H G Wells on Peak Oil

"Coal and oil are our only capital. They are all we have for great important efforts. They are a gift to mankind to use to some supreme end or to waste in trivialities. Coal is the key to metallurgy and oil to transit. When they are done we shall either have built up such a fabric of apparatus, knowledge and social organization that we shall be able to manage without them—or we shall have traveled a long way down the slopes of waste toward extinction." 

– H.G. Wells, Secret Places of the Heart, 1921

Hackers and lurkers

A hacking attack that hijacked my email account led to all my contacts being spammed. I managed to wrest back control, and felt I owed everyone an explanatory email. In it, I mentioned that I had relocated to Japan, and someone from the Peak Oil group that I belong to, but had not been active in, asked me why - what with earthquakes, tidal waves and nuclear radiation - I would go there. Why indeed? It's time for me to stop being a lurker and to post a summary of my reasons, because we're in this together, and some of my reasoning might be of help to someone else.

If you study the Peak Oil predicament and all associated global issues with an open mind, it's bound to change your thinking. It did mine, the 5 or so years that I've been looking at it. After reading widely I've travelled through a tunnel and out the other side (like Alice in Wonderland?). It made me ask philosophical questions such as: What does it mean to survive, given that we're all going to die anyway? What makes it more important for me and mine to survive, given that everyone is equal? What does 'surviving' mean, beyond merely existing? The upshot is that Peak Oil is no longer the be and end all of my living.

Nevertheless, I have chosen to relocate to Japan from New Zealand. I've decided to leave a country that, by most measures, is a highly desirable location. It may, therefore, be informative for others to read what has prompted my move, so here's a rough and ready list of a dozen reasons:

1. Comparison of countries: I have accumulated several years' worth of experience in Japan - enough to be able to compare countries and decide what I prefer. Unless you build up a knowledge of different grasses, the grass under your feet is always the greener devil.
   


2. Feeling at home: It may just be me, but I have never felt particularly 'at home' in NZ. My best friends were always friends from other cultures and ethnic groups. I'm not a typical Kiwi, and I've always felt more comfortable in places like India, Japan and Europe.
   


3. Climate: This one is a biggie. I've clocked up several decades in Dunedin, and the verdict is out. It isn't warm enough to live there without power. Sorry Dunedinites, but there are simply too many months of the year when the weather is miserable. Some years, there's not even a summer.
   


4. Family connections: My wife is Japanese, and her twin sister lives near her parents whose only grandchild is our daughter. I get along well with them.
   


5. Rural Japan has an eco-village style living arrangement: My wife an I had thought about joining an eco-village in NZ, but if that way if living is already largely established and practiced in rural communities, why re-invent the wheel?
   


6. A history of sustainability: Edo-era Japan was one of the few sustainable communities that have ever operated in the world. I can see that way of life returning here without causing too much social upheaval.
   


7. Psyche of the people, cooperation and working for the group: The Japanese are famous for pulling together and working as a group. Think how they would get behind the Transition Town movement once the need to practice such a lifestyle becomes known. No population of gun owners with a sense of paranoia and entitlement.
   


8. Agricultural base: The country is deeply-rooted to the land. Away from the cities (and even sometimes within them) almost everyone has a garden.
   


9. A population that is reducing: It is true that the government like governments everywhere is trying to get people to increase the population for economic reasons. But the people know better. In another ten years the population will have fallen substantially.
   


10. Zen mentality: I feel in tune with a cultures that infuses literature, flower arranging, sumo, calligraphy - in fact almost any activity - with a spirit of reverence and contemplation.
    


11. Being able to be myself: According to Rita Golden Gelman in her book, Tales of a Female Nomad:
    

    Once I leave [my country], I am not bound by the rules of my culture. And when I
    am a foreigner in anther country, I am exempt from the local rules. This
    extraordinary situation means that there are no rules in my life. I am free to
    live by the standards and ieals and rules I create for myself.
    



12. Midlife crisis? Yes, it's true that I'm middle aged. Yes, it's true that there is a crisis looming. And no, I'm not done living, and I do enjoy a change and a challenge. Bring 'whatever may be may be' on.
    

Finally, I feel that Dunedin was hacked by the powers-that-be against the people's wishes to invest hugely in a monstous new stadium. I don't want any part of that; it was the straw that broke this camel's back. Sayonara, baby.

Bloggers I have time for

Inspired partly by Peak Oil, partly by global warming, partly by inspiration itself, I've discovered the following writers who I enjoy reading. (Will write a thumbnail sketch on each when time permits).

Dave Pollard: I am putting Dave at the top of my list. His mission is only to save the world (from Canada). The Edward de Bono of doomers.

Neale Donald Walsch: of all writers on spirituality I've read, I resonate the most with Neale. I'm not saying that I go along with everything he writes (mainly accessed via his Conversations with God (CSW) books, but he comes the closest to expressing what I agree with, and in a much better literary style than I would be capable of.


Ran Prieur: Ran is, quite simply, a very interesting guy. He seems to think the way that I do (or vice-versa) and he does what I'd do if I could. He has written a number of essays about his take on most of the topics I share an interest in.

Glen Allport: Glen is a prolific writer of essays looking at the human condition mainly.

Stefan Molyneux: Stefan is someone everyone ought to know. He runs Freedomain Radio via podcasts. He'll energize you, and have you beating your own head at the same time. Leans rather heavily on logic as a tool, but that makes up for the masses who don't use it at all.

James Howard Kunstler: James is a great read. He comments on peak oil and economic issues with a rapier wit. Jim comes from an architectural perspective. Has written a few fantastic books and been involved in the Suburbia documentaries.

Thaddeus Golas
Derrick Jensen
Richard Moore
Dmitry Orlov
Richard Heinberg

Sharon Astyk
Carolyn Baker
'Peak Oil Blues Shrink'
Sally from LATEOE-WAWTG
Daniel Quinn
Keith Farnish
Hohn Perry Barlow

Thom Hartmann
Jerry Mander
Dan Bartlet
Rob Hopkins
David Holmgren
'Survival Acres' person
Rupert Sheldrake
Ivan Illich
William Kotke
Bill McKibben
Paul Levy
Glenn Parton
Charles Eisenstein
Howard Zinn
John Michael Greer
Dale Allen Pfeiffer
Noam Chomsky
John Zerzan
Michael Klare
Jay Hanson
Kurt Cobb
Curtis White
Peter Goodchild
Toby Hemenway
Bob Black

Progress

Read lots of books, seen lots of documentaries. No longer believe that conspiracy theories are all that far-fetched. Have located many more resources - see delicious under Williampeakoil tag. I'm moving more towards preparation. Permaculture as a concept has taken hold of my imagination. Gardens without digging. Another important direction I am taking is the development of supportive community. Read some good articles by Carolyn Baker recently. Even Neale Donald Walsch has touched on the subject in 'Tomorrow's God'. And did I mention how I enjoyed Jarod Diamond's 'Collapse'?

An Inconvenient Truth

Am going to have to do this differently. Just short, sweet post a topic at a time so as not to end up with an unreadable list. So today then...

Yesterday - in fact - I went to a free screening of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, which I had not see before. It took place at Taieri College as part of the Green Party's Climate Defence Tour. Jeanette Fitzsimons, the Co-leader, was to have been there, but wasn't.

Neither were the audience. Two of us braved the cold conditions, a woman in a wheelchair and me. I think a Russian family turned up part-way through, and maybe one other woman who left early.

So much for public awareness/apathy/whatever.

The first month

Notes from month one (May 2007):

• First read about Peak Oil after following a link on a site about velomobiles - bringing about an instant shift of my focus, better late than never!
• Starting this blog off in the local library having just read the pamphlet, -----, by Robert Anderson (the same person as Robert Atack? with whom I've started a communication?
• Learned that NZ uses 85% of its oil for transport, 5% on farms, 6% for industry, 2% for commercial, and just 0.9% for private use in homes
• One book, Climate Change, ------, that I apparently loaned from the library, has gone missing. Haven't seen hide nor hair of it at home
• Finished reading Kunstler's The Long Emergency, the best book on the topic I've read - eloquent, accurate, organised, even a touch of humour! Sent the author an email but haven't heard back yet
• Otago Polytechnic...
• Climate and locale investigation...
• Financial review...
• Retirement deadline...
• Three books read (mostly) in the past few days are:
• A thousand barrels a second by Peter Tertzakian - a great read with a strong historical perspective (learn everything you never wanted to know about Candlestick makers, whale hunters, and James Watt's business deals) and many informative graphs. Peter's main view is that a situation called break point occurs many times, followed by a a re-grouping or re-evaluation. It seems he is confident of a technical innovation?
• Twilight in the desert by Matthew R Simmons takes a concentrated look at the Middle East oilfields. Only read the last chapter of this. He is incredibly qualified to comment.
• Oil: Anatomy of an industry by Matthew Yeoman - a readable and introductory book on the topic. Strong political focus. A good chapter on the Bush dynasty. Is fairly dismissive of the proponents for an imminent oil peak - swallows the line that we're still good for at least 20 years.
• Plan B 2.0 by Lester R. Brown - a feel good utopian manual for saving the earth. Has a mission. Compares the cost of global defence spending with the amount it would take to fix everything. If you buy 5 or more copies you are automatically in Lester's A team.