The Party's Over

I've just finished reading another Richard Heinberg book The Party's Over first published in 2003 and updated in 2005.

In this book Richard looks in detail at how fossil fuels were created millions of years ago and how man first discovered their uses as a source of energy.There is a whole chapter devoted to exactly how much oil is left in the ground.There are conflicting opinions but what we do know is that we have passed the half way mark and what is left will be harder to extract.The extra cost will be passed onto the end user ie us.

The book paints a gloomy picture of the future but the change that is to come will be made that much easier if we start now the process of moving to a post carbon lifestyle.

At the end of his book he has a very useful section on how we can start making changes on a personal level such as reducing our energy needs,switching to alternative energy sources like solar panels and wind power.

Start to grow your own food no matter how small your garden might be,and use the car less and public transport more.

On a brighter note I think that the change to a post carbon world will bring communities together,for a solution to this problem will only come from the bottom up as we help each other to provide the resources we need.

The impersonal modern world where often we don't even know our neighbour is coming to an end.

A great read and you can get the book here:

Monitor your energy consumption

imeasure.org.uk is the creation of the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University allowing people to monitor their energy consumption and see how they compare with other users.

You upload your weekly gas and electricity readings and will get a readout of your carbon omissions for that week.
It's a great incentive to start to make savings and it's free to use.

So get going with it now!

Peak Everything

I have just finished reading another of Richard Heinberg's books Peak Everything.

In it he talks about how we might manage the transition through the age of oil depletion,not least in the area of food production.Think about the food you buy in a supermarket.Then think of the all the fossil fuel burning that has gone on to get it there.First seed has to be sown with tractors,then harvested and taken to silos.

Then it has to be processed in someway to create the final product.All this needs oil.

Then it is taken to a central distribution centre before being finally sent out to your supermarket.

Don't forget you probably drove you car to the supermarket and will drive back to get the food home.Finally you stick this food in the oven,yes more fossil fuel.

Heinburg talks about going back to locally produced food.We will re-ruralise the landscape.Hey turn your back lawn over to growing vegetables.

Perhaps the most moving chapter is the one written by someone living a hundred years from how and writing back to us.He tells how the world has changed to a world of chaos caused by the end of oil.Let us hope it doesn't turn out like that.But we need to act now.You can get the book here