The Oil Drum | Stories in topic "Environment/Sustainability"

Stories in topic "Environment/Sustainability"

Thanksgiving Open Campfire Thread

Posted by Nate Hagens on November 29, 2009 - 10:54am in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability

Below the fold is a short Thanksgiving comment followed by some Campfire discussion questions.

Bottleneck by William Catton - A Review

Posted by Nate Hagens on November 24, 2009 - 10:35am
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: george mobus, william catton [list all tags]

The following is a guest post from George Mobus, who is an Associate Professor of Computing and Software Systems at the University of Washington Tacoma. Professor Mobus reviews William Catton's "Bottleneck", the sequel to his popular 1983 book, Overshoot. The review (and the book) cover some topics that typically encounter knee jerk emotional reactions. As an editor here, I continually struggle to find a balance of discourse that presents scientific reality in ways that don't come across as apocalyptic or frightening. In my opinion, the larger the lens with which we view our situation, the more informed choices will be made towards more sustainable trajectories. I should add that William Catton's "Overshoot" (read immediately following Quinn's Ishmael), propelled me from a pecuniary consumptive path to one more consumptive of information.

How Relocalization Worked

Posted by Nate Hagens on November 22, 2009 - 11:59am in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: john michael greer, relocalization [list all tags]

Below the fold is a guest essay by John Michael Greer, author of The Long Descent, a book I have read and recommend. The post examines the importance and viability of relocalization from a historical perspective.

How to Set Up and Run a Bicycle Repair Company

Posted by Chris Vernon on November 19, 2009 - 10:14am in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: bicycle, green business, repair, transportation [list all tags]

This is a guest post from Robin Lovelace (email: www (dot) lovelacerobin (at) yahoo (dot) com), a PhD student in energy research at the University of Sheffield, UK. Robin has recently set up RobRod's Repairs, a mobile bike repair business.

1. Introduction

Many of the articles that discuss the causes and effects of humanity's unprecedented energy use are entirely theoretical, offering little practical guidance for the everyday reader.

This essay offers respite to all the people who confront our collective energy problems with a furrowed brow and an expression that is puzzled by the continuous stream of theoretical insights that explain our current circumstances. This essay confronts our collective energy problems in more practical terms - with an adjustable spanner and a puncture repair kit at the very least.

Dr. Albert Bartlett's "Laws of Sustainability"

Posted by Gail the Actuary on November 6, 2009 - 10:15am
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: albert bartlett, sustainability [list all tags]

At the Denver ASPO conference, I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Albert Bartlett. Afterward, Dr. Bartlett e-mailed me some material he had written over the years. The "Laws of Sustainability" were included in this material. They are part of Al Bartlett's contribution to the anthology The Future of Sustainability by Marco Keiner, published in 2006. The document by Dr. Bartlett from which these were excerpted can be found here.

LAWS OF SUSTAINABILITY

The Laws that follow are offered to define the term "sustainability." In some cases these statements are accompanied by corollaries that are identified by capital letters. They all apply for populations and rates of consumption of goods and resources of the sizes and scales found in the world in 2005, and may not be applicable for small numbers of people or to groups in primitive tribal situations.

These Laws are believed to hold rigorously.

The list is but a single compilation, and hence may be incomplete. Readers are invited to communicate with the author in regard to items that should or should not be in this list.

First Law: Population growth and / or growth in the rates of consumption of resources cannot be sustained.

EROWI - energy return of water invested

Posted by Ugo Bardi on November 5, 2009 - 10:15am in The Oil Drum: Europe
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: energy, eroei, eroi, water [list all tags]

Energy Return of Water Invested (EROWI). From an article by Robert Service in Science Magazine. The data in the table originate from "Energy demands on water resources",report to the congress, 2006 link.

Tricking and Treating the Future

Posted by Nate Hagens on November 1, 2009 - 9:50am in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability

We live in some pretty incredible times. The realization that we have borrowed so much from the future (US current deficit is 41% of expenditures!!)that we'll likely not be able to pay it back using our current economic model and existing wealth distribution is slowly starting to dawn on people. At times the implications seem overwhelming. But this Halloween Campfire post is a quick reminder that despite our massive challenges, (and that we are human, imperfect, and mortal) - we can find joy, fun, meaning and satisfaction in many everyday, low throughput ways - we just have to decide to do so. That's both the trick and the treat.

Planning for Water Contingencies

Posted by Gail the Actuary on October 21, 2009 - 6:14pm in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability

We know that fresh water is essential to life. While we can survive for weeks without food, even a few days without water can be a problem. One rule of thumb as to the amount of water needed for drinking is two quarts (1.9 liters) per person per day. If one includes uses other than drinking, obviously more is needed.

In uncertain times, the question is what, if anything, we should be doing with respect to backup planning for water. We can think about this question on both a short term and longer term basis. In some instances, the issue may be more one of supplemental water (beyond what the city system is willing/able to provide) for irrigation of crops.

A diagram of one rainwater catchment system from www.thefarm.org

The Speech Obama Needs to Give

Posted by Gail the Actuary on October 18, 2009 - 10:30am in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability

This is a guest post by R. Daniel Allen Ph. D. Dr. Allen teaches at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in New Jersey.

Saving Seeds: Is this the way to go?

Posted by Gail the Actuary on October 8, 2009 - 10:27am in The Oil Drum: Campfire
Topic: Environment/Sustainability
Tags: hybrids, saving seeds [list all tags]

Through most of the world's history, people have saved their own seeds and replanted them. Now we have a multitude of hybrid seed to choose from. These hybrid seed have a lot of advantages-crops are very uniform, so they are easily harvested, and all mature at the same time. The crops generally have a very good yield, especially when adequate fertilizer is used, sufficient water is available (often through irrigation), and pests are kept under control.

But over the very long term, it is not entirely clear that we will be able to keep up this system. We likely won't have the commercial fertilizer, nearly as much irrigation, and probably not chemical pesticides and herbicides. We are likely not to be able to store the food as well, either, or to transport it long distances.

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