Oil Sweet Oil

Although there are a lot more aspects of transition to discuss, I’ve decided to rerun the first introductory article from almost a year ago. Many of you may have missed it and the rest probably forgot it (I know I did). It provides a good comprehensive look at the peak oil predicament we are in and why we at Transition Vashon are trying to foment some urgent action to meet it. Please note that it doesn’t touch at all on last week’s topic: climate change."I began working with the Transition Movement (see transitionus.org) when it became clear to me that we were going to have to learn to live with a lot less petroleum and other finite resources. It is generally accepted that peak oil production is upon us or will be shortly, after which our oil supply will become increasingly more limited. Even the oil companies now set the date at 2015. Most of our other resources are following a similar trajectory.

"These supplies won’t drop quickly but the trend of less rather than more will be a distinct break with the world as we know it. As more and more people fight for fewer and fewer resources, business as usual means rising prices, shortages, permanent recession, more resource wars, a general breakdown of our social and economic institutions. We have responded rationally to a cheap and abundant energy source by creating an extravagant and wasteful culture. Even the Europeans, with a lifestyle arguably as high as our own, use half the energy per capita that we use. If we copy the Europeans, add in some creative technology and conscious lifestyle changes, we could be using 80% less energy by 2020, and living within nature’s budget. We have a choice: creative engagement and a reasonable chance for a viable future, or business as usual and the aforementioned dire future.

"We’ve only been able to live as we do because most of the rest of the world wasn’t. We use 5 times our share of the world’s resources, so, as the rest of the world develops, we will need 6 planets to maintain the world at our level of resource use. Don’t expect alternative energy sources to save us the task of trimming down. Renewables are not expected to replace more than 25% of the energy we expend now. There simply is no getting around it; we have to cut back, and we need to do it now.

"The Transition Model postulates that this change needs to take place at the community level. The formidable costs of transport will naturally refocus power and economics at the local level, as well it should because diversity is far more resilient than monopoly. Powerful interests at the state and national level are not disposed to encourage strategies that reduce or eliminate their own influence.

"Meanwhile, what to do? When you think about it, our entire lifestyle is built around fossil fuels. Ever since we started to gear up to using it a 200 years ago, we found that this versatile material which just came out of the ground and was free for the taking could be used to do and be just about everything we needed. We now eat it (fertilizers), wear it (polyester, makeup, etc.), travel with it, sleep in it, and are buried in or cremated by it.

"Are we addicted to oil? The definition of addiction is the utter dependence on something outside of ourselves that we continue to use despite the negative consequences. Is that oil? Yes. It’s been a fun ride transforming our lives with heretofore unimaginable luxuries and conveniences. Faced with the prospect for a seemingly diminished future, our natural tendency is to discount, deny, and just pretend it isn’t happening. It’s easy to do. Going into the unknown is scary. However, if you allow yourself to consider our alternatives, it isn’t nearly as bad as it seems. In fact, it could be a whole lot better! Imagine a simpler, more meaningful life in a secure and close knit community.

"If we approach it one step at a time, one day at a time, what appears unthinkable becomes palatable in small steps. We need only keep a kind and gentle, but firm, intention in our minds that we will seize the opportunities to step away from oil whenever we can."

I have a correction to make in last week’s column: I mentioned that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were almost 500 ppm. That should be 390 ppm. Things are bad enough without exaggeration on my part.

Make presents this year, or buy used. If you need to buy new, try to buy less stuff that is likely to wind up in the landfill next year. Happy Holidays; remember what is important and what isn’t.

Comments? terry@vashonloop.com