy has raged over the timing of Peak Oil—the moment when global oil production will reach its all-time maximum and begin its inevitable descent … Evidently the US Department of Energy is interested enough in the Peak Oil debate to commission a report on the subject. Released in February this year by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and titled Peaking of World Oil Production: Impacts, Mitigation and Risk Management, the report examines the likely consequences of the impending global peak. It was authored principally by Robert L. Hirsch, and it’s Executive Summary begins with the following paragraph:
The peaking of world oil production presents the US and the world with anunprecedented risk management problem. As peaking is approached, liquid fuel prices and price volatility will increase dramatically, and, without timely mitigation, the economic, social, and political costs will be unprecedented. Viable mitigation options exist on both the supply and demand sides, but to have substantial impact, they must be initiated more than a decade in advance of peaking …
Hirsch, et al., also point out that: The problems associated with world oil production peaking will not be temporary, and past ‘energy crisis’ experience will provide relatively little guidance.
If the content of the Hirsch report is to be believed—and there is every reason to think it should be—then this is a document that deserves the close attention of every leader of government and industry in the United States. Newspapers and newsmagazines should be running excerpts and summaries. Instead, there is nearly total silence. In late May Robert Hirsch presented the substance of the report at the annual Workshop of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) in Lisbon, Portugal to an audience of about 300. That event received virtually no press coverage in the US.”
Developing countries are already feeling the crunch. The BBC reported last July that dozens were killed in fuel riots in Yemen when the government withdrew subsidies resulting in huge price increases. And throughout Indonesia people were lining up at gas stations due to fuel shortages—in one city, half the public transport couldn’t operate. In Zimbabwe the government deregulated fuel procurement due to severe shortages which resulted in long waits for buses, gas lines that are blocks long, a bread shortage, and black market gasoline selling for ten times the official rate. Nicaragua, which, like most poor countries makes electricity using diesel generators, recently had to have blackouts during the hours of peak usage.
The Hirsch report may be read in full at www.projectcensored.org. Please take the time to read it and tell others to as well. Write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines calling on them to do their job and report on this newsworthy issue. Contact your state and federal representatives, ask them to read the report, and ask what they plan to do to address Peak Oil.
Besides alerting each other and our elected officials, what can we as individuals do? Educating ourselves is paramount, as is preparing as communities to work together. The best way to take care of ourselves during the challenging times that appear to be ahead of us will be to take care of each other. The learning curve may be steep, but by joining forces with family, friends, and neighbors, the outcome will be considerably more positive for all. Establishing ways to apply the concepts of sustainability in our daily lives is essential. Supporting local producers of food and fuel is also extremely important.
One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Rather than remain attached to our 20th Century consumer consciousness we can embrace the 21st Century and learn to do more with less. Along the way we may find that we also have more: more time to spend with family and friends, more satisfaction than the short-lived pleasure of consuming can provide (and more than the debt-load constant spending requires).
We have some articles in this issue which address these concepts. John Darling’s piece gives us some insight into what many educated people believe will take place within our lifetime, and includes resources for more information. Excerpts from Solviva, Anna Edey’s book on sustainable living and solar greenhouse design, provide an enticing array of possibilities. I encourage everyone to pursue this further on your own. Discuss possible solutions with others, start neighborhood groups, begin thinking today about how we will address tomorrow’s needs. It’s the right thing to do—whether we’re faced with a crisis in the next six months or the next six years. By working together, not only will we survive, we will make wonderful things happen.
