The Anti-social bastards in our midst
The car is turning us into A nation Of libertarians
George Monbiot, The Guardian
…this is not, or not really, an article about speed, or cameras, or even cars. It is about the rise of the anti-social bastards who believe they should be allowed to do what they want, whenever they want, regardless of the consequences. I believe that while there are many reasons for the growth of individualism in the UK, the extreme libertarianism now beginning to take hold here begins on the road. When you drive, society becomes an obstacle. Pedestrians, bicycles, traffic calming, speed limits, the law: all become a nuisance to be wished away. The more you drive, the more bloody-minded and individualistic you become. The car is slowly turning us, like the Americans and the Australians, into a nation which recognises only the freedom to act, and not the freedom from the consequences of other people’s actions. We drive on the left in Britain, but we are being driven to the right.
It is not just because of his celebration of everything brash and flash that Jeremy Clarkson has become the boy racer’s hero. He articulates, with a certain wit and with less equivocation than any other writer in this country, the doctrine that he should be permitted to swing his fist, whoever’s nose is in the way. For years he has championed the unrestrained freedom of the road. He takes it so far that from time to time he appears to incite his disciples to vandalise and even kill. “If the only way of getting their [the government’s] attention,” he told the readers of the Sun in 2002, “is to destroy the tools that pay for their junkets and their new wallpaper, then so be it. I wish the people from MAD all the very best.”(4)
In February this year, he suggested that speed cameras might be “filled … with insulating foam that sets rock hard.”(5) After the London bombings in July, he observed that “many commuters are now switching to bicycles … can I offer five handy hints to those setting out on a bike for the first time. 1. Do not cruise through red lights. Because if I’m coming the other way, I will run you down, for fun. 2. Do not pull up at junctions in front of a line of traffic. Because if I’m behind you, I will set off at normal speed and you will be crushed under my wheels. …”(6) Clarkson wants society out of his way when he’s driving, and he isn’t too particular about how it’s done. One day, one of his fans will take him seriously.
(20 December 2005)
Another anti-solution: the Automobile Drivers Liberation Movement. This article was appeared at Znet as well as on Monbiot’s own site. -BA
Camping out at home
Alan Kesselheim, Writers on the Range via Tidepool
With energy prices sky-high and big oil reaping record profit, outdoor camping comes inside
———-
The first heating bill I got was for October, and it jumped from summer levels right up to what I was paying mid-winter last year. Mind you, I didn’t even light the furnace pilot light until Oct.10, and because the weather was nice, we only kicked in the thermostat on a handful of days, less than six, I’d say.
…I’m trying to draw lessons from this experience. One of my conclusions is that I have to apply my camping practices to life at home.
When I’m camping, I dress for conditions. Layers, insulation, heavy socks, a wool cap. What am I thinking wearing a short-sleeved shirt at home when it’s winter outside? Put on a sweater, for crying out loud! Wear some socks.
I’m always amazed, as the season progresses, by how I acclimatize to the weather. Pretty soon the same temperature that felt pretty chilly at the start of winter feels absolutely balmy come January. Heck, people who live in igloos strip down and exist quite comfortably in 40 degrees. Why should I require 65 or 70? Get used to it!
When I’m camping, I pay attention to conditions. Where’s the wind coming from? Where will morning sunlight hit? What are the clouds doing? Does it look like rain? Then I make decisions about campsite location, tent orientation, using trees for shelter from wind.
At home, I’m starting to apply the same frame of reference. When the morning sun hits my east-facing windows, for example, I open the drapes wide. As the sun moves into the south, I open those drapes. The amount of solar heat generated through a pane of glass is staggering. When the sunlight goes, I pull them closed and trap that heat inside.
…In the big picture, though, these shocking power bills are a good wake-up call. For too long I’ve been able to ignore the weather, living scantily clad in my thermostatically warmed shelter, driving in my cheaply-powered, temperature-controlled vehicle, as if I had immunity from the seasons.
Alan Kesselheim is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He is a writer in Bozeman, Montana.
(14 December 2005)
Sweden seeks oil independence
Andrea Mihailescu, United Press International
With the creation of the newly established National Commission on Oil, Sweden — along with a number of other European nations — hopes to find an avenue to achieve its independence from oil by 2020.
The government held a hearing Tuesday to address petroleum challenges and use of energy from renewables.
“As the founding co-chairmen of the Peak Oil Caucus of the United States House of Representatives, we are writing to commend you and the government of Sweden for the December 13, 2005 hearing about peak oil by the newly established National Commission on Oil Independence,” according to a letter obtain by United Press International from Roscoe Bartlett, R-MD, and Tom Udall, D-NM, to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson late Monday.
“The National Commission on Oil Independence appointed by the government of Sweden is creating a model effort for the world in partnership with the private sector,” the two congressmen wrote. “These types of partnerships will lead to greater innovation in energy efficiency and alternatives to contribute to achieving the goal of energy independence from oil.”
One of the commission members, Volvo Trucks, partnered with American businesses such as Maryland-based Mack Truck, Inc., developer of the gas electric hybrid powertrain and deliverer of a prototype refueler to the U.S. Air Force, Congressman Bartlett’s office told UPI.
Sweden is not alone. Iceland is completely energy independent. Denmark, Austria, and Sweden are generating more than 20 percent of their energy from renewables.
Other nations look to ensure their energy independence.
Germany aims to phase out its nuclear plants by 2020, while a number of nations throughout the world are leading the way by encouraging the use of economical renewable energy sources.
Germany became the first leading economic power to announce officially that it would phase out the use of nuclear energy, UPI first reported in May. It already shut down a number of nuclear plants. The Obrigheim nuclear power plant in southern Germany came off line in May after 36 years of operation.
(13 December 2005)
HopeDance Magazine has an entire edition devoted to energy. Below are some highlights:
Conserve Energy; Be Idle: Tom Hodgekinson on living rich while working less
Katie Elizabeth Renz, HopeDance
Today’s energy crisis isn’t only about the declining fossil fuel production. Americans are selling their time at nearly record levels, and even the Girl Scouts are working hard for a “Stress Less” badge. Our physical, mental, and spiritual energy reserves are depleted, on empty.
Is it really surprising that most of us lack the energy to keep up on the news, plant a garden, or learn about political candidates beyond those obnoxious commercials, much less prepare for peak oil while simultaneously stopping the war, saving the California red-legged frog, and building a cob home?
Tom Hodgkinson, founder of The Idler (an – appropriately — biannual publication) and author of the hilarious-yet-astute How to Be Idle (May 2005) is convinced our personal energy expenditures are better devoted toward doing nothing than slaving for the almighty dollar. “I quite liked the idea of a magazine called The Idler,” Hodgkinson told HopeDance, “because I was finding that all my friends and I were massively disappointed with the world of work.”
Conventional employment sacrifices everyday freedom, he argues, consequently scraping the leisure time that often prompts bursts of creative production. Thus, Hodgkinson has spent the past 12 years paring down his work routine (and concurrently, his finances). His average day is spent taking care of his three children, reading, writing, lunching with his girlfriend, gardening, and relaxing in his Mexican hammock.
(January 2005)
Bioremediation in New Orleans
Starhawk, HopeDance
Common Ground has sponsored the “Road Trip for Relief,” to bring hundreds of volunteers into the Ninth Ward, one of the areas most devasted by Hurricane Katrina. Juniper, Scotty and I have been on a special mission to set up a small bioremediation demonstration as a seed for a long-term project.
“Bioremediation” means cleaning soil and water and restoring it to health using beneficial bacteria, plants and fungi. Restoration on the scale of New Orleans is an overwhelming project, but many techniques are applicable on a small scale. Common Ground has been working on a proposal to fund and train a worker’s cooperative that would be able to put them into practice.
Juniper, an environmental engineer, has tested soil samples from many areas in New Orleans. She’s found lead, arsenic and other chemicals, but reports that toxin levels are no worse than they were before the flood. These are the result of generations of paint on old buildings, auto exhaust and lawn chemicals.
Scotty has set up a 100 gallon compost tea brewery. Beneficial bacteria and fungi can break down toxins and restore life to the soil.
(January 2006)
If the solutions to Peak Oil involve much more urban home garden horticulture, then soil bioremediation will be a very important industry — perhaps a good new career choice for some people wondering what to do. -AF
A Microscopically Local and Personal Article on Energy
Ken Haggard, HopeDance
…How removed from the realities of energy relationships we’ve become was clarified to me in 1995 when I, with 9 other people, were appointed as the technical committee to help develop the Energy Element for the San Luis Obispo County General Plan. Even most members of this committee, who had some technical background, could only think of energy in the context of how do we get more of it. Production of energy dominated any discussion as we wrestled to develop a comprehensive plan.
(January 2006)
Going Local: Creating Self Reliant Communities Now
Bob Banner interviews Michael Shuman, HopeDance
Michael Shuman is the author of six books including Going Local: Creating Self Reliant Communities in a Global Age. He is also a frequent lecturer on the benefits of supporting locally-owned businesses. We spoke to him at the 2005 Bioneers conference in San Rafael, California.
Q: So what is the new book going to be about?
MS: The book makes the case for local ownership and self reliance as critical parts of building a prosperous local economy. But the emphasis in this book is really on three things. One is trying to explain why LOIS (locally owned import substitution) is better than TINA (“There is no alternative,” a phrase coined by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher regarding free trade and globalization, the globally mobile companies). The second is to lay the case for why LOIS businesses are becoming more competitive. And third, there are several strategies that we review for transforming the community from TINA to LOIS. One strategy is the “local first” campaign; another is “global community capital.”
Q: You talk a lot about how buying local keeps money in the community. Are people receptive to these types of arguments?
MS: I think so. What has happened in the last few years is that finally LOIS advocates have done some good studies that have demonstrated that relative to TINA, a LOIS investment is going to get you that much more multiplier. So for example, there was an impressive study done by Civic Economics in Austin, Texas, which showed $100 spent at a Borders bookstore leaves $13 in the local economy, while $100 spent at one of the two local bookstores in Austin leaves $45 in the local economy. So roughly speaking, for every dollar you spend, you get three times as much from this multiplier if you spend it locally. Three times as many jobs, three times as much wealth, three times as many tax dollars.
(January 2006)
