It’s spring! And indeed it is a gloriously warm and sunny day here in Perth, Western Australia on the 1st of September.

The garden is feeling it and thriving on the home-made compost we add regularly and the soil is still holding moisture from the winter rains, under all that mulch. Vegetables include cabbages, broccoli, silverbeet, beetroot, onions, tomatoes, lettuce (tons of it from last year’s self-sown seed), garlic and parsley. Passion fruit and Cape gooseberries are doing well.

But is this a Utopian dream of eating what you can grow yourself, when living in the city?

Half the world’s population lives in cities and its people rely on their food being brought in. What happens when, say a fuel shortage happens? Starvation within three days.

Now there is also a growing movement of city community gardens and farms, which address that problem.

An added benefit of this movement is that we can relearn to be in touch with soil, fertilizer, growth, seasons and cycles, rebuilding our inner capacity for caring about our environment.Because in cities many people never see where their food comes from, and what it takes to grow it.

Such care, based on real needs, not just wants, is the richest of renewable energies that we have left mostly untapped. With it we can do anything. Even build towards a sustainable, flourishing planet.

What do you think?

Want to save on your energy bill fast? You can.

Energy auditing is an Earth-friendly career.

Cannot afford a hybrid or electric car? Convert your car to electric!

You know there is no such thing as a quick fix – least of all in climate change where longer-term human behavior has produced current problems.

But with a man-made thing like money it’s different. You can actually achieve lower energy costs in your home and business within minutes. We’ll return to that.

Generally, we know that if we want to work towards a sustainable world we need to do two things:

1. Save energy. We generally use far too much – much more than we really need. You will know all the usual energy saving tips such as getting an energy audit done and implementing its recommendations. Then come turning the thermostat down, the extra jumper and so on…

2. Changing the way we think about ourselves and our place in the world.

But, to come back to the quick fix: yes, by regularly comparing your gas and electricity prices, choosing the cheapest/best-for-you rate and switching to your preferred energy supplier you can make substantial savings. Hundreds of dollars, Pounds or what have you, in fact.

switching is easier than you might think, with no cost to you. It can be done quite painlessly online. You get the same gas, electricity and keep the same meter. What’s different is you have just achieved home energy savings, or in your business, the difference of which you will feel straight away.

Don’t forget, energy price rises are here to stay. Switchin energy supplier is just getting the cheapest price on a continuously climbing curve. Do the energy saving stuff too to keep happy!

Saving energy through energy audits is a first-line strategy, before you even start thinking about getting solar panels, solar heating or wind power connected to your home.

A typical home energy audit identifies around 30% of energy savings. That could be 30% off your power and heating bills for a start. And you can include savings on water use too.

Furthermore, various cities and states offer free energy audits to the householder – where the auditor gets paid by them. Of course there is a follow-up cost for you in acting on the energy auditor’s recommendations. But that’s way cheaper than going for the renewable technology options first.

Even so, various places have free energy efficient light bulb replacement schemes. Caulking your windows and taping gaps under your doors is not going to break the bank. And there’s help out there… Energy efficient mortgage loans and tax deductions for energy efficient homes and businesses are available. So are energy efficiency personal tax credits and many states and localities offer subsidies and other support with weather stripping and caulking.

You’d be mad not to take advantage of these schemes while they are here.

It’s no wonder that energy audit training is filling a growing gap in qualified people entering this career or as an energy-saving business.

Energy audits are not necessarily complex. Got your R20 roof insulation? Energy efficient windows? Blocked all drafts? But there is more. Do you know which appliances take most power? Time to replace those guzzlers with energy star rated ones? Which times you run your washing machine or dishwasher at the cheapest rates?
By all means, after you took care of all that look into renewable energy too and save money and greenhouse emissions.

Neither side of politics in Australia has the conviction, nor the guts, to display leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The American Republicans oppose Obama’s modest cap and trade scheme.

Any points of light, before the lights go out?

The Greens propose a 100% renewable energy scenario for Australia. Is this realistic?

Well, ask the Europeans.

According to the European Climate Foundation Europe can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent. It will thereby reduce its energy bill by 350 billion euros (US$476 billion) per year. All this can be done by 2050 if it acts within five years.

Not bad.

This means the 27-nation European Union will to lower its carbon- dioxide discharges by 20 percent from 1990 levels Pollution is to be reduced by 80 percent to 95 percent in the next forty years.

The Foundation is adamant these goals are realistic. It believes zero-CO2 electricity can be provided as reliably and economically as now.

It is not surprising that energy auditing is the Foundation’s first-line defense strategy. It is being subsidized and practiced in many countries.

There have been some noises from some quarters that green jobs are nothing but blue collar jobs, as if they are not part of a very influential trend in a sustainable future.

As Greenpeace says in its report Working For he Climate – Green Energy Job Creation: As we head towards the Copenhagen Climate Summit, world leaders have the opportunity to stimulate economic recovery while cutting carbon emissions through investing in green jobs in the renewable energy sector.

The jobs that have an environmental benefit can of course be seen as extensions of existing trades like plumbers, electrician and mechanics but when they become applied to low-CO2 generating purssuits and saving energy they are justifiably green jobs. Nothing at all wrong with that.

We must make the change to clean energy if we are to survive on a sustainable planet. Greenpeace’s report Energy (R)evolution says that “the world can achieve a nine-fold increase in its production of renewable energy to avoid catastrophic climate change.” Under this scenario, by 2030, there would be over 8 million jobs in renewable power and energy efficiency. This is over three times the number than would be the case under a business-as-usual approach.

Furthermore this report showed that if we do nothing to change to clean energy we will half a million energy supply jobs disappearing over the time period.

Energy Auditing – A Growing Green Job Sector

Working For The Climate Report here

Alternative energy is not the only way to lower emissions. human behaviour is number one!

What conclusions to draw from this?

First greenhouse gas levels in the Earth’s atmosphere are a direct result of human activity. Second, humanity has it fully in its power to lower greenhouse gas levels globally. Third, it’s a choice between consumerism or living within limits.

Worldwide Dutch company Shell lowered its emissions by 8.5%. Main reason? Oil production problems, notably in Nigeria. A fertilizer company, DSM, was able to lower its emissions by 21% through application of laughing gas removal technology.

Impressive achievements. Promises of being able to live with effects of global warming.

The Dutch Plan Bureau for Environment states that the economic crisis will help The Netherlands meet its Kyoto target. This target is 6% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions relevant to 1990 levels, by 2012. It fears that a 20% reduction by 2020 will be more difficult to achieve.

We might conclude that for the Earth’s sake, the economic crisis should continue. And by the time this crisis is over, we might have had enough of a prod in the back of climate change effects, to start doing things differently.

Like, consuming necessary things, according to real needs. And real needs will be better assessed by living for the common good, rather than for “number one.”

Sources:

http://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/article1246730.ece/Recessie_levert_schonere_lucht_op

The Australian government has just terminated its AUS$8000.00 rebate scheme for domestic installation of PV solar panels. Two weeks early of its planned cessation.

What does that mean?

While economic stimulus in the US and, in part in Australia, is built on growing the renewable industries, this is the first sign that governments are now judging this movement needs no help. Plus people have been taking up this opportunity to a much greater extent than government budgeted for.

It is a must, so people will do it anyway, so government reasons. And it has already given out so much money in economic stimulus that it has no more to spend.

I have predicted this would happen sooner or later but I did not think it would be this soon. It’s not a mere two week cut, sooner than planned. This is a signal tthat will be repeated as the importance of The Economy resumes its undeserved first place over the Environment and Social domains.

Yes, the Australian government will still offer a solar credits system, but it’s not the same as a cash rebate, is it?

So, while governments still offer solar energy grants and rebate, take the opportunity now. Research what is available to in your country and take action.

Australian Renewable Energy Grants

Solar Energy grants – A Living Database

Australian Energy Incentives Government Source

Renewable Energy Grants

My local branch of the Motor Trade Association (Western Australia) has just issued a warning on rising fuel prices.

The price of a barrel of oil has risen to almost $70 recently and this is reflected by your pain at the bowser. You might be laughing at the price of AUS$1.24 for a litre of petrol here now. But it’s set to go much higher. Much higher, I suggest, than the predicted $1.40 by the end of 2009.

Why?. Peak oil is here. Dwindling oil supplies, high demand and few (cheap) alternatives will have you cut back on your Christmas shopping spending this year.

If the economy is really now climbing out of the recession then energy demand will grow again. But oil will be the break on it this time.

I drive on LPG, tied to half the going price of petrol. But, half of a lot will still be a lot!

You can however take advantage of grassroots car conversion technologies and fuel-saving gadgets.

Rising fuel prices will cause the biggest global explosion of fuel-saving conversion and gadget demand ever seen as the fuel-cost graph goes in one direction only from now on – North!

Of course you can look at converting your own car, or let your mechanic do it.

How To Convert Your Car To Electric

Yes, Running Your Car On Water Vapour (Browns Gas) Is Not A Myth

Kjell Aleklett, professor in Physics, Global Energy Systems, Uppsala University, Sweden and president of ASPO, the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, says it’s here now.

Peak oil. That’s what.

By 2030, world oil production will have fallen 25%. Calculated on an internationally accepted scale, denoting the commencement of phenomenon of Peak Oil, this is it. It’s all the way down from here.

Of course oil production is only part of the story. Expanding economies – once this recession is forgotten – will see rising energy demand once again.

And renewable energy is not ready to tack up the slack, bar a few percentage points of world energy capacity right now.

Translation?

Be prepared!

* Be prepared to pay much higher prices for fuel

* Be prepared to pay much higher prices for just about anything because just about anything relies on oil to make it, or get it to you.

What can you do?

Prof Aleklett says: “If we don’t have the energy, society will crack, so there is not one solution,” he said.

“We should use everything, we should use energy more efficient, we should use other forms of energy, renewable energy is a must of course.”

So, again, what can you do:

* Use less energy

* Buy energy-efficient appliances

* Convert to alternative fuel

* Grow your own food where you can

* Start seeing yourself as one person within a whole web of relationships – so reach out to your neighbours.

Together we will get through.

Luck will have nothing to do with it.

Money cannot buy you out of it, as last time I checked we all live on this one Earth together.

Read The Peak Is Nigh, by Prof Aleklett here.

How To Save Energy/a>

How To Build A Wind Energy Generator

How To Convert Your Car To Electric

How To Use Water Fuel

Momentous movements in our electricity use are occurring as a result of the global economic recession (depression?).

The International Energy Association will release figures at Sunday’s (23rd May 2009) meeting of European community’s energy Ministers that project the lowest global electricity consumption level since 1945.

The IEAA says electricity consumption will slow by an average of 3.5%. In OECD countries this is even lower, 5%. About three-quarters of this change is ascribed to lower industrial production of goods.

Why is this momentous? Because electricity consumption is considered an even more accurate measure of industrial activity than oil consumption.

I don’t know why we are still talking about a recession and avoid the “D” word.

Clearly, the old consumerist thinking is not capable of getting us out of this hole. But government’s stimulus packages still try to prod us into spending us out of the economic dip. When was the last time you spent yourself out of a time of poverty, or lack of money?

No, electricity consumption should probably go lower, when people apply strategies that really work for a long-term sustainable life:

Source:
IEA-economist Fatih Birol in the Financial Times.