Transition

I've had a link for the Transition Culture website in the sidebar over there for ages, and for the Sunshine Coast Energy Action Centre, too. In case you've never clicked on them, I ought to mention that the Transition movement is all about preparing communities for a decreasing availability of oil. It originated in the UK but has started to spread around the globe. SEAC is at its heart a Transition initiative for the Sunshine Coast... but being about an hour's drive away from me it seemed rather contrary to the point for me to try and get involved in the wonderful work I hear they're doing up there.

It's beyond me to start something like that in my own area. And it's especially challenging here because Brisbane is nothing like the kind of conglomerate town and village structure of the UK and even the Sunshine Coast. It's one enormous sprawl, with a big central city council. Not on the scale of somewhere like Los Angeles, but still big enough.

So I've been watching and waiting to see how a Transition initiative might get off the ground in Brisbane, and finally it has started to happen. I had the pleasure this morning of meeting with some of those involved in the early stages of a Brisbane transition "hub", which will play a role in fostering, supporting and connecting transition groups all around the city. (That's my paraphrase, not actually endorsed by anybody.)

Not surprisingly, this group has been brought into existence through the work of people who are already recognised for their efforts along parallel lines - people from FoodConnect (a local CSA cooperative) and the actively green communities based in some of Brisbane's inner suburbs. Links have been established with SEAC and, it seems, with a similar group based in Sydney.

At this stage there's a lot of "networking" going on, literally finding out who's doing what around the city and joining the dots. Apparently there's a very handy permaculture gardener who lives in Bald Hills but tills the soil down in Morningside. I'm hoping to make their acquaintance in the near future.

This is all very welcome as far as I'm concerned. The quiet on this blog has reflected the lull in my life with regards this kind of community engagement. Hopefully the opportunity I've been waiting for has arrived.

Renewing my energy

Just a quick one. I haven't mentioned yet that I attended a forum this past week at City Hall, where I heard talks by Andrew McNamara, Judy Wicks (www.whitedog.com), Gilbert Rochecouste (www.villagewell.org) and Robert Pekin (www.foodconnect.com.au), and saw a new peak oil documentary produced locally (aquilaproductions.com.au).

It was wonderfully inspiring, if a little sobering... not so much a pep rally as a recruitment drive in a war effort. Hmm.

So I have a renewed sense of urgency which has already prompted me to consider a carectomy, cut way back on my meat and dairy consumption (even on Ice Break) and have another stab at the backyard gardening. I also wrote letters (emails) to various people at the state, city and local community levels expressing my concern regarding the issues and my desire to be part of the solutions.

Would have been at Northey St Community Garden this morning if it weren't for the badly interrupted sleep #2 and #3 gave us last night. Instead I'm going to look at designs for chicken tractors.

Some time soon I'm going to review and update my action plan.

Action stations!

Mr S sent me a link to the Big Switch campaign website the other day. It's an initiative of Greenpeace with support from quite a number of conservation groups and a couple of business organisations. It aims to promote grass-roots community action on climate change and use that as leverage to pressure individual federal politicians into ratifying Kyoto, committing to significant emissions reductions by 2020, committing to significant renewable energy production by 2020 and establishing a national emissions trading scheme.

I gave it some thought and decided to participate. My details are registered and I've sent an email to my local member of parliament. But I was most interested in the community group aspect of the campaign.

My electorate (called "Petrie" even though it does not include the actual suburb of the same name) is bizarrely-shaped with the northern and southern halves having almost nothing to do with each other. Through the Big Switch site I discovered that there's a Redcliffe Climate Action Group but I have no intention of driving all the way up there to be part of it.

Thankfully there's another group based in the adjacent electorate of Lilley, going by the (possibly temporary) name of the Brisbane North Climate Action Group. This looked like a much better fit.

So Mr S and I went along - car pooling - to a meeting of the BNCAG this evening. What a fascinating bunch of people they (we) are. A dozen in total, a handful of whom started getting together about two months ago. Highly informal, friendly, and motivated to actually do something about reducing our community's impact on the Earth, and in particular on the climate.

It's very early days. Almost embryonic, you might say. But I'm hoping that this might be the opportunity I've been looking for to get involved and make a meaningful contribution to the future of civilisation.

Next meeting in a fortnight. I'll keep you posted.

Brisbane City Council's Action Plan

A couple of months ago I read with great interest a report commissioned by Brisbane City Council and prepared by a special task force which included Ian Lowe, president of the Australian Conservation Foundation. The report was to focus on the risks and impacts of climate change and peak oil for Brisbane, and to provide recommendations on what the council should do about it. The task force should be very proud of what they came up with, in my opinion.

There was a bit of press soon after the release of the report when the council met to discuss its response. At the time it sounded like they were pretty much going to ignore the report and dismiss its key recommendations as "wacky". I got somewhat upset about that.

But... council has now released their Plan for Action on Climate Change and Energy and it quite substantially reflects the original report! There are some notable omissions -- ambitious stuff like revolutionary transportation systems and 0% greenhouse gas emissions target for 2050, and contentious stuff like mandatory rainwater tanks and restrictions on pools, air conditioning and car parking. Compared to a "business-as-usual" approach, though, it's a major step in the right direction.

My Action Plan as of May 2007

Having spent a few months intensely considering the problems facing us and the options I have for responding to them, it seems like a good idea to put a one-page summary together to help me maintain my focus and make it easier to explain to others what I'm up to. Here's my first edition as of late May 2007. Remember that this is my personal plan and it will contain things which aren't relevant to you and will omit some great ideas which aren't relevant to me.


The Problems

1. Peak Oil. The modern world (that means you and I) literally cannot survive in its current form without crude oil, yet at the rate we're presently consuming it there'll be none left within a few decades. Global production may already have peaked which means that from here on the trend will be that oil becomes increasingly more scarce and more expensive.

2. Global Warming. Caused not just by our consumption of oil but also of natural gas and coal, and through activities such as deforestation and intensive livestock industries.

3. The Australian Drought. Water storages in my region are below 20% capacity. Some of the nation's major agricultural areas are bracing for the possibility of zero water allocations for irrigation this coming summer.

4. Energy Security. The three problems just described all have an impact on the future availability of electrical energy to power our society.

5. Ecological Concerns. Both for our own sake and as a matter of principle we need to halt or even reverse the global destruction of species and ecosystems.


My Responses

1. Use less oil for personal transport:

• Drive less. Plan ahead so that I can get more stuff done in a single trip. Refocus my social and recreation activities to be closer to home. Work from home instead of going to the office. Take public transport whenever possible. Ride my bike whenever possible.
• Drive more efficiently. Accelerate gently, coast down hills, anticipate slowing down and get the foot off the accelerator sooner. Use the trip computer to monitor efficiency and learn to go further on less fuel.
• Drive a more efficient car. Use the four-cylinder car instead of the six-cylinder one where possible. Replace the six-cylinder one with something more fuel-frugal ASAP.
• Make air travel an exception rather than a lifestyle. At the destination use trains or buses instead of taxis if practical.
  

2. Eat food which uses less oil for production and transportation:

• Establish a productive food garden at home. I would like to be able to supply a significant portion of our diet from our own backyard: vegetables, some fruits, maybe some macadamia nuts and even eggs with the help of a couple of chooks.
• When buying food is necessary, choose locally-grown produce as much as possible to reduce fuel requirements for transport. Ideally look for produce grown using sustainable practices which require a minimum of oil- or gas-derived fertilisers and pesticides.
• Eat more whole or unprocessed foods.
• Avoid "fast food" as much as possible.
  
• Avoid food packaging, especially plastic containers, bags and wraps.
• When buying meals away from home, "dine in" instead of "take away" to reduce plastic wastes.

3. Buy less manufactured stuff, and choose local goods where possible:

• Think twice before buying anything new. How much oil/energy/water was used to make this? Where was it made? Is it going to make a worthwhile contribution to my life? Where will it be in 2050? What will I do with the thing it's replacing? How much oil/energy/water does this use?
• Consider second-hand options for things I need to buy.
• Consider whether the thing I need could be borrowed or hired rather than purchased.

4. Reduce electrical consumption:

• Switch off as much as possible. Make the TV a special event instead of a lifestyle.
  
• Use the microwave and the electric frypan in preference to the stove or oven for cooking. Plan meals which require less cooking.
• Use the air conditioner as a last resort and even then only at a mild setting. (Insulation and external shade screens are already installed in the only air-conditioned room in the house.)
• Wear clothes longer in between washes.
• When major appliances require replacement make energy-efficiency a high priority.
• Sweep the tiled floor in preference to using the vacuum cleaner.
• Check the meters regularly to measure and manage usage.
  

5. Take responsibility for personal carbon emissions

• Pay the premium for renewable electricity generation.
  
• Buy in to greenhouse gas offset schemes for vehicle and air travel emissions.
  

6. Reduce water consumption / increase water use efficiency:

• All the usual stuff... Australians are pretty aware these days of how to use water efficiently around the home.
• Go the extra mile: "If it's yellow let it mellow. If it's brown then flush it down."
• Check the meter regularly to measure and manage usage.

7. Make use of the sunshine and the rain:

• Convert to solar hot water heating ASAP.
• Investigate skylights for kitchen, dining room and study.
• Install rainwater tanks to irrigate gardens and reduce dependence on town water for clothes washing and toilet flushing.
• Consider pros and cons of solar panels for electricity production.

8. Minimise all forms of waste:

• Convert kitchen scraps to compost.
• Avoid disposable packaging. (This one is really tough in a "developed" society.)
  
• Try to provide the kids with toys that are durable, non-plastic and in some way recyclable.
• Be strict about recycling as much as possible. Follow council guidelines carefully to ensure that the material isn't contaminated and consequently wasted.
• Spend some time considering McDonough's "waste equals food" principle. (His book is on its way to me in the post as I write this.) Look for opportunities to embrace it.

9. Become an active participant in my local community and broader society:

• Well there's this blog, for starters. It helps me to clarify my thoughts and gives me a kind of reference point to compare whatever state I find myself in with where I've been in the past. But hopefully it'll also be valuable for others - just as blogs like the ones I've linked to have been so helpful to me.
• Seek out people who are further along the sustainability track (generally speaking) than I am. Support them and learn from them.
• Speak out - but avoid being arrogant or obnoxious. Look for opportunities at a personal and political level to involve people in the discussion of how we're going to survive (dare we hope to prosper?) in the post-oil greenhouse-affected forseeable future.

10. Make sure to actually live and enjoy life along the way.