Category Archives: social crisis

The International Year Of Sustainable Energy – Did you know

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I had no idea this was declared by the UN. I have no idea how I missed it. Sustainability is the only way the human race will survive. Steady state economies can attain just as big aspirations as corporate capitalism without the environmental degradation. It is just that a lot more people would have to agree to the giant goal. Like space travel for instance.

http://www.un-energy.org/stories/860-international-year-of-sustainable-energy-for-all

International Year of Sustainable Energy for All

Publication Date: May 31, 2011

 

“Expanding access to affordable, clean energy is critical for realizing
the MDGs and enabling sustainable development.”
-Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations

 

The Challenge and the Goal

 

Access to clean and affordable modern energy is critical to fostering lasting social and economic development and to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Worldwide, some 2.7 billion people rely on traditional biomass for cooking and heating, and 1.4 billion have no access to electricity, with one billion more having access only to unreliable electricity networks.

The lack of modern energy services stifles income-generating activities and hampers the provision of basic services such as health care and education. In addition, smoke from polluting and inefficient cooking, lighting, and heating devices kills nearly two million women and young children prematurely every year and causes a range of chronic illnesses and other health impacts. Black carbon emissions from these devices worsen global climate change, and foraging for fuel contributes to deforestation.

In response, the Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change – composed of global business leaders and heads of UN agencies – has called on the United Nations and its member countries to commit themselves to ensuring universal access to modern energy services by 2030. UN-Energy a collaboration of 20 UN agencies will lead the effort.

Why Energy Matters 

Energy Lifts People From Poverty:
Energy is essential to economic development and to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, yet 1.4 billion people have no access to electricity and 2.7 billion people lack clean cooking fuels and stoves.

Clean Energy Saves Lives:
Nearly two million women and children, die prematurely every year (that’s four every minute) due to illnesses caused by indoor air pollution.

Energy is the single biggest contributor to climate change:
Energy accounts for 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

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More tomorrow.

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Transition Community In Houston – One of hundreds around the US

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I leave you this week in Houston. An oil ton if there ever was one. Got to love a group that is trying to do without hydrocarbons altogether. They claim they are moving to a new site BUT I couldn’t get there yet, so here is a sample of their old site.

http://transitionhouston.wordpress.com/

Movin’ on…

The website subgroup of the Outreach and Education Action Group has been working on an updated website for Transition Houston for some time, and all that effort is paying off!  We are going to concentrate our information share and move content to the new site:  www.transitionhouston.org.  Please bookmark that location and check with us often for news about Transition in the Houston region, Neighborhood Initiative and Action Group updates, calendar, newsletter archive, and more!

Once again, the new Transition Houston website:

www.transitionhouston.org

 

There are several other options for connecting with us.

We are on Ning.

We are on Facebook.

We are on Twitter.

And you can subscribe to our Newsletter!

Permaculture goes mainstream, hope rises

Sometimes little things give hope that progress is possible, and that maybe “if we act as communities, it might just be enough, just in time,” to quote the Cheerful Disclaimer.  This last week the little thing for me was the discovery of permaculture by the New York Times.  Now, I’m not so naive to believe that seeing permaculture in the mainstream press is going to make a lot of difference immediately, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see a surge of interest in permie classes across the country with long-term benefits to both participants and the environment (FYI, classes are offered here in Houston by the Permaculture Guild of Houston, through Urban Harvest).

I think the important point is that awareness is growing in our country:  awareness of our ecosystem impacts, awareness of the lack of sustainability in our lifestyles and economy, and also awareness of that which is missing in our lives–community, connection, purpose.  Permaculture is a positive response to that growing awareness, as is the permaculture-based Transition movement.

There are a couple of opportunities to join with others in our Transition Houston community this week and next.  Please avail yourself of these options to increase your awareness and find connection with a community of folks working for a resilient Houston region.

Transition Houston Hub meeting, Tuesday, August 2, 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Green Film Series Presents Blue Gold: World Water Wars, Tuesday, August 9, 6:30pm to 9:00pm

Transition Houston Hub meeting, Tuesday, August 2, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
We hope to see you at Tuesday’s Transition Houston meeting, which will feature a guest speaker in addition to news from the Transition Neighborhoods and Action Groups.

We are very fortunate to have Peter Wang, League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor, as our guest speaker.  Peter is considered a local biking expert.  He’s everywhere as a go-to guy for media interviews about bikes, and has been involved in a lot of bicycle issues.  He is risk-averse–exactly the kind of guy you would want to help you practice being safer!–and has taught a lot of these safety classes.

Peter will present a video screening followed by a discussion. The video is Enjoy The Ride, about essential bicycling skills.

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More whenever.

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Transition Communities Up North – Get going Canada

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I love Brit speak. Some groups are not undecided they are mulling things over. Anyway there is a great list at the end of this article so go check it out.

http://citizenactionmonitor.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/canadas-transition-communities/

Canada’s Transition Communities

23 Sep

No 67 Posted September 23, 2010

IMPORTANT UPDATE, Jan. 7, 2011: Ten *NEW* communities added to the List of Canadian Transition Communities (below).

What is a Transition Community?

The following text is excerpted and adapted from Ball’s research paper, Transition Towns: Local Networking for Global Sustainability?

The Transition Movement, promoting an action-based approach to (local) sustainability, has in the past four years grown to incorporate a large network of individual Transition Initiatives. Informed by ideas and values within environmental organizations, yet, in its practical organisation it is distinct from past models of sustainability by incorporating broad grassroots support in a diverse range of places within the framework of a coherent networking model.

Sustainability challenges the dominant, market-based capitalism of industrial society, on economic, social, environmental and ecological grounds, citing devastating ecological and environmental exploitation. Sustainability, in contrast, calls for production and consumption within long-term ecological limits.

While local sustainability has become a politically important goal, in practice neither top-down government nor grassroots community models have gained widespread uptake or success: the former have failed to connect with or involve a grassroots public; the latter generally have few resources and limited capacity.

The Transition Model, a non-governmental community-led model, advances an action-based approach. With its fast-growing network of Initiatives, the Transition Movement is akin to a non-profit franchise operation, combining the advantage of a centralized support base with the capacity and resources of a decentralized networking organization.

The Transition concept, co-founded by Rob Hopkins, who has a background in permaculture, builds upon a core thesis: that the modern industrial capitalist economic and social system, based upon cheap oil and resources, is unsustainable, making a major restructuring of economy and society imperative, and inevitable. Transition contends that citizens and communities need to act proactively and positively at the local scale, in a process of ‘Transition’ and ‘Powerdown’ to build localized and resilient communities in terms of food, energy, work and waste. The vision holds that decarbonized local communities will be resilient in their capacity to “hold together and maintain their ability to function in the face of change and shock from the outside.” Transition is modelled to be a self-organizing community-led model, for people to “act now and act collectively.”

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More tomorrow.

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Transition Culture – Flee hydrocarbon culture

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I think the real questions here are, can enough of us flee in time and can the different technologies required to do it handle climate change. Unfortunately we shall see.

http://transitionculture.org/about/

About this site and me

robintotnesFor more about this website and what is all about take a look at the page Why Transition Culture?. This section is to tell you about myself.  It is written in the third person not due to delusions of grandeur, but so that people who need biog pieces can cut and paste it from here.

“Rob Hopkins is the co-founder of Transition Town Totnes and of the Transition Network. He has many years experience in education, teaching permaculture and natural building, and set up the first 2 year full-time permaculture course in the world, at Kinsale Further Education College in Ireland, as well as co-ordinating the first eco-village development in Ireland to be granted planning permission.

observerethicalawards2009logonewHe is author of ‘Woodlands for West Cork!’, ‘Energy Descent Pathways’ and most recently ‘The Transition Handbook: from oil dependence to local resilience’, which has been published in a number of other languages, and which was voted the 5th most popular book taken on holiday by MPs during the summer of 2008.  He publishes www.transitionculture.org, recently voted ‘the 4th best green blog in the UK’(!).

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More tomorrow.

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Permaculture And Transitional Communities – What Wiki says

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Those fleeing a hydrocarbon existence use many different rationales. Like Thoreau, they want to lead a simpler life, while resisting the constant wars the US seems to be in. Like Schumacher they want to celebrate appropriate technology. Like the Amish they want to support earth conscious sustainable food production methods. What ever the reason, this is what WIKI says about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transition_Towns

Transition Towns

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 

Totnes, Devon: a Transition Town

Transition Towns (also known as Transition network or Transition Movement) is a brand for environmental and social movements “founded (in part) upon the principles of permaculture” [1], based originally on Bill Mollison’s seminal Permaculture, a Designers Manual published in 1988. The Transition Towns brand of permaculture uses David Holmgren’s 2003 book, Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. [2] These techniques were included in a student project overseen by permaculture teacher Rob Hopkins at the Kinsale Further Education College in Ireland. The term transition town was coined by Louise Rooney[3] and Catherine Dunne. Following its start in Kinsale, Ireland it then spread to Totnes, England where Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande developed the concept during 2005 and 2006.[4] The aim of this community project is to equip communities for the dual challenges of climate change and peak oil. The Transition Towns movement is an example of socioeconomic localisation.

Contents

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Out to weed the strawberry patch. More tomorrow.

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Transition Communities – Why I will spend hours today weeding strawberries

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House cleaning: I will soon be on vacation and I think not posting. Or at least intermittently posting. Until then I want to post meditations on the transition community movement.

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These are conscious communities that try to wean themselves from hydrocarbon fuels. While they look to be like other commune movements such as the most recent “back to the land” movement of the 60s and 70s, they are purposeful in their reduction of greenhouse gas production. They are all around the world and have their own network of publications and even conferences. But as I was trying to dig my strawberry patch out of the grass attack that killed it this summer, I was thinking that I started “stoop” labor when I was a small child gleaning for corn and working in my great grandfathers truck patch. I thought then “when I grow up I will never do this again”. But look at me now. It can be a tough life. And if we had to get by on our strawberry crop this year we would be dead before winter even started. Still IF we had to depend on our strawberry crop we would have done a better job. So first up some of the bigger sites and some in odd places.

http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2011-08-31/august-round-whats-happening-transition

August round up of what’s happening in Transition

Published on August 31, 2011 by Ed Mitchell

 

We’ll start down under in Australia where Transition Eudlo (NSW) held a talk in the wonderfully named Mullumbimby which means ‘small round hill’ in Aboriginal. It was presented by Sonya Wallace, founder of Transition Town Eudlo and Transition Sunshine Coast. Also in Australia, MINTI, the Melbourne Inner Northwest Transition Initiative, held a local food forum and asked ‘What’s Eating Australia?’ poster

Over in Balingup, Western Australia, following a successful speaker event by a sustainability lecturer and member of Bunbury TT, public screenings are being held around town to raise awareness of the Transition movement. Balingup locals plan to spread the word and help make Transition as thriving in the west of Australia as it is in the east. Read more about it here.

In Japan, this August update (to the TN website) from Paul Shepherd in Tokyo on the emergence of a Japanese national hub is well worth a read. The headline is that following the existing TT’s in Fujino, Hayama & Koganei, there are now about 20 to 25 emerging Transition Towns in Japan.

Sara and Emilio (www.nu-project.org) would like to share their latest short film which includes an interview with members of Transition Barcelona, some footage of the 15M protest movement across Spain and how it’s connected with Transition.

Transition Town Kinsale in Ireland have been busy this month with a butterfly walk, a sanctuary walk and talk in a restored limestone quarry with Ted Cooke of The Woodland League (to help mark National Heritage Week) and a Kinsale Hub BBQ fundraiser on the dock. Check out this great poster…:

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Go there to read much much more. More tomorrow.

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China’s Nuclear Power Program Pauses Briefly

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That is right. After one of the worst nuclear accidents in history, in its own backyard the Fukushima Power Plant Meltdown barely slowed the Chinese quest for megawatts. While Spain and other countries review their plants and Germany has renounced its programs altogether, the Chinese plunge ahead.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/15/china-nuclear-plants-pass-inspections

China’s nuclear power plants pass safety inspections

Regulators give country’s 13 reactors the all-clear following checks ordered in wake of Fukushima disaster

nuclear power 
The Daya Bay nuclear power station in Guangdong province, south China. Inspectors have given the country’s existing reactors the all-clear. Photograph: Adrian Bradshaw/EPA

China has moved a step closer towards resuming its ambitious nuclear power plans after it was revealed that safety inspectors have given the country’s 13 reactors the all-clear.

The clean bill of health makes it more likely that Beijing will not follow the example of other countries – most recently German, Italy and Japan – who have promised to scale back or abandon nuclear power in the wake of the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in March.

China has the world’s biggest nuclear expansion plans with a goal of more than 100 reactors by 2020, but it suspended permits for new plants after the tsunami disaster in Japan.

The government said it would not be resumed until existing plants were checked, construction plans reviewed and a new national safety framework put in place.

That process is now well under way, according to a statement by the deputy environment minister, Li Ganjie, posted on a government website. As well as the completed checks for plants in operation, reviews of facilities under construction would be finished by October, he said.

Few analysts expect China to trim or delay targets that were included in the latest five-year economic plan to meet the power demands of a growing economy, while reducing the country’s reliance on greenhouse gas-emitting fuel sources.

But critical voices have grown louder. Professor He Zuoxiu, who helped to develop China’s first atomic bomb, caused a storm last month when he claimed that plans to ramp up production of nuclear energy twentyfold by 2030 could be as disastrous as the Great Leap Forward.

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More tomorrow.
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The Springfield Earth Awareness Fair Is On May 7th

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This event used to be the weekend after Earth Day and was Springfield’s celebration of it. Several years ago the organizers decided to break that pattern and hold it at different venues and at different times. I am “jake” with that. As the original organizer of the first day said, “Everyday should be an Earth Day”. This year it is at our cool new park with its geothermal heating and cooling, AND its wind turbine. YAH!

http://cityofspringfieldillinois.blogspot.com/2010/04/18th-annual-earth-awareness-fair.html

City of Springfield, Illinois

Monday, April 12, 2010

18TH ANNUAL EARTH AWARENESS FAIR

The 18th Annual Earth Awareness Fair will be held Saturday, April 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Old State Capitol. “Springfield’s annual Earth Awareness Fair is the oldest continuous Earth Day celebration in Illinois and we are proud to host this all-ages event,” said Mayor Davlin.

Information on eco-friendly choices such as recycling, energy efficiency, native plants/ habitat and water conservation will be available. Exhibits, giveaways, games and crafts will be offered, all with an environmental message. Live music will be provided by local musicians Tom Irwin and Thornhill. A bicycle rally will be held with bicyclists gathering at the Old State Capitol at 12:00 for a ride around the downtown area to raise awareness of alternative forms of transportation.
Rain barrels will again be available for sale at the Fair.

Using a rain barrel is an excellent way to lessen the demand on our drinking water systems and reduce energy consumption by not having to purify ground water for residential irrigation purposes. Area homeowners can save money while helping the environment and reducing storm water run-off by capturing water in rain barrels.

Admission to the Earth Awareness Fair is free. It will be held rain, or shine. Join us for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day!

at Monday, April 12, 2010

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More tomorrow.

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New Energy Movement – Interesting Google find

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This is a long story over a minor point, but bear with me. Google used to have a “Feel Lucky” icon on their choice bar that would take you to a random choice. They redid their algorithm to preclude this possibility when they realized that this was losing them money.  Originally I was excited by this. Yet it always turned out boring. Government pages, and the usual energy giants like Siemens. Over the years I have tried to continue this spirit by typing weird phrases in the Google box and again the results have been…well less. But this time I typed in NEW Energy and got some interesting hits. Here is one cool one.

http://www.newenergymovement.org/

Ere many generations pass, our machinery will
be driven by power obtainable at any point in the
universe. It is a mere question of time when men
will succeed in attaching their machinery to the
very wheelwork of nature.

—Nikola Tesla
The World We Envision
Clean, safe, abundant, inexpensive energy for all… stabilized climate… clean and healthy water, food, and air for all… beautiful blue skies over our cities… low-impact, sustainable forestry and agriculture… beautiful landscapes unspoiled by wires and smokestacks… recycling of virtually all wastes… rivers running free and natural… thriving sustainable local economies… living standards and education rates increasing… birth rates declining… a global culture of sharing… unleashed human creativity… a new and lasting era of world peace…

With a revolution in energy as the foundation of renewed and loving stewardship of our planet, we can transform our world into a beautiful and healthy home full of promise, opportunity, abundance, and peace for all of humanity.

Our Mission
The New Energy Movement acts to promote the rapid widespread deployment of advanced, clean, and sustainable energy sources across our imperiled planet. This transformation in the way our civilization generates and uses energy provides the best physical means to protect the biosphere, remediate ecological damage, and enhance the health and well-being of the global human family.

The New Energy Movement’s major priority is to educate the public, policymakers, and investors about the need to support research, development, and use of zero-point energy, magnetic generators, advanced hydrogen processes, and other little-known powerful energy technologies now emerging from inventors and scientists all over the world…

The Challenges

Critical and unprecedented challenges now face our civilization, inflicting a terrible toll on our people, our companion species, and the planet itself. If not reversed soon, they threaten to end human life on Earth.

Without a revolution in energy, we will not be able to act with the speed and scope demanded by the climate change emergency we face. With this revolution we will be able to create sustainable and just economic development required for world peace.

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Our survival will require
a vast and dramatic shift
in how human civilization
generates and uses energy.

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More tomorrow.

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Rocket Man – I think it’s going to be a long long time

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OK. This has nothing to do with Energy or the Environment. I mean it does if you believe that air travel, both military and commercial, is responsible for a HUGE chunk of the atmospheric pollution that is destabilizing the planet’s climate. Even then how much will it add? Not much probably. Still this is just so cool. As reported here:

http://www.universetoday.com/84765/dream-job-posting-spaceship-pilots-wanted/

Dream Job Posting: Spaceship Pilots Wanted

by Nancy Atkinson on April 11, 2011

Some might do a double take at this job posting, but it is legit. Virgin Galactic announced today they are looking for pilot-astronauts and are now accepting applications…from qualified candidates. High scores on Aces of the Galaxy or Space Flight Simulator probably doesn’t meet the criteria, so just what does constitute Virgin Galactic’s idea of qualified?

Virgin’s press release says qualified candidates are full course graduates of a recognized test pilot school who are broadly experienced with both high-performance fast-jet type airplanes and large multi-engine types. Prior spaceflight experience is desirable. You’ll also have to be able to create a safe and enjoyable commercial suborbital space flight experience for your passengers.

Those selected will have the responsibilities of knowing the WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo spaceflight system test program in and out (and in accordance with government regulations and company policies in Mojave, California where test flights take place and Virgin Galactic’s commercial operations at Spaceport America in New Mexico.)

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Sourced from the Virgin itself.

http://www.virgingalactic.com/careers/

Careers

THE SPACESHIPCOMPANY

Excellent career opportunities are available with The Spaceship Company (TSC) – the assembler of Virgin Galactic’s fleet of SpaceShipTwos and WhiteKnightTwos.
Click the following link to find out more on The Spaceship Company website

 

VIRGIN GALACTIC CURRENTLY HAS TWO JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Position: PILOT – ASTRONAUTS Please click here to apply online and for further details

Position: HEAD OF OPERATIONSPlease click here to apply online and for further details

For any questions, please email jobs@virgingalactic.com

Site built by Outside Line

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But is this the near end of a dead end road? Have we so polluted the planet that this is our last gasp? We shall see. More tomorrow.

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